|
Shelburne Free Press https://shelburnefreepress.ca/?p=4494 Export date: Tue Jul 23 18:25:16 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Filmmaker is reaching out to the kindness of strangers once more Jesse Sebastiani had never left Ontario. The 20-year-old Shelburne man took a leap of faith and reached out to hundreds of strangers in an attempt to travel coast to coast with two hundred dollars in his pocket, no car, no supplies, and no plan. And it all started with a Facebook status: “I want to meet all of you. Who's down?” The response was immediate, with hundreds of people on board to help. The kindness of strangers was what made his 100-day journey possible, with people taking him in to feed him, show him around, and offer him a place to sleep every night along the way. For the entire trip, social media was his only tool. Jesse was able to find a place to sleep every night, although he admits there were a couple of nights he wandered the streets until the early hours of the morning before a response came through. Those nights were hard, but he desperately wanted to avoid spending money on hostels or motels. Even when he did find a place to stay, Jesse says it was tiring to always be on alert, making sure he was safe with everyone. “It takes a toll on your mind, you're always on to make sure you're safe where you're going to stay,” he says. But the trip was never meant to be a relaxing vacation. Before he left, Jesse was feeling the pressure that he says everyone is faced with after graduating high school. A feeling of being pushed to quickly figure out who he was, and what he wanted to be. “Before I went on this thing, my head wasn't where I wanted it to be,” Jesse says. Across Canada he met people his age raising children as single parents, people dealing with unemployment and poverty. Being exposed to other people's lives and problems during his travels helped to put his own life into perspective. “It just really opens your eyes and makes you realize that you're not the only one with problems out there.” As he travelled his number of friends on Facebook continued to grow, with people spreading the word about his trip to their mutual friends, who then spread the word to another circle of people. When he arrived somewhere new, another status would be posted with his location and people would respond to meet him, take him in, or take him to his next destination. Everywhere he travelled, he was greeted with open arms by someone. They gave him food, shelter, and even a winter coat while he was on the West Coast. With only one bag on his back, filled mostly with camera equipment, Jesse had little with him and valued everything that was so generously provided to him on his trip. “I didn't think Canada would be that loving and that caring and that giving,” he says. Jesse documented the trip on video, and is now working to edit the documentary that he plans to premier on New Year's Eve. With two terabytes of footage to go through, he estimates the process will take him about a month. The film is called “Saved by the Status” and the official trailer can be viewed on www.YouTube.com. With a clear vision for his future in filmmaking, Jesse hopes to be able to get the film onto Netflix and enter it in several Film Festivals, including TIFF, Sundance, and smaller festivals across the country. His next goal would be to generate a larger fan base for the film by making it available on Netflix, and then try to complete an American version of the trip. Right now Jesse is trying to raise the money to be able to get the documentary out there and is reaching out to his Facebook friends once again. He needs $5000 for licensing and entry fees, and has 30 days to raise the money on the Kickstarter website, a fundraising platform for artistic projects. “Saved by the Status” has raised $500 so far, and donations are accepted until November 28. To access the link and donate, visit “Saved by the Status” on Facebook. Social media acted as a powerful tool for Jesse, connecting him with people all over Canada, and with himself. Through his journey he has been able to focus his passion into a project that could very well define his future. By Emily Wood  Finding friends in unlikely places – Jesse Sebastiani has some fun with new friends in a Montreal hotel, just a few of his now 7000 Facebook friends.  Hitching a ride – Jesse Sebastiani traveled across the country however he could, often by catching rides with some of his 7000 Facebook friends. Sebastiani is pictured above hitchhiking from Halifax on his way back West. |
|
Post date: 2013-11-07 20:58:33 Post date GMT: 2013-11-08 01:58:33 Post modified date: 2013-11-14 17:55:41 Post modified date GMT: 2013-11-14 22:55:41 |
|
Export date: Tue Jul 23 18:25:16 2024 / +0000 GMT This page was exported from Shelburne Free Press [ https://shelburnefreepress.ca ] Export of Post and Page has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.ProfProjects.com |
