Good humans doing great things and the non-linear path to discovering your passion

I say this with _every_ episode, but truly this is one not to miss! We take a bit of a turn in our conversation with today's guest because we are talking to a scholar who's research and scholarship is in the creative area--documentary film to be exact. If you thought all professors did was boring stuff, today's guest--John Haley--will break that notion. John tells us about how he grew up watching films with his family, and how those early experiences started him down a path of discovery with film and documentary storytelling. John worked with Americorps immediately after graduation, and it was his experiences there that led him to identify some of the first stories he began to tell in film. John tells character-driven stories that center on the intersection of personal identity and societal structures. As he explains in today's episode,  his films grapple with contentious issues such as the death penalty and electoral politics through the lens of specific characters, contextualizing these social structures through distinct perspectives in pursuit of nuance and a more truthful, holistic understanding of reality. His award-winning films have screened at Wisconsin Film Festival, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, Tallgrass, Reeling, Sidewalk, CUFF.Docs, Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Nevada City, and EarthxFilm, among others.

You can follow John on Twitter @johnhaley_

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