Back in December 2007 I wrote here about the attempts being made by my good friend David Henderson (an Emmy Award-winning journalist and writer) to get the story of Charles Ellis and his amazing diaries turned into a made-for-TV movie.
The barber and his diaries
Charles Ellis was a Black American barber in a small town in the Midwest in the years leading up to the Great Depression.
In 1927, on his 40th birthday, he resolved to bring focus, meaning and inspiration to every moment of his life, and he started to write a diary. He kept the diary faithfully for 44 years until his death in 1971 at the age of 84.
This is not the diary of an angry man. Nor is it the diary of a victim. Far from it. Rather, this is the diary of a quiet, reflective, spiritually strong man, who resolved to live by his faith and principles, whatever the challenges and tests he faced in life.
The diaries and the film
The project is now gathering momentum. Director and screenwriter Kevin Willmott (“CSA: Confederate States of America” and “Bunker Hill”) has joined the project and Outpost Worldwide (to whom the copyright on the story belongs) is the production company. An introduction to the story is now on YouTube, and you can watch it right here on BQ.
The barber’s family
Charles Ellis was the founder of a remarkable family and I have just had the great privilege of spending some time at a Bahá’í gathering in Italy with his daughter Wilma, of whom I wrote in December 2007:
Wilma’s penetrating wit and intelligence maker her a spiritually uplifting person to know and converse with. Amongst her many other qualities and accomplishments, her years of service at senior levels to the Baha’i Faith, including her time as the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the UN, are, I am sure, a reflection of the spiritual and intellectual quality of her heritage.
I hope the film gets made soon. It’s a story that needs to be told.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Charles Ellis, diaries, film
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