1000 Journals

In a surprising region where art, performance, psychology and interactivity overlap, during the summer of 2000 a wonderful project was born. A San Francisco artist who mysteriously calls himself 'Someguy' began a unique adventure that touched thousands of people all over the world. He compiled and released 1000 blank writing journals into the world - placing them in cafes, restaurants, parks, bookstores, on streets, and in many other places where random people would be likely to find them. He invited people to contribute some content, then pass them on, and asked that the filled journals be returned. His message to those who found the journals said: 'This is an experiment and you are part of it.' Someguy's inspiration for creating this project came from his fascination with messages that people scribble on bathroom walls. Three years later, only 1 journal had come back to him. His curiosity was overwhelming - he wondered where the other 999 journals had disappeared to, so he tried to find them. Southern California filmmaker Andrea Kreuzhage chose to follow this quest and deeply immersed herself in the human drama of it. She joined Someguy to document the bizarre and always interesting story of what happened to these journals and this unique experiment, and the process took her around the world. She found herself on a wild treasure hunt which included many wonderful and fascinating people, and a singular look at a whole new world of art, serendipity and possibility. In fact, she discovered a microcosm of human nature, personalities and experiences that left me breathless with the sheer brilliance of it. This film is not to be missed! In some strange way the journals became therapeutic experiences for some of those who found them, and acted like a mirror for others. It opened up many people's worlds and changed many lives as some pondered why this experience touched them. For others it motivated them to face some parts of themselves that they had never dealt with before, or even realized existed. This film, which is masterful in both concept and execution, expresses the enormous range of creativity of the artist, the filmmaker and the people who contributed to the experiment, and the drive to creatively collaborate. It's an exciting exploration of a variety of emotions, from joy to rage and everything in between. Perhaps most important, it's about the juiciness of surprise and the belief in hope and the goodness of people. Like most truly great works, it has a deeply satisfying and uplifting way of pointing out universal themes and puts a focus on our humanity and our instinct for contribution and sharing. This is a unique and deeply moving film that has stayed in my awareness since I saw it. It will be equally interesting to people whose world is related to art in their every day lives, and to those who have little opportunity for creative expression. -Karil Daniels --Rotten Tomatoes