December, 2014
Facing Freedom…Art Making a Difference
Interview by Krista Martinelli
Artist Freedom Rodriguez and film maker Michael LaFrance are collaborating on a life-changing project in Kenya called “Facing Freedom.” Atlanta-based artist Freedom Rodriguez visited the slums of Kenya and made a decision to paint people who are struggling with Aids. Thanks to an organization called Care for Aids and the independent film that LaFrance is making, Freedom is bringing these beautiful faces to light. Freedom has painted 100 portraits – all on the covers of discarded books. The independent documentary film will be called “Facing Freedom.”
I had the opportunity to interview Freedom Rodriguez, the artist, and South Florida film maker Michael LaFrance.
AW: How did you choose Kenya for this project? How did you choose Care for Aids as the organization to work with?
Freedom: We partnered with Care for Aids and their focus is Kenya. Collaboration with Care for Aids happened after I went to one of their fundraisers and I was touched by their stories. I was particularly touched by the two directors from Kenya. I proposed this art project to them.
AW: What do you hope to express through your art, Freedom?
Freedom: Dignity is the first word that comes to mind. I think people need to be seen in a dignified manner. There are a lot of stories going around about this issue of Aids, but I’m trying to capture the strength and hope that people have, who are living with Aids. I want to portray people as being beautiful, no matter what caste or economic state they’re in – they are worth the attention.
AW: How did you decide to paint on the covers of discarded books?
Freedom: It all happened with painting portraits of children who I met in Uganda. I had all of these photos from my trips in 2004 and 2006. I was struck by the fact that these precious children were also “discarded” in a way. Books that are old, shabby- looking stained and ripped pages are often stamped “discarded.” I decided to take those books home and paint the children’s faces on the books. These children have a story worth reading – they deserve a book of their own.
AW: What impresses you most about the people you’ve met in Kenya, faced with Aids?
Michael: I was blown away and humbled by being invited into their homes and hearing their stories. They love to open up and share their stories. I learned very quickly that there’s more to it (when it comes to filming) than popping up the tripod. Things go at a much slower pace in Kenya. They were very willing to tell their story. I really wanted to make sure I expressed it and filmed it the right way. They have lived rough lives, but they’re very happy and there’s a lot of hope in them.
Freedom: I agree. Everyone has their measure of hardship in life. But there’s something extraordinary when you go to another country. It’s the whole cross-cultural connection where you’re sharing each other’s stories. There’s a lot of value in sharing each other’s stories. Whether it’s something tragic or something good, we see that we value each other. It will bring a movement of change if we value the people like they should be valued. It was really inspiring to me to hear their stories – a lot of challenges, beyond poverty. They face a whole social stigma of having Aids – some are even ostracized by their community (even by their family). However, the tail end of the story is they are not defeated. They are empowered by the support they receive from Care for Aids. We are going to take every measure we can to make sure they receive support and love.
Michael: People who usually get their portraits painted are historically usually of high power and class – kings and queens. Here are these people who are not in a position of power, and we are giving a voice to the voiceless.
Freedom: Especially in the more rural, slum areas, these people value seeing a picture of themselves. Some have never been exposed to cameras. It brings honor to their family – just to have these portraits. In particular, I’m happy to be showing respect to a wonderful lady (who unfortunately has passed away) – she did everything she could to raise her children in the best way possible. Just bringing the portrait back to the family on our return trip will be very special.
Michael: Freedom and I traveled to Kenya last August and we got great footage for the film. The next step is to film Freedom delivering the portraits to the people. We want to tell the story and come full circle. This is about creative activism, how artists can really work with an organization and facilitate that help. Art can play a key role in raising awareness.
AW: How many portraits have you done?
Freedom: We are up to 200 portraits now. The first hundred were children from Uganda, my “vision portraits.” I call it the Face-to-Face initiative. These portraits tell the stories of orphans – because their parents died of Aids. These are poor children who are caring for adults. These are beautiful faces staring right back at you. And yes, there is a greater need – for food, shelter, clothing, medicine. But there is a strong force behind art and creativity too. Art puts the color (or life) into charitable causes.
Michael: It’s not just the art, but the art telling the story. It’s creative activism – Freedom’s own initiative. With this film “Facing Freedom,” we are focused on the 100 faces in Kenya. When Freedom went to Uganda, one of his realizations was – “I don’t really know their stories.” Fast forward to Kenya, this time we were really having the opportunity to sit down and get to know the people’s stories.
AW: Michael and Freedom, how long have you known each other?
Michael: About 15 years. We met through a mutual friend while studying at the Art Institute in Ft.Lauderdale. We kept in touch periodically. Back about 4 years ago, I called Freedom and was interested in some art work that he did. I wanted to buy some artwork for my apartment. He invited me to Kenya. I wasn’t ready at that time. In August of 2013, I saw he was posting some things about Kenya. I thought the story was amazing. I wanted to do a documentary on it. Next thing you know I’m on a flight to Kenya. I was only there for about 12 days. Freedom was there for an extended time (21 days) and interviewed 100 people. He amazingly painted 100 portraits in 5 weeks. He was aiming to meet the deadline for the Care for Aids Gala in October. He basically sold the entire collection that evening. A great success! This year they had the gala and they put out a coffee table book with all 100 faces.
AW: Michael, how different is it for you, as someone who produces a lot of wedding videos, to switch gears and work on this independent film?
Michael: I really thought it wouldn’t be that difficult – but it requires a lot more organization. Doing a documentary involves logging your footage and keeping track of your interviews. I was overwhelmed when I came back from Kenya. Weddings are happy. There’s no tragedy in a wedding. There’s no conflict. It’s not a complete story like a documentary – there are no ups and downs. Luckily, I have a friend named Talia Day, who is a producer. Talia saw my post on Instagram and she came into my life, making things easier for me. As our producer, she has helped with organizing my footage and organizing the whole project.
AW: What’s something most people don’t know about Kenya and its people, but you wish they did know?
Freedom: There are a lot of stories about Africa, and there’s a lot of truth regarding the hardships, the corruption and the difficult things. But I just think that there are so many greater, more wonderful, life-giving stories to be told. I ad mire their strength as a people, expressing resilience, hope, faith. There is not anger, not resentment or frustration or retaliation in any way. These are people who believe in peace. There’s a whole stronger side to what’s being reported. This is true for Kenya and for Africa as a whole too.
AW: Tell us about your fundraising through Kickstarter. How can people get involved in making this film happen?
Michael: Here’s the website for our Kickstarter page – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1745358395/facing-freedom/posts. We have been receiving pledges from $10 to $1000 so far. When you donate, some of the perks are digital copies of the film, t-shirts designed by Freedom or personal portraits by Freedom. We’ve been trying to be very social and as social media-wise as possible. We have less than 30 days to reach our goal of $17 K. With Kickstarter, you make your goal or lost it all. We want to get this film ready for film festivals. It’s expensive to complete the film and enter it into various film festivals. Our deadline is Jan. 12, 2015. We are trying to talk with as many people as possible about raising funds.
AW: What are planning to do when you return to Kenya?
Michael: We will be gathering more footage of interviews and returning the portrait prints to the people. People supported Care for Aids by buying the original artwork, and then we made prints to give back to the people in Kenya.
AW: How will you promote the video? What kind of awareness do you hope to bring about with this video?
Michael: Using mini-videos, we will be building it up via social media. Once the film is completed, we’ll figure out which film festivals to target and create the buzz from there. This project is just a beginning. I can see several different future projects like this one. I consider this a blue print for next project.
Freedom: When it comes to awareness, I want to show the other side of what you normally hear through the media about Africa. The people were willing to share their stories to encourage other people. There’s hope to be found and life to be shared. These are the people who deserve to be heard the most. I see them as “my celebrities.” I find more life and strength in being with these folks face to face. That’s why I call it the Face-to-Face Initiative. They are in the most need of attention and collaboration. I am the father of three kids – ages 11, 9, 4. I’d like my children to feel like we have easy access to people in need around the world and not feel like we’re separated. “Facing Freedom” is one way to unite people.
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Find out more about Facing Freedom or donate to the project.
Kickstarter page – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1745358395/facing-freedom/posts
Webpage – www.FacingFreedomFilm.com
FaceBook page- https://www.facebook.com/facingfreedomfilm?fref=nf