I AM

The documentary film I AM is the story of a man who had it all until something happened to make him realize he might have it all…wrong. After a near-death cycling accident, Hollywood film director Tom Shadyac decided to spark a conversation around two basic questions: what’s wrong with the world, and what can we do about it?

And so Shadyac traveled the globe interviewing today’s greatest thinkers and spiritual leaders. And while he may have been filming a documentary, his film reveals a plot twist straight out of a blockbuster movie: scientific proof that we are all connected. By the final scene, it’s clear that while he started out asking what’s wrong with our world, he ended up discovering what’s right with it.

Shadyac has worked with renowned comedic actors like Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, and Steve Carell. His portfolio boasts popular comedy films, including Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, and Evan Almighty. Nevertheless, I AM stands in stark contrast to his previous works as it draws inspiration directly from his own life experiences.

[Editor's Note: At 28:54, the filmmaker shows the infamous clip from Un Chien Andalou, the 1929 surrealist film by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, featuring the slicing of what appears to be a woman's eyeball, but is actually a deceased cow's eyeball. Some people find this very tough to watch. It was meant to shock, and it does.]

Director: Tom Shadyac Featuring: Tom Shadyac, Ray Anderson, Marc Ian Barasch, Coleman Barks, Noam Chomsky, Desmond Tutu, Howard Zinn, Lynne McTaggart, Thom Hartmann Production Company: Shady Acres Release Date: February 2011 Audio Languages: English