I knew ‘Gone Fishing’ would always lead to unexpected places… It opened doors in Hollywood, took me around the world to amazing festivals and lead to amazing meetings. I had always imagined its success would be defined in ‘film making opportunities’. What has surprised me though is just how much difference it appears to have made to some peoples lives. I have reported many times on the blog about how some people, especially those who have suffered bereavement, felt compelled to write to me and say ‘thank you…’

So a few weeks back I got an email from a lady who said she had seen ‘Gone Fishing’ on Channel Four when it screened, and asked if she could use it with her group… Here’s the letter (and card pictured) that I just received back (abridged for privacy)…

Dear Chris… we recently showed your DVD 'Gone Fishing' to a group of seven young people between the ages of 13 and 15 years of age. 6 out of the 7 have recently lost a parent the other had lost her best friend…

The group we run is called WYNGS which means Working with Young people needing Grief Support. We work with children between the ages of 6 and 16 years of age. The children attend an 8 week programme during which time we work on memories, feelings, moving on and coping strategies. We use lots of art and creative ideas throughout the programme and usually see some very positive results…

We will continue to use the DVD within our sessions as it really has been a valuable tool… Thank you from all the staff and young people of WYNGS and good luck with your future productions.
Kind Regards
Sharon Jones

Sharon enclosed a card with hand written messages form all the young people.

Blimey. To know that the work you have done really has made a difference is extraordinary. It’s what get’s me through the very toughest of days.

Everyone involved in 'Gone Fishing' should be very proud, be it one of our Associate Producers who contributed some money, a crew member who bust their guts during production, an actor who gave as much as they had, one of our facilities partners who generously donating services and expertise or everyone else involved…

The card that Sharon sent literally brought tears to my eyes when I read it. And then all over again, later that night, when I showed it Lucia my girlfriend. Phew!

If you still have not seen it, you can get Gone Fishing on DVD and BluRay here… and it's also on iTunes too. There is a trailer here too.

Again. Phew! Right.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com