Tag: love
Friends, Film Lovers and Fellow Bloggers Everywhere…I Need Your Help!
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are forced (without a choice) to do something that your heart and mind tells you not to? Have you ever been torn between your passions and your family’s expectations? These two dilemmas and very real issues came across so profoundly in a film trailer I watched that I had to write more than one review for it. The Forbidden Note is a British Indie Film which captures the emotions, struggle and deep love felt by two people who cannot bare to be without each other.
‘Cosmo, a South African pianist falls in love with Sakeena a British Muslim ballerina, who is forced into an arranged marriage by her abusive radicalised Uncle. Through their struggle, Cosmo tries to show that the power of love, is far more important than the love for power’.
We are lead to believe that we are living in the age of the freedom to choose and live as we see fit but this heart-wrenching tale of forbidden love gives us a glimpse of the reality for many young people in the western world…believe it or not. Independent film makers are a rare breed, creators of visions that provoke and make us think how lucky we are and Callum Andrew Johnston has, with respect, written and directed a story which is familiar, authentic and powerful.
Callum will tell you that the film making journey from start to finish was not without its ups and downs but his own passion for the delicate subject matter of the film gave him the strength to see it though. Now, there is a new journey ahead of him; distribution. We can all see this beautifully crafted Indie Film but we need your help. I’m not the kind of person to ask for anything, I have a stubborn, I can do it alone streak but this isn’t about me, it’s about Callum after getting to know him and the hopes he has for his sincere piece of work. If you could give The Forbidden Note a few minutes of your time, it would mean the world, if we can hit 100k YouTube views we will all have the opportunity to see The Forbidden Note on our screens.
I would like to add that The Forbidden Note was selected and shown at the Cannes Film Festival this year to great reviews. A truly worthy film will evoke emotions you were not expecting to pour out of you; tears of joy or tears of sorrow? There is only one way to find out.
© Michelle Sotiriou 2015
Thank you, Michelle x
Does He Represent You? How I Nearly Choked on My Chips!
On your daily Google search, do you find thought-provoking quotes harder to come by? I’ve struggled to find ones that either make me giggle or think, “Nice one”!! So when I do discover what I see as a gem, I become quite giddy with ideas, planning my next blog post to pay homage to a few words that gave me a eureka moment. My most recent find was this, ‘Choose your lady wisely. She represents you.’
I was poised to write about how men see a lady, how men choose this vision in their minds to walk down the aisle, the red carpet or the garden path if she isn’t a lady in his eyes. After a very chatty ladies lunch (because even ladies love to eat) and after a belly full of fish n chips I decided to flip this quote and give it a makeover, if you will. ‘Choose your gentleman wisely. He represents you’.
Honestly, I nearly choked on my chips after hearing of un-gentlemanly methods used and of course, the question of do we attract them popped up like the pesky peas on my plate. Maybe the law of attraction is part of it but as I have written before, this only serves to make us look inside ourselves to take responsibility. I call this the law of letting someone else off, free, so they can do it again to someone else.
It is so important and healthy in any relationship for both to look at themselves, without ego, to change what isn’t working and most importantly to stop making someone feel like they are worthless. This has nothing to do with any law, quote or psalm but has everything to do with common sense and manners.
If he is treating you less like a lady and more like a doormat, do you think it’s ok for his feet to dirty your spirit? If she isn’t treating you like the gentleman you are, or are striving to be, why have the headache, why be close to someone who will embarrass you and make your efforts appear laughable?
What was interesting to me as we got to the profiteroles, was hearing how people who hurt you once have been allowed to creep back in. I have to say that the responsibility does fall on the person who re-opened the door. One of my friends always says, “Send them love and light”, I do, I send them love and enough light so they can see their way out! It can take a lot for me to see the light but when I do, there is no going back and I never have.
If someone has the ability to make you feel small, ashamed and wields their choice weapon of harsh words or actions intending to sabotage the hard work you have put into yourself, how can they be a true representation of you and why would you want them to be?
© Michelle Sotiriou 2015
The Power of The Father – Your Rock!
It’s Good Friday and I’m home alone anticipating an afternoon of snacking and biblical film watching. Biblical films may not bring warmth to everyone’s crib, heart or mind but I like them; I always have. I flick the channels in the hope of seeing Charlton Heston win a bloody chariot race when I come across another man who is just as impressive and bold. The Rock may not be a cinematic legend to all film junkies but I couldn’t help but be drawn into his charmingly enticing film ‘The Game Plan’.
Essentially, this is a film about The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) building a once lost relationship with his daughter and how he teaches her to be strong and never give up without trying her best. Very funny in parts and emotional in others, I grabbed the tissue box more than once. It got me thinking how important fathers are and the role they have which can be dismissed or not recognised as an intrinsic part of a son or daughters evolving life.
Whom ever coined the phrase, ‘be careful what you wish for’ really knew what they were talking about and my wish to watch a story about a father wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but its underlying message was just as important. We all know the worth of mothers and the bond that developes from the womb but I do feel that fathers are left a little to one side once their baby making duties are fulfilled.
It’s true that some are useless, absolutely useless in fact and I have seen at first hand the damage they cause because they are not ready to change, even for a life that they created. I have to say that I have experienced this type of father so when I see others who are totally committed to their children yet receive no mention, I feel it is time for them to be put on as high a pedestal as all mothers are.
The lessons, values and life-skills a father can teach their child are immeasurable and the time they spend doing so builds a special relationship which not only enhances a child’s confidence but also makes them aware that they are loved unconditionally without prejudice or judgement. Always there, always patient, knowing that their duty is to create grounded and self-assured adults.
With so many temptations and outside forces like the evil child catcher ready to pounce, a fathers role is more important now than ever before. Not all couples who create future generations make it, this is no excuse for a father to be any less involved. Stepping up, even on the hostile ground of a break-up really separates the men from the boys.
No parent should find themselves praying for the souls of their children, no parent should see their child in darkness and no child should suffer because of the sins of their father. Thanks to a wrestle mania giant, believe it or not, there was one message from ‘The Game Plan’ which stuck out further than his biceps; you man up not give up!
© Michelle Sotiriou 2015
She Be Fierce 