Filmmakers Making A Social Impact: Why & How Filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz of IronZeal Films Is Helping To Change Our World
If you follow your passion, you will want to do the best job possible and your chance of success increases. Pursuing what you like to do is a success in itself. When I make a film, it is always because I am passionate about the subject. There are so many facets to filmmaking, and each has to be executed well in order to accurately portray the story you want to tell. This is fun and challenging, and is an immense amount of work, but when the film is finished and the vision realized, this to me is the meaning of success.
As a part of our series about “Filmmakers Making A Social Impact” I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Polis Schutz.
Susan Polis Schutz is an accomplished writer, poet, committed feminist, and documentary filmmaker. She began her writing career at the age of seven, producing a neighborhood newspaper for her friends in the small country town of Peekskill, New York, where she was raised. Upon entering her teen years, she began writing poetry as a means of understanding her feelings. She continued her writing while attending Rider University, where she majored in English and biology and later received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. Following her graduation from Rider, she entered a graduate program in physiology, while at the same time teaching elementary school in Harlem and contributing freelance articles to newspapers and magazines. Today, she is the author of many best-selling books of poetry illustrated by her husband, Stephen Schutz, including To My Daughter with Love on the Important Things in Life, which has sold over 1.8 million copies. Her poems have been published on over 450 million books and greeting cards worldwide. Susan’s latest undertaking is creating documentary films that make a difference in people’s lives with her production company, IronZeal Films™. Her newest film is Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats.
Thank you so much for doing this interview with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you share your “backstory” that brought you to this career?
I’ve always been interested in helping people understand themselves, the world and to better communicate with each other.
I have written poetry my whole life, and my husband Stephen Schutz has created artwork. When we got married, we didn’t like separating to go to our jobs. As a hobby, Steve hand lettered poems of mine about friendship, love, and peace. He made a silkscreen printing gadget and we silkscreened a dozen posters. We wanted people to better understand their feelings and felt that our posters might help them. When we showed it to our friends, they told us that we should sell them to stores.
We sold our posters to a bookstore, and they sold right out. The store wanted to order more. We then bought a pickup truck with a small camper attached to the truck bed and traveled for a year selling posters to stores all over the country. This was the beginning of Blue Mountain Arts. Since then, my poems have been published in over 450 million greeting cards, books, and calendars worldwide.
Many years later, I started to make films as a visual extension of what I’ve done throughout my career: helping to create human understanding. I have directed and produced nine documentaries with this goal in mind. My latest is Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats. The film follows six groups across the country and around the world who are doing the hard work of bringing people together across historic rifts.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When we first made posters, we stopped on the side of a road in a mountain town and taped our posters to our car with a for sale sign to each poster. Not one person stopped to even look at them. After standing in the hot sun all day we realized that this was not the way to sell posters!
Lesson learned! It’s great to try out new methods of doing things, but if your actions don’t work out, move on.
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
During the Israeli/Palestinian crisis, I interviewed, for Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats, the founder of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, Micah Hendler, as well as leaders and young chorus members. Despite a war, bombings etc., the youth from the choir continued to meet weekly to talk and sing. Their souls ached, but their spirits rallied them to continue to perform their concerts.
Despite the tragic situation, Micah recently told me as the members embarked on a concert tour, “The chorus is strong and supporting each other… and the message we have to send is just so needed.”
Another interesting person I interviewed for a different film was folk music icon and activist, Pete Seeger. He vividly discussed why and how he fought for the rights of people including the protests and marches he attended. But I could not get him to talk at all about personal things. It was the most fascinating interview I ever did, but also the most frustrating, because I wanted him to talk about himself, but he was only interested in history and world events. He truly was a man without an ego.
Which people in history inspire you the most? Why?
Gandhi taught us about non-violence.
Nelson Mandela taught us to never give up and to fight for equality regardless of consequences.
Joan Baez not only sang beautiful songs, but her songs promoted peace and equality. She also has been an activist her whole life, often putting her career in peril and inspiring women to be independent, strong, and outspoken. Her voice brought out our emotions in a very deep way, encouraging us to love even more.
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview, how are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting social impact causes you are working on right now?
With every film I make, I try to help people understand and feel better about themselves and the world.
In my current film, Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats, I focus on six organizations that are bringing people with differences together. The film will begin broadcasting on public television stations April 1, and it will air on WORLD Channel starting Wednesday, April 17, at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific. (Click on local listings at the end of the interview.) Starting April 1, it will be available to stream on PBS.org and the PBS App.
Our society is sadly very divided. Showcasing these organizations is a counterbalance to the negativity we see and hear in the media each day.
During this time of strife, the film shows what human beings are truly capable of when we meet one another with an eagerness to engage. It taps into our common humanity and reminds us that no matter where we are from, what we look like and what we believe, we are all the same.
I want to bring attention to the important work these organizations are doing to make significant change in our society. And I want to motivate more people to seek ways of bridging divides.
Another film I made was The Homeless Chorus Speaks (2018). Trying to help solve the problems of homelessness has been a particular passion of mine. I interviewed two women who started the Voices of Our City Choir for the homeless in San Diego, as well as sixteen homeless choir members. We got to understand their lives, realizing that they are human beings just like you and me, but they are very down on their luck. They should be respected and treated in a humane way. Like everyone, they must have a home and medical care to survive.
It’s so important to turn the camera on the pressing issues of the day, so that we can work to solve them.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and take action for this cause? What was that final trigger?
When watching the news, I was getting so sad and depressed because of all the negativity and divisiveness.
I then read a story about Fandango Fronterizo, a group led by Jorge Castillo, who organizes a yearly celebration at the border for Americans and Mexicans to “sing, dance, eat, talk, play instruments!” It sounded like a beautiful concept. I decided to interview Jorge and other people who attended this jubilant celebration. Several singers told me that when they get together in this joyful way, “The high wall is there, but when we play music, it just disappears!”
The group was so inspiring, so I did research to see if there were other groups trying to bridge divides and I literally found hundreds. That was when I decided to make a film showing how groups of people can come together by sharing activities despite any differences they have. And they always conclude that human beings are more alike than different.
I want to live in a world like the one these groups are building, not the mean, divisive world we currently live in. I want Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats to inspire people to form their own groups in order to make the world much nicer and more loving.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
I have received hundreds of letters about how my films have affected people. For instance, after my first film, Anyone and Everyone, LGBT kids thanked me for showing them how parents felt when they found out that their kids were gay and how the kids felt when they told their families. They gained strength realizing that they were not alone.
This has been very fulfilling to me as I had been inspired to become a filmmaker and to tell that story in particular because of my own son, Jared Polis, who is America’s first openly gay governor in Colorado.
Another example is, in 1986 I wrote a book to my daughter called To My Daughter on the Important Things in Life. It sold over 1,800,000 copies and is still in stores today.
Many mothers have written to me how they gave the book to their daughters, who in turn, gave it to their daughters. And they thanked me for expressing what they feel about their daughters but could not verbalize.
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
I think as individuals we simply need to be kind, honest, respectful and have empathy for others. Be curious about other cultures, talk to and get to know people living in different situations than yours and find places and ways to come together in community regularly. We are all one regardless of any differences we might have.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Ignore naysayers.
When I decided to make my first documentary, people told me that I had no training in this field. I felt that making a movie was similar to editing a book. You weave together a collection of interviews into a coherent work that tells a story. I knew what my story was, and I hoped that the viewer would come along with me on the journey. After interviewing the people in this film, there appeared to be a natural progression of ideas and revelations. I did not need to read books about filmmaking. To me, it’s a vision and a gut way to explain that vision.
2. Be creative and forge ahead with your vision. Our greeting cards were the first to communicate feelings such as love, friendship etc. People advised us that cards had to be for occasions like birthdays, but we only wanted to communicate emotions. Our cards were called “all-occasion alternative cards.” They communicated everyday feelings.
3. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. When I make films, I have very strong visions, ideas, goals, and purposes. And I know how I want to show them. This is the part of filmmaking that I love.
On the other hand, I don’t like or understand the technical part of making films; camera types, regulations, anything that involves the actual filming. So, I hire the best and most professional cinematographers and tell them what I want to accomplish, and I trust them to do it.
4. Find a way to balance your work, family life and everything else that is important.
When I dive into a passionate project like making a documentary, there are so many facets to consider and ideas flow 24/7. I’m often awakened at night with a new idea. It can become an obsession.
My family is the most important thing in my life, so I always will balance my work with my family and not let my filmmaking take over my personal life.
5. If you follow your passion, you will want to do the best job possible and your chance of success increases. Pursuing what you like to do is a success in itself. When I make a film, it is always because I am passionate about the subject. There are so many facets to filmmaking, and each has to be executed well in order to accurately portray the story you want to tell. This is fun and challenging, and is an immense amount of work, but when the film is finished and the vision realized, this to me is the meaning of success.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Some people have very difficult lives. It is up to you and me to help them.
Be brave and speak out about the things you care about. You can make a difference.
We are very blessed that many other Social Impact Heroes read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would like to collaborate with, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂
Joan Baez. I would make a film about peace and music, and she would sing all the songs.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come.” — Nelson Mandela.
This quote appears at the beginning of Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats. To me, this is a quote that both is personal and one that applies to all of us. We live in a wonderfully diverse world. The time has come when we must focus on the things that unite us so that we as individuals and as a society can grow and thrive. As one Muslim woman said, “I have two children, both very different from each other. But I love them the same. So why can’t we all love each other even if we are different?”
Bridging Divides: Sharing Heartbeats, will air on public television stations across the country in April as well as on WORLD Channel. The film is presented by KPBS San Diego. You can check your local listings at: www.ironzealfilms.org/bridging-divides/showings.php.
How can our readers follow you online?
My production company’s website is: https://www.ironzealfilms.org/
Follow me on Facebook at:
Susan Polis Schutz
https://www.facebook.com/susanpolisschutzpublic/
Bridging Divide: Sharing Heartbeats
https://www.facebook.com/BridgingDividesSharingHeartbeats
This was great, thank you so much for sharing your story and doing this with us. We wish you continued success!
Filmmakers Making A Social Impact: Why & How Filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz of IronZeal Films Is… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.