- From John Priddy

Please enjoy “Little Red Plane,” a six-minute, award-winning, beautifully animated short that’s been screened worldwide, receiving both critical and technical acclaim. Filmmaker Joey Jones is one of my all-time favorite people. In this film, he and partner Wira Winata have captured the simple moments of childhood as the background to a story full of heart. I like that. And I believe you will, too.

“Little Red Plane” is the tale of a young boy whose imagination takes him on a spiritual journey through the skies. In a tree house, safe from the world around him, the little boy immerses himself in dreams of flying and memories of his absent dad. The boy pilots a little red plane that glides through the clouds beside his father, who is piloting a fighter plane. When pursued by enemy planes, the boy and his father dodge bullets with stunt tricks and perilous maneuvers. An extremely detailed and vivid animation, this film encourages us to hold on to our dreams and to keep hope alive in our hearts.

Also …

We have been collaborating with Heather Rae on a documentary about the overwhelming challenges facing the U.S. foster care system. I stopped by the studio last week to find her, and fellow filmmakers Russell Friedenberg and Randy Redroad, putting the final touches on the film. They’ve put in almost two years of shooting, writing and editing, and now I asked them to summarize their central theme in one sentence. Russ gave me just one word: fatherlessness.

We are also working with Hilla Medalia  and Rosie O’Donnell on a documentary called “After the Storm.” The film looks at the demise of St. Mark’s community center in post-Katrina New Orleans, the storm’s utter devastation of the center’s immediate neighborhood, and the inspiring tale of its resurgence. A deeper look at the situation uncovers the fact that most community centers in New Orleans have not reopened, and many neighborhoods continue to struggle. More importantly, 90 percent of the families who rely on those centers are headed by a single parent; 90 percent of those households are headed by a mother or grandmother. Fatherlessness.

Until now, I hadn’t really considered the theme of families without fathers, nor had I noticed how it’s integral to both the foster care and Katrina films. When I did an Internet search on “fatherlessness,” I realized I wasn’t alone in exploring the topic.

For example, I read an article, “Guess what troubles young people the most?” by Katherine Kersten, who answers her own rhetorical question, telling us that young people often struggle due to family breakups and missing their fathers. …

President Obama has warned that America has a “growing culture of fatherlessness.” …

Actor Alec Baldwin, interestingly, faults “feminist laws” that help build a culture that fosters fatherlessness through a lack of concern over divorce.

Pastor Ed Piorek has spent much of the last 20 years examining the spiritual aspects of fatherlessness, and suggests our search begins early in life, as we look to our natural fathers for love, yet so often fail to find it. Due in part to challenges in relating to his own father, Piorek’s ministry and message look heavenward for paternal answers. “We now live in what many are calling a ‘fatherless generation’ that yearns for this missing love,” he says. “At this crucial time the Father is revealing His tender love for His children throughout the world.”  

“Little Red Plane” stirred me to think further about fathers and fatherlessness. How do I view the subject, and will we, the fathers of the upcoming generation, stand by — or step up — as a culture is formed?

“The deepest search in life, it seemed to me, the thing that in one way or another was central to all living was man’s search to find a father, not merely the father of his flesh, not merely the lost father of his youth, but the image of strength and wisdom external to his need and superior to his hunger, to which the belief and power of his own life could be united.” – Thomas Wolfe