If Dan Parris isn’t editing his latest footage, he might be dumpster diving for food. You might find him hitchhiking across Europe, or walking through the slums of Africa.
In 2008, Parris started Speak Up International, an organization whose mission is “to make documentaries and narratives that both speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves and to speak up about Truth found in all aspects of life.” Parris is a filmmaking school graduate from St. Louis. His 2005 trip to Africa fueled his passion to raise awareness for poverty and to not forget the forgotten. Parris loves to see young people of the world be transformed and moved to action. He is devoted to “connecting those who need something to live for with those who need something to live.”
Speak Up International hopes to accomplish this through making documentaries that “aren’t your typical documentary.” They want to make movies that are entertaining but have an impact.
“Thinking about the future career you want, don’t think about ‘what the worlds needs but ask yourself what makes you come alive’: what make you passionate, what breaks your heart. Ask yourself those questions, ‘and go do that. What the world needs is people who have come alive’” said Dan Parris (quoting John Eldrige).
In filming their latest movie, Parris and a few others would document their journey across the world. Like many people in the world, they would try to survive on a $1.25 a day for lodging, food, transportation, clothing—everything. They agreed that they would only accept one free meal a day, if offered to them. The journey began on July 4th, 2009. The heart of the film is the interaction between Parris and his atheist friend Rob Lehr. Lehr says he does not see why he should “give a damn” about poor people halfway across the world. From this quote the documentary was named Give a Damn?
In pursuit of the answer to the question the title asks, Lehr, Parris, and their friend David Peterka hitchhiked from St. Louis to New York. From there, they took a plane to London and made their way through Europe. Then they took a ferry to Cairo, Egypt and caught a plane to Kenya. They would then travel across East Africa, still living in extreme poverty and giving voice to the people there.
Plans came to a screeching halt on August 1st, at 3pm, Kenya time. Lehr and Parris were taking aerial footage of the Kibera Slum, outside of Nairobi, Kenya when the small plane lost altitude and the wing hit a telephone pole. This sent it smashing into a 3-story apartment building. Lehr was the only one conscious when the plane hit the ground in flames. He quickly pulled Parris out of the plane and went back to unbuckle the unconscious flight-engineer from his seatbelt. A man on the ground pulled Lehr, Parris, and the flight-engineer Ryan away from the plane and into a car that rushed them to a Nairobi hospital.
The missionary pilot was killed upon impact, leaving a wife and four young children. The flight-engineer, who was also a missionary with a family, died of his wounds. Parris and Lehr suffered severe burns, broken bones, and shock, but are thankful to have survived. “Be prepared for hard work and disappointment and struggle, it is worth it in the end.” said Parris.
Both of them are now back in the U.S. Almost all of their filmmaking equipment was destroyed. Fortunately, they did not lose any of their footage.
“The accident has left me an emotional wreck, and there are so many things that put me over the edge.” said Lehr.
Right now, Speak Up International is in need of money to finish the movie.
“Please donate, even if it’s just $5 it will help us finish the film.” Said Parris.
However, the project is not at a stand-standstill. Give a Damn? team members Tim and David Peterka, were not in the accident. They plan to continue on with the filming as they journey across Africa. The Peterka brothers are currently in Rwanda and still living on $1.25.
Though it may take a little longer, the movie will still get made. It will have an unexpected twist to it. If Speak Up was only going to burn the documentary to a DVD and show it to people, it would be finished by next spring of summer. Because the goal is to get it in theaters, the process may take a year and a half to two years. As they move forward, the production company will dedicate the documentary to the two men who died in the plane crash.
To learn more go to: speakupproductionsco.com or giveadamndoc.com