For more updates follow the hashtag: #jpasia

Last year when we left everything behind to pursue the Jubilee Project full-time, one of our big projects was to create a film about the end of AIDS. You may remember our fundraiser, which came down to a thrilling last 24 hours when we still needed $10,000 and ended up surpassing our goal and raising $41,000.

Because of your generosity and love, we have been able to make films such as “Fireflies”, “The Last Pick”, and “The Master Chef”, partner with amazing organizations such as the Jeremy Lin Foundation, and now travel to Indonesia to film our next big project.

This next film is called “The EndGame” and it’s a story about a global movement to end AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We’re here in Indonesia to film compelling stories about people who are living with HIV/AIDS. We want to share the story of someone like Dina, who is a pregnant woman with HIV and has trouble accessing treatment that can save her and her baby’s life; or someone like Donna, who is a single mother with HIV and joined the national women’s soccer team to make her son proud.

“The EndGame” is a quest to end the deadliest diseases of our time. We’d love for you to join us on this adventure. Follow us as we keep you updated on everything that we experience at #JPAsia.

Twitter: @jubileeproject
Instagram: @jubileeproject
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jubileeproject
Blog: http://www.jubileeproject.org

We’re staying at Rumah Cemara – which is a local HIV organization and we’ve already made several friends. Most of those at this organization are former drug addicts who are HIV-positive. It’s become quite clear already that we’re going to meet some amazing people and encounter some incredible narratives.

We’ll be live-sharing via Twitter, FB, & Instagram via the hashtag: #JPAsia so make sure to follow along for daily check-ins as it’s much easier than blogging even!

Thanks for all of your best wishes!

In 2003, Christine Ha was diagnosed with a disease that caused her blindness. She didn’t think that she could move on, and felt devastated and alone. But through her love for cooking and the people around her, she started to see her purpose in life. By picking herself up, Christine became the first blind contestant on the hit reality TV show, MasterChef.

TWEET US:
What is your dream? Let us know by tweeting us and we will choose 5 winners who will receive Christine’s cookbook, autographed and shipped to you, when it comes out in May. To be eligible, include the following in your tweet: @MC3Christine @jubileeproject #mcfilm http://bit.ly/mcfilm

BEHIND THE SCENES:
Video
Director’s Commentary

MUSIC:
Piano soundtrack by Chris Changchien:
www.claudeo.com
“Baby It’s You” by Arden Cho:
www.youtube.com/user/ardenBcho
“Something to Believe in” by New Heights:
www.youtube.com/user/newheightsmusic

FOLLOW GRACE SU: www.youtube.com/user/Peachies
FOLLOW KI HONG LEE: www.youtube.com/user/thekihonglee

MASTERCHEF: http://www.fox.com/masterchef/

One of the greatest joys about being a filmmaker is having the privilege of sharing a beautiful story. Jason, Eddie and I are lucky to be in a position where we hear a lot of amazing stories. Our goal, ultimately, is to tell stories that can change lives.

When I first heard about Christine Ha through a friend, her story brought tears to my eyes. Like me, many have already been inspired by her success as the first blind contestant for the hit reality TV show MasterChef. But what I really wanted to understand was how she dealt with becoming blind and how she picked herself back up. The same friend who told me about Christine knew her husband John, so he put me in touch with them about making a short film.

This was our first narrative film based on a real person, so our biggest priority was to focus on telling a story that reflected Christine’s true character. While it helped that we were able to talk to Christine on the phone, we faced a much-welcomed challenge of having to really get to know her on a deep level. We learned about her journey and faith to find meaning in life after she lost her sense of identity and purpose. We learned about her childhood and how she regrets not having a closer relationship with her mother, who passed away when Christine was 14 years old. We learned about her battle with clinical depression and the stigma she encountered because of her Asian heritage. At one point, Christine and I read through the script together to figure out the things she would say and how she would say them.

The film begins in 1999 when Christine was in college at the University of Texas in August, and each sequence represents a year later as her vision gets worse. The doctors initially were confused what was happening, but she was eventually diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO), a rare disease that attacks her spinal cord and optic nerves, causing paralysis and blindness. There was a time in 2002 when she was working as a computer programmer, she became paralyzed from the neck down. It took 9 months for her to recover from that attack. The next several years were some dark years as she felt a sense of worthlessness, hopelessness, and depression. By 2007, her eyesight had decreased to where it is today.

We see a progression of Christine’s vision loss from her own point of view (POV), which shows not only the extent of her vision loss, but also symbolically how she used to be more self-centered. As an only child, Christine shared that she likes being in control. So when her vision disappeared, one of her greatest fears was losing a sense of independence. But simultaneously as her vision disappeared, she learned how to let go of her desire to control, how to see things from different perspectives, and how to empathize with other people’s struggles.

She learned all of this because she knew what it was like to go through pain. One of her most vivid memory during that time was struggling to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As she tried putting the sandwich together, she was making a huge mess, couldn’t spread the peanut butter and jelly on the bread uniformly, and had trouble putting the slices of bread together. Although it may have been “just a sandwich,” she broke down in tears because that’s when it clicked that she wouldn’t be able to do the things she loved anymore.

What fascinated me around the same time was her budding romance with John. During their first date, John awkwardly tries to get used to being with someone who is blind and figure out what exactly Christine can see. Our producer, Carolyn, found this beautiful location near the ocean for us to shoot the first date scene, which was a flashback during a moment when John is trying to cheer Christine up. What drew me to their relationship were the day-to-day challenges that they go through. Christine has a strong personality and enjoys doing things by herself, but as her vision got worse, she reluctantly learns how to depend on John for things she normally could do in the past – reading the mail, grocery shopping, and getting dressed. There are times, however, when she fears becoming a burden. But John also learns how to be patient, and he finds ways to love Christine through daily acts of service and kindness. Through the film, we wanted to portray this kind of sacrificial love, but at the same time we wanted to show that sacrifice is hard and not glamorous. John struggles as he stares at a wedding ring and contemplates a life of difficulty he’ll have to go through with Christine.

Although John helps Christine a lot, Christine desires to pick herself up and reclaim her own life.  She knows that she has to rely on others for certain things, but she also wants to live a normal life and doesn’t want others treating her differently just because she can’t see. Through the montage scene, she learns how to cook by relying more on her sense of taste, smell and touch. She learns how to use a computer through a software called Voiceover, and she starts blogging and writing by taking creative writing classes at a nearby University. Surprisingly after losing her vision, she’s more willing to take risks and goes skiing and skydiving for the first time in her life, which we were able to use actual footage of her doing that.

The last scene highlights her success both as a person and as a contestant on MasterChef. Because the show is aired after it’s filmed, John and Christine have it on TV in the background as they eat dinner, more focused on their love for each other. Ki Hong, the actor who plays John, does a Gordon Ramsey impersonation that was actually taken from one of the episodes when Ramsey describes Christine’s apple pie. We see how far Christine has come along when she reveals that she was able to make a PBJ sandwich all by herself.

When I talked to Christine on the phone, one thing shared was her struggle with the media’s false portrayal of her, either as an innocent angel or as a gimmick for ratings on MasterChef. In reality, she characterizes herself as someone who enjoys crude and sarcastic humor, who cusses often, and who often feels anxious and stressed about being in the limelight. This gave us an extra layer of responsibility and desire to portray her as faithfully as possible. Grace, the actress who plays Christine, and I watched video clips over and over again that Christine sent of herself cooking, eating, walking, reading, and interacting with people. I will, however, be the first to admit that not everything in our film is 100% true. Certain scenes were written to fit everything compellingly into a short amount of time. But I don’t want my decisions, right or wrong, as a filmmaker to detract from Christine’s story, which by itself is genuine and inspiring – reminding us that no matter the odds, you can achieve your dreams.

 More BTS photos:

Photos by Hannah Gweun (www.hannahgweun.com/)

This film was produced this past summer to support the Jeremy Lin Foundation (@jlinfoundation). The Foundation loves and serves children and youth, by providing hope, empowerment and leadership development.

To learn more about the Foundation and join our efforts, please visit our website http://jeremylinfoundation.org

Written, Produced & Directed by Jubilee Project. The Jubilee Project produces films for a good cause. Watch and follow them: http://www.jubileeproject.org | @jubileeproject | http://www.youtube.com/jubileeproject

Watch “The Last Pick” bloopers & behind the scenes here: http://bit.ly/lastpickbts

Watch the short film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3cfLvCsm54

#TheLastPick

Follow Jubilee Project:
http://www.youtube.com/jubileeproject
http://facebook.com/jubileeproject
http://www.twitter.com/jubileeproject

This film was produced to support the Jeremy Lin Foundation (JLINF). The Foundation loves and serves children and youth, by providing hope, empowerment and leadership development. To learn more about JLINF and to join their efforts, please visit their website http://jeremylinfoundation.org

Jubilee Project partnered with the Jeremy Lin Foundation to write and produce this short film, featuring Jeremy Lin, Demitris Dajoun, and Kevin Mimms. This is a trailer for the film, which will be released soon on Jeremy’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/thejlin7.

Cheers to the beginning of an amazing year!

Grateful,

The Jubilee Project

Looking back, it’s been a truly incredible month. From the time you pledged your commitment to this campaign to your final donations on Day 12, you have gone out of your way to make those around you know they are loved. With over 400 of you participating this month, your small acts have made huge differences. We can’t thank you enough for traveling on this crazy adventure with us and for believing in the power of kindness. Your words of encouragement in emails, comments and tweets make us excited to continue filming and creating campaigns that challenge the ways of the world. Coming into 2013, we hope you take the kindness and experiences you have gained from the 12 Days of Kindness and paying them forward into the new year. You have made our dreams of changing the world reality, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Happy New Years y’all!