Chris Dean’s heart stopped when he was two. He died but he came back. When he was five, his father was murdered, his body riddled with more than 20 bullets in a gang shootout. As I Am floats through this remarkable young man’s landscape, revealing the lives that have shaped his outlook. Ultimately, Chris’s trenchant perspective on all that he sees moves from the bleakness of poverty and pain to a powerful vision of survival and a reason for being in this world.
Director: Alan Spearman
Producers: Alan Spearman, Mark Adams, Chris Dean, The Commercial Appeal
videoLife stages
Grief, healing and laughter coexist at a unique retreat for widows and widowers
15 minutes
videoDemography and migration
In California’s farmlands, immigrant workers share their stories of toil and hope
17 minutes
videoMeaning and the good life
Wander through the English countryside with two teens trying to make sense of the world
10 minutes
videoBiology
An elegy for a dying microbe explores what we really mean by ‘death’
9 minutes
videoLife stages
What Michelangelo’s late-in-life works reveal about his genius – and his humanness
13 minutes
videoStories and literature
Robert Frost’s poetic reflection on youth, as read in his unforgettable baritone
5 minutes