Save What You Love with Mark Titus

00:00:00:04 - 00:00:26:06
Mark Titus
Welcome to the Save What You Love podcast. I'm your host, Mark Titus. Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with my friends Todd Soliday and Leah Warshawski, who are amazing filmmakers. Todd and Leah are also a married couple, and they're in business together as partners in their production company, Inflatable film. They have created a ton of good work, but at the summit for me anyway, currently is their film Big Sonja.

00:00:26:08 - 00:01:04:08
Mark Titus
It's a feature documentary about Leah's grandmother, Sonya, who is a survivor of the Holocaust and who's standing at four foot eight inches packs a wallop of life, love, motivation and wisdom into her tiny frame and shares it with the world. Coming through her experience of a trauma most of us can't even comprehend. So on the show today, Leah and Todd talk about their craft, what it took to complete Big Sonja and what it took to complete the circle and get distribution on PBS, where Big Sonja is currently playing across the United States until the end of the year.

00:01:04:10 - 00:01:28:18
Mark Titus
Todd and Leah have also worked with me on my first two feature documentaries, The Breach in the Wild. Todd did all of the animation and the post-production supervision and the graphics. All the beautiful stuff you see on screen. Most of that is Todd's. And Leah is an impact producer on the wild and does an incredible job of bringing the message out into the world where people can actually take it, take action with it.

00:01:28:20 - 00:02:04:07
Mark Titus
So with that, I'm going to give you one last little plug here for the holiday season and an opportunity to get great, meaningful gifts at evaswild.com. That's the word save spelled backwards, wild dot com most notably a chef's box where your loved ones and your coworkers, your friends, your family can get two filets of frozen salmon, two alder planks, a jar of Tom Douglas's world famous salmon rub, and a really cool, eco conscious chef's apron.

00:02:04:09 - 00:02:39:09
Mark Titus
I also want to mention our partners at Magic Canoe, a group of storytellers here in Salmon Country that are doing transformative work and are wonderful creative partners in this storytelling journey we're on here together. So if you want to check them out there at magiccanoe.net for now, enjoy this amazing story about how to make a film, how to do it the right way and how to persevere because it takes a ton of perseverance to make this happen at all, and especially dealing with a story that deals with trauma at its core.

00:02:39:11 - 00:02:47:01
Mark Titus
And so with that, I give you Todd Soliday and Leah Warshawski.

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Music
How do you save what you love?
When the world is burning down?
How do you save what you love?
When pushes come to shove.
How do you say what you love?
When things are upside down.
How do you say what you love?
When times are getting tough.

00:03:20:21 - 00:03:27:08
Mark Titus
Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday. Welcome. Where are you guys coming to us from today?

00:03:27:10 - 00:03:33:21
Leah Warshawski
A rough life we're in. We're in Hawaii. We're in Maui at our home office.

00:03:33:23 - 00:04:01:11
Mark Titus
That is a good place to be on all counts. And I know that you bill yourselves as being omnipresent on the western part of the United States. And you've got some representation in Idaho, and sometimes you're around these parts in Seattle. That's pretty cool. Explain this. What do you guys do and how do you question or we're just trying to figure that out.

00:04:01:13 - 00:04:04:09
Todd Soliday
I do whatever she tells me to do.

00:04:04:11 - 00:04:20:12
Leah Warshawski
I mean, I went I went to school in Hawaii. I went to college in on Oahu and kind of always felt in my heart that I needed to be back in Hawaii on some level. And Todd grew up in Idaho.

00:04:20:14 - 00:04:28:02
Todd Soliday
Western Montana, Islands in the Idaho and lived in Seattle, worked in Seattle for 25 years and just need the mountains.

00:04:28:04 - 00:04:46:13
Leah Warshawski
But in the middle we met in Seattle and ended up, you know, living and working there for 10 to 20 years, on and off and still have a lot of friends, family and clients in and around Seattle. So we go between the three quite a bit.

00:04:46:15 - 00:05:03:03
Mark Titus
And it kind of leads into the next part of this, which is a little deeper dive into your story, like how you got into this work that you do. Lisa, I'll start with you. What what called you to storytelling? We called you to filmmaking in the first place.

00:05:03:04 - 00:05:35:13
Leah Warshawski
I actually got into filmmaking sort of on accident. It wasn't the path that I was going down. I studied Japanese in college and thought that I would go live in Japan and teach English. And while I was in college studying, I was working on a boat and doing whale watching and dolphin watching as a part time job and was crew on the boat and met someone on the boat who was the Marine co-ordinator for Baywatch at the time, and he was looking for an assistant.

00:05:35:18 - 00:05:38:22
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, and things kind of came together.

00:05:38:22 - 00:05:40:08
Todd Soliday
So she wasn't on before.

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Leah Warshawski
I wasn't on Baywatch.

00:05:42:02 - 00:05:42:20
Mark Titus
I was so.

00:05:42:22 - 00:05:46:19
Leah Warshawski
I was alone very much. I know people get that confused.

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Mark Titus
Although.

00:05:47:04 - 00:05:49:20
Todd Soliday
If you can see us now.

00:05:49:22 - 00:06:12:06
Leah Warshawski
I only have red bathing suits, but I. Yeah. Ended up working for him on a bunch of shows that was around the same time that Lost was filming and a couple of bigger movies that were all shot on Oahu and worked as his assistant, worked on the water quite a bit for film and television, and then decided to kind of do my own thing.

00:06:12:08 - 00:06:48:02
Leah Warshawski
And during the course of that, really got quite passionate about authentic storytelling. And at that time it was reality TV. But even that was closer to documentary than narrative. So I started understanding the power of of storytelling through film and, you know, began began exploring the world and telling some pretty heavy and dark, dark and light stories and and understanding more the power of documentary in particular.

00:06:48:04 - 00:06:56:14
Leah Warshawski
And I met Todd in the middle of that. We ended up going to Africa together, and here we are.

00:06:56:16 - 00:07:00:14
Todd Soliday
He makes it sound so smart and calculated and.

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Mark Titus
It.

00:07:01:02 - 00:07:02:07
Leah Warshawski
Was miscalculated.

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Todd Soliday
I have no idea how I ended up here.

00:07:07:14 - 00:07:25:15
Mark Titus
By hearing a water thread moving through this, which is yeah, because there's a lot of stories on this show that do have that water thread. I think we're kind of gravitate toward one another. Todd Is there is that similar for you? Is there a water thread in your story? Can you tell us more on yours?

00:07:25:17 - 00:07:58:04
Todd Soliday
Well, you know, my my work on the water really began with the earth. I'm a I'm a mountain mountain man. I grew up in the west western mountains and always by the water and in rivers and lakes. And then, of course, I lived in Seattle for four years, working in television news and always been by the water. But I think Lee and I, our first job together was filming for a.

00:07:58:06 - 00:07:59:21
Mark Titus
A.

00:07:59:23 - 00:08:35:19
Todd Soliday
Band of Hawaiian lifeguard superhero waterman, who came to Idaho to surf whitewater. And I mean, if falling in love with Lisa wasn't enough, that was like the gig to to cement our future together, I guess. I mean, we it was just the two of us producing, shooting, directing a short film that we shot going down the Salmon River with about 15 Hawaiian dinosaurs.

00:08:35:21 - 00:08:37:00
Mark Titus
Wow.

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Todd Soliday
Leah broke her leg on that one. And it's a good thing we had lifeguards.

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Mark Titus
Just.

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Leah Warshawski
Happily ever.

00:08:42:17 - 00:08:44:16
Todd Soliday
Yeah. And then here we are with that.

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Mark Titus
Sure. Baywatch training that really pushed you through that.

00:08:49:16 - 00:08:56:01
Leah Warshawski
But really, I mean, I was in serious training mode and yeah.

00:08:56:03 - 00:09:03:10
Mark Titus
How do you get your brain around Hawaiian Adonis surfing the Salmon River? That is so rad.

00:09:03:12 - 00:09:07:12
Todd Soliday
And they're doing it on stand, on stand up Paddleboards So literally, literally.

00:09:07:16 - 00:09:08:17
Leah Warshawski
Inflatable for.

00:09:08:18 - 00:09:13:19
Todd Soliday
Class three or four rapids on inflatable stand up surfboard.

00:09:13:21 - 00:09:19:21
Mark Titus
Now, was this original piece or is this like a branded piece? I know you all do both. And can you.

00:09:19:23 - 00:09:21:15
Todd Soliday
Explain that one?

00:09:21:16 - 00:09:26:12
Mark Titus
Because it is both. Give us an idea of what that looks like.

00:09:26:14 - 00:09:27:13
Leah Warshawski
I mean, we.

00:09:27:15 - 00:09:28:07
Mark Titus
Knew.

00:09:28:09 - 00:09:54:04
Leah Warshawski
We had the story in mind. We knew we were going to film it anyway. But then we did start to reach out to different brands to see if they wanted to sponsor it. We got a lot of stuff and then we ended, you know, like shoes and flip flops and see for Waterman boards at the time. And one of our friends from Molokai was there and was very generous, multiple years bringing everybody shoes.

00:09:54:04 - 00:10:02:01
Leah Warshawski
And we had Smith sunglasses at one point. So we were well taken care of. And then in terms of distribution.

00:10:02:03 - 00:10:03:09
Todd Soliday
And lots of rafting trips.

00:10:03:15 - 00:10:15:18
Leah Warshawski
Lots of rafting trips in terms of distribution, we got it to outside TV and we still have some edits to do to actually make it into a resort that we.

00:10:15:18 - 00:10:21:01
Todd Soliday
Still have a theatrical shirt that we that we want to bring out of it. A deeper dive, a deeper story.

00:10:21:03 - 00:10:47:07
Mark Titus
Well, that's great, and I'd love to link some of this work that you're talking about here on our site so listeners can check this out. I think it's interesting, you know, distribution the big deal, right? And we're going to we're going to dig in pretty deep into that here in just a bit. But I don't think books that aren't doing this kind of work understand like, well, let me ask you this.

00:10:47:09 - 00:10:56:14
Mark Titus
How many times have you been asked, well, why don't you just get it on Netflix? Yeah, I love that movie.

00:10:56:19 - 00:10:57:12
Todd Soliday
Literally every day.

00:10:57:17 - 00:11:16:09
Mark Titus
Literally. Okay. So here and now, for both of our sakes, can you explain to us why don't you just get it on Netflix? What is distribution? What is this this this fantastic thing we speak of when we're talking about filmmaking? Well.

00:11:16:11 - 00:11:39:06
Leah Warshawski
I think it can mean different things to different people, but to us it means being able to get the content seen and out in the world by as many people as possible and in the right format. So you can certainly do distribution through YouTube and people will watch your project. But is it the way that you want them to see it?

00:11:39:06 - 00:11:51:05
Leah Warshawski
Is it the right brand? How many people are going to see it? So I think distribution has become actually quite easy. There's so many avenues for distribution.

00:11:51:07 - 00:11:52:13
Todd Soliday
Monetizing it.

00:11:52:15 - 00:12:28:06
Leah Warshawski
Monetizing it, and the right partners are still difficult. And those are the keys I think is figuring out. I mean, anybody can get distribution right now, but who do you want to be in bed with? And you know, who who do you want your distribution partners to be? What impact do you want to make through distribution? There's a lot more questions that I don't think people are thinking about that We and you know this, too, as filmmakers who are making content all the time, we're always thinking about the end game and beyond.

00:12:28:08 - 00:12:31:19
Leah Warshawski
So we're always thinking about distribution. But the term has changed a lot.

00:12:31:21 - 00:12:53:02
Mark Titus
Well, it really is a relationship and and it's a very adept thing to say, like, who are you going to get in bed with? It's how do you want to be represented? How do you want to appear in the world? And also to the point of monetizing it, it's like you got to keep the thing going. If you want to keep telling stories, it has to be paid for.

00:12:53:02 - 00:13:16:16
Mark Titus
And I think that's some mythology that, you know, you make a film and it gets any kind of distribution. lordy. And it is just all of a sudden you get some sort of a big payday and you're moving on to the next thing with the plum and so that leads me in to you guys specifically, what keeps you going?

00:13:16:18 - 00:13:31:17
Mark Titus
You know, this is hard work. It's grinding and what keeps you going and how do you how do you get out of bed and keep that fire lit to keep doing this work, this truth that you want to get out into the world?

00:13:31:19 - 00:14:16:12
Todd Soliday
It's the stories, man. It's it's the people we meet. It's the lives we that we are so fortunate to be embedded with and know We've got two solid projects that we're working on in Hawaii right now. And then the main characters and the associate characters are I don't you become so invested in their their lives, in their in their their successes and their pain and I just was filming yesterday a story that we're working on here about a luthier a guitar maker who lives upcountry Maui, and he makes instruments for you could go down the list of every famous guitar player you ever heard of and he's he's that guy.

00:14:16:12 - 00:14:53:15
Todd Soliday
And he makes them in this tiny little shop and he's a craftsman and a hero and an amazing guy. But the people that come into his shop who the artists who have something to give to the world that are unlocked by this instrument that this guy makes, this kid that we met two years ago who first held one of these guitars, started saving and working three jobs to to get this instrument that was going to, you know, put food on the table for his family.

00:14:53:17 - 00:15:14:05
Todd Soliday
And he showed up at the shop yesterday. And I'm there with camera. And we watched him pick it up for the first time after 200 hours of hand making this this guitar and seeing his face light up and know that this this instrument is is going to be his vehicle to bring his passion, his music into the world.

00:15:14:07 - 00:15:29:22
Todd Soliday
And and touch the mortality that that guitar is going to his kid and then his grandkid And I mean I I'm emotional about this right now because it this was yesterday morning and I thrive.

00:15:30:00 - 00:15:31:11
Leah Warshawski
With a lot of moments like on.

00:15:31:13 - 00:15:31:19
Todd Soliday
Those.

00:15:31:19 - 00:15:33:00
Mark Titus
Moments here.

00:15:33:02 - 00:15:51:04
Todd Soliday
And it's not like once a year or twice year. It's like every week we we we have enough projects going on that that I just get so much life energy from other people's soulful revelations, I guess.

00:15:51:05 - 00:15:54:08
Leah Warshawski
Yeah. And I yeah, that is true.

00:15:54:10 - 00:15:55:12
Todd Soliday
It's nice to get paid, but.

00:15:55:14 - 00:15:58:02
Leah Warshawski
It's not really nice to get paid. And I think.

00:15:58:04 - 00:16:01:05
Todd Soliday
But that's for me by far. That's it.

00:16:01:07 - 00:16:02:05
Mark Titus
Yeah.

00:16:02:07 - 00:16:07:22
Leah Warshawski
As long as I'm paying you think.

00:16:08:00 - 00:16:09:18
Mark Titus
Wow, that's a whole other complexity.

00:16:09:19 - 00:16:11:08
Leah Warshawski
That's all. I mean that's, that's.

00:16:11:08 - 00:16:12:10
Todd Soliday
The day, that's.

00:16:12:11 - 00:16:55:23
Leah Warshawski
Some, some days are better than others for sure. Yeah. I like, I, I like the challenge of trying to put the pieces together, but I, I do enjoy more and more kind of seeing the impact and understanding the impact more and how to, you know, not just create something beautiful, but how to make sure that people see it and that it changes people's lives and when you are involved in a project like Big Sonia that literally changes people's lives every time they watch it, to be a part of that, to be in the audience, you know, and to be the recipient of this information that people are now giving to you or the feelings that

00:16:55:23 - 00:17:16:19
Leah Warshawski
they're putting on you. I mean, it's very intense. And there's so many just massive highs and lows throughout the process that I think we've also learned like work is work sometimes. And we have to we have we have our own lives and we have other stuff outside of projects that makes us really have.

00:17:16:22 - 00:17:21:19
Todd Soliday
A very fuzzy line, though it's a very busy line. These things do become part of your life.

00:17:21:21 - 00:17:26:10
Leah Warshawski
Absolutely. But like this weekend, I'm there's too much going on.

00:17:26:11 - 00:17:27:08
Todd Soliday
Forcing a weekend.

00:17:27:10 - 00:17:35:02
Leah Warshawski
Or forcing a weekend because I need to be re-inspired. I can't Yeah, I need to go do nothing in order to have more energy to do the work.

00:17:35:02 - 00:17:38:01
Todd Soliday
And we don't often have quote unquote, weekends.

00:17:38:03 - 00:17:57:10
Mark Titus
Yeah, yes, I can completely relate. And on all fronts. First of all, the front of having that connection with another human being, when people ask me the best thing about doing this work, that is absolutely Ed meeting people, connecting and such a privilege, it's it's.

00:17:57:14 - 00:18:13:13
Todd Soliday
It's unlike any like, I just am so grateful every time it happens and it happens a lot that you're just welcomed into a life experience, that someone else that someone else is that you become a part of. And I mean, it's.

00:18:13:13 - 00:18:14:11
Leah Warshawski
It's the access.

00:18:14:14 - 00:18:42:08
Todd Soliday
To access and multiple lives. And Liam brought a challenge to me. The great challenge is to be in a moment like that and have the right tool, the right assembly of tools to film it and capture it so it's translatable. And just this the challenge of the acquisition of that moment. So so it does become impactful to somebody on the other side of the planet a year later.

00:18:42:10 - 00:18:42:19
Mark Titus
You know, it's.

00:18:42:19 - 00:18:53:12
Leah Warshawski
Interesting because for you it's the gear. And for me it's I have to have presence of mind in that moment to shut everything else out and just be present, which is hard.

00:18:53:14 - 00:18:55:09
Todd Soliday
But which is why.

00:18:55:09 - 00:18:56:07
Leah Warshawski
I'm sure you find out why.

00:18:56:08 - 00:19:02:16
Todd Soliday
We're like why we're good together, because I can be considered into my, you know, six by nine world.

00:19:02:21 - 00:19:03:15
Leah Warshawski
But in the.

00:19:03:17 - 00:19:04:07
Todd Soliday
Future.

00:19:04:08 - 00:19:23:22
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, for storytelling, I mean, you have to do this all the time, too. It's like I've got 20 other things. I'm thinking about trying to make the film and then you're in the situation and you're not going to get that's the best story or get people's trust unless you're totally present in that moment. And that can be challenging too.

00:19:23:22 - 00:19:29:07
Leah Warshawski
But I think that's it's a great way to be it.

00:19:29:09 - 00:19:56:16
Mark Titus
I was telling the story to a colleague the other day. I was up in Bristol Bay last fall filming an elder in a small village called New Studio, and our friend Rick Halpert flew me and I only had a couple of hours to do this, and I had a very light kit and challenging, challenging lighting situation. One window in this very dark mode.

00:19:56:18 - 00:20:29:12
Mark Titus
And I was literally propping up a bounce card on my knee, running the camera and making sure that the audio he was standing in the audio and asking the questions. And it wasn't at the same time. And it's like there's there's something that's challenging. I wouldn't I wouldn't recommend that for everybody. But first of all, it was hilarious because it was a circus and it was secondly, it was like it made me focus like I had to go deep into that focused space.

00:20:29:12 - 00:20:29:21
Mark Titus
Yeah.

00:20:29:23 - 00:20:32:06
Todd Soliday
The camera's like, quickly, boom.

00:20:32:06 - 00:21:04:04
Mark Titus
Like that. Yeah, Well, well, you mentioned Sonia, and we simply don't have time to cover all the amazing stories you produced on this little one hour show here. But I've been super blessed to work intimately with both of you as impact producers and post-production supervisors. Graphics maestro and dear friends. I also know Big Sonia. The story of your grandmother has been a huge part of both of your both of your professional and personal lives.

00:21:04:06 - 00:21:16:14
Mark Titus
Yeah, we're going to dig way into that in a second. But for now, what is the one piece you've worked on that has shaped you as a filmmaker more than other and we'll start with you, Todd.

00:21:16:15 - 00:21:21:04
Todd Soliday
Well, it has to be the bridge.

00:21:21:06 - 00:21:26:06
Mark Titus
Was clearly it. Clearly. I really do.

00:21:26:08 - 00:21:45:18
Todd Soliday
We are going back beyond that right? It's a really tough question because they are I mean, we gravitate to things that we know are going to deeply move us. And I'm trying to not say Big Sonia, because there are so many other films, but.

00:21:45:20 - 00:21:46:16
Leah Warshawski
It is big.

00:21:46:18 - 00:22:07:20
Todd Soliday
It is big. It is big. Sonia, I, I went into it. Lee and I had just met and had worked on a couple of projects together, and she she said, Hey, I've been thinking about this thing. I don't want to make this. I don't want to be that filmmaker that makes a movie about my family and make and assume that everybody think it's going to be interesting.

00:22:08:01 - 00:22:23:19
Todd Soliday
Could you just come to us mid Kansas City and meet my grandma and see if there's a story here? Maybe we could we could make a short film. Kind of funny about this little old lady in the tailor shop in the basement of a dead mall. And I'm like, Whatever you say, dear. I'm like, Are we getting married?

00:22:23:19 - 00:23:03:05
Todd Soliday
What's that? And so we show up in Kansas City and I've been to the Midwest before, but this is like center of the planet, Midwest, middle America, abandoned mall, like there's a Sears store left. But everything in this giant three story mall built in 1970, I think 68, actually. And we walked into the basement in this little corner and there's this four foot eight little woman with a line of people at the door.

00:23:03:07 - 00:23:16:12
Todd Soliday
And she's just sitting there holding court talking story. And I'm enraptured. And I knew in that moment that this was going to be my life for the next couple of years.

00:23:16:14 - 00:23:19:04
Leah Warshawski
When I realized that was going to be her life for like the next 12.

00:23:19:07 - 00:24:00:19
Todd Soliday
12 years later, I'm not only Sonia and her story and the connection I got through her, but as she does and as the film does with so many who see it, it really resonated with my personal journey. And we all have some kind of trauma that we've survived, however big or small. Sonia Being the survivor of multiple death camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, her traumas, huge.

00:24:00:19 - 00:24:35:19
Todd Soliday
My trauma doesn't compare, but it is still my trauma. And we are all survivor families one way or another. And then she just she just rocked my world. And I knew that we had a character that has this incredible survival story on one hand that has to be told and must be remembered. But she's freaking hilarious. Is forfeit a hair stacked halfway up that I checked in leopard print drives 1990 pink Buick and.

00:24:35:20 - 00:24:36:13
Mark Titus
Said all all.

00:24:36:14 - 00:24:55:00
Todd Soliday
It's it's filmmaker gold And I knew that we could tell her story of her past and entertain at the same time and it was just how do we get out of the way of ourselves to make this happen? And we're still I worked on it this morning. It's still.

00:24:55:02 - 00:24:56:08
Mark Titus
Not even.

00:24:56:08 - 00:25:05:02
Todd Soliday
Though we we premiered in 2016. We did theatrical in 2017 and take it from there.

00:25:05:04 - 00:25:08:01
Mark Titus
Yes. Wow.

00:25:08:02 - 00:25:21:06
Todd Soliday
And I had the privilege to work on many, many, many films with many characters and including yours, Mark and they have deeply affected me, all of them. And but yeah, this one.

00:25:21:08 - 00:25:21:23
Leah Warshawski
Incident takes.

00:25:21:23 - 00:25:22:08
Mark Titus
This.

00:25:22:08 - 00:25:23:22
Todd Soliday
Close to close to home.

00:25:24:00 - 00:25:41:23
Mark Titus
It's, it's such a compelling story on every front. And I'm wondering if you can tell us a little bit more about your grandma as a person and and what it was like to be a family member and a director.

00:25:42:01 - 00:25:44:11
Leah Warshawski
And yeah, I.

00:25:44:15 - 00:25:47:04
Mark Titus
Was hats on. One at a time.

00:25:47:06 - 00:26:17:08
Leah Warshawski
Yeah. I mean, Sonia, Sonia is complicated and there's a lot of things that we see as family members that the outside world doesn't really see or have access to. And so, you know, she and she's traumatized by what she went through. So she's highly functional. And that's tricky because she it's almost like she has multiple personalities in different scenarios.

00:26:17:10 - 00:26:55:00
Leah Warshawski
But no matter what happens, the trauma is still there and it just comes out in interesting ways. And, of course. Right. I mean, any of us, you know, can understand that. Yeah. But making the film was the most time that I'd ever spent with her because we really didn't live close when I was younger. And so it gave me the opportunity to have some kind of relationship with her and I think the film was just such a blessing because, you know, the Holocaust is she's not the only one who was in death camps and concentration camps in my family.

00:26:55:00 - 00:27:29:15
Leah Warshawski
There were other survivors in my family. And when everybody was alive, you know, things are very heavy. Like every conversation that we had at Passover, any time we'd get together with family, it went dark pretty fast. So we just didn't have, you know, a light, happy, normal grandparent relationship ever. And then we made the film and spent more time with her and had laughter and some joy and a lot of tuna.

00:27:29:17 - 00:27:54:23
Leah Warshawski
And I just kind of came to understand her in a different way. And I think she came to understand me in a way that we didn't even know each other, really. So we got to know each other and we had a lot of fun moments at Film Festival. The film gave us access to something we would never have had, and she got to travel with us and she would never have done that.

00:27:54:23 - 00:27:58:00
Todd Soliday
But 90 year old Sonia got to travel to New York.

00:27:58:01 - 00:28:10:13
Leah Warshawski
We had some good times in California. I learned a lot. Yeah, it was. So we had we had fun and joy, and that's just not something that I had had growing up with Sonia.

00:28:10:13 - 00:28:13:16
Mark Titus
Like in public. How do people respond to her?

00:28:13:18 - 00:28:16:05
Leah Warshawski
I mean, she's a total diva.

00:28:16:07 - 00:28:17:03
Mark Titus
Yeah, She was like.

00:28:17:09 - 00:28:20:20
Leah Warshawski
She's always wanted to be a movie star. You know, you spend time with her.

00:28:20:22 - 00:28:21:23
Mark Titus
I know.

00:28:22:01 - 00:28:26:08
Leah Warshawski
I mean, I don't know who she thought you were or did you think you were Todd or.

00:28:26:10 - 00:28:37:01
Mark Titus
yeah, Yeah. No, she she's well, what I can say from my to in person, Sonia, is she makes you feel like you're the only one in the room.

00:28:37:01 - 00:28:41:00
Leah Warshawski
Yes. That's her superpower. Absolutely. Absolutely.

00:28:41:02 - 00:28:47:02
Mark Titus
We met at a preview of one of your screenings. And then we met again in Kansas.

00:28:47:02 - 00:28:48:01
Leah Warshawski
City at the Glenwood.

00:28:48:01 - 00:29:14:07
Mark Titus
City. And she came to my movie The Wild. And same thing both times intimate, distinct looks in the I grabbed you by the hands, I would imagine when you when you're doing screenings and you're fortunate enough to have sewn your lung. I'm sure there's some challenges with that as well. But does she carry that sense of intimacy with the folks in your audience?

00:29:14:09 - 00:29:36:22
Leah Warshawski
Absolutely. That's her her superpower is that she can really and we've always said this and known this. I mean, she she can make you feel like the most special person in the world. And she she has a sense of like wonderment in the world. She has a sense of wonder and curiosity. That's something that I aspire to have more of.

00:29:36:22 - 00:30:09:20
Leah Warshawski
And I always think about her in those situations, but she is unique in that way. She's an she's an extrovert with people outside of the family. She's an extrovert in the world. And she has, because of the way she is, you run into some pretty interesting and also funny and potentially dangerous situations because just her aura and what she's been through.

00:30:09:20 - 00:30:17:01
Leah Warshawski
And, you know, she she gets speeding tickets all the time or she gets pulled over all the time, but she never gets to.

00:30:17:01 - 00:30:18:01
Todd Soliday
Never get tickets.

00:30:18:01 - 00:30:38:08
Leah Warshawski
Because she knows, you know, everyone knows her or we went to New York for the premiere. We did an interview with her at The New York Times and before we left The New York Times building, she had become best friends with the security guard and was like giving him lessons on how to do his job and also the chocolates out of her purse.

00:30:38:08 - 00:30:49:14
Leah Warshawski
And, you know, everyone thinks that Sonia is their best friend and she has a million best friends and that's a lot to live up to.

00:30:49:16 - 00:31:16:10
Mark Titus
Yeah, it is. It's incredible to think about, honestly. And I've seen her. I'm not an extrovert. Well, yeah, there's a lot of energy to be around and to contain. And if you're trying to get an objective done, look, there are I couldn't possibly list in this show all of the accolades you've received, all of the awards, all of the media.

00:31:16:10 - 00:31:39:09
Mark Titus
But could you give me, between the two of you a little bit of a chronology of how this experience, this is a life experience for you, a huge part of your life? How how has this been for you personally and what have you observed as the outcomes of this film reaching people to this point? And we're going to speak in depth about where it's at now reaching a lot more people.

00:31:39:14 - 00:31:44:04
Mark Titus
But for now, I'm interested in the chronology of how it's come to this point.

00:31:44:06 - 00:31:55:05
Leah Warshawski
Well, we did a you know, we made a feature film. We did two years on the road, and every festival known to man and.

00:31:55:10 - 00:31:55:22
Mark Titus
Almost.

00:31:56:03 - 00:32:18:11
Leah Warshawski
Almost almost every festival known to man. In most of those were in person. So I was on the road for two years. Todd was on the road for some of that time. Then we did a you know, we released it in theaters, so we did a Year on the Road theatrical. We qualified the film for an Academy Award because that was important to our audience.

00:32:18:11 - 00:32:29:11
Leah Warshawski
And I think for us to professionally, it was like, hey, you know, why not try and Sonia always wanted to receive an Academy Award. So we thought, we'll just give it our best shot.

00:32:29:13 - 00:32:33:04
Todd Soliday
Yeah, she was very, very good. She really chipped.

00:32:33:06 - 00:32:36:17
Mark Titus
So she's so we won.

00:32:36:17 - 00:32:53:21
Leah Warshawski
We won a lot of awards. We won more than 25 awards in festivals. And we had a great theatrical run. We broke all of the records at her at the Glenwood Arts movie theater, at the local theater. We were there for eight months. We were supposed to be there for two weeks, and the film just kept going and people kept coming back.

00:32:53:21 - 00:33:18:06
Leah Warshawski
And we actually made money on theatrical, which is unheard of. So that was a huge win, a huge surprise. We made an international broadcast version that has been played in, you know, a handful of countries, and we're still working on that. We did an educational package that we're still selling, and that's how we kind of pay the rent and keep our business going.

00:33:18:08 - 00:33:47:14
Leah Warshawski
And then we just this summer worked on an interactive kind of legacy project to make sure that you can have a conversation with her well into the future. And we're also doing a national PBS launch that started earlier this month. So I keep thinking we're done or we're not. We're done or we're taking a break. It ebbs and there's been a lot of ebb and flow over the last 12 years.

00:33:47:16 - 00:34:16:12
Leah Warshawski
And I think right now we're definitely in this in the swing of it again with PBS. But it's in a way that is healthier and more calculated, I think, and feels better to me than it did a couple of years ago when it was just full frenzy having to be on the road all of the time and to keep talking about this and talking about trauma and family trauma was really, really hard to use.

00:34:16:13 - 00:35:00:02
Todd Soliday
On the road, too. Took a toll. It was both extremely exciting and validating. And, you know, one night you're in New York at a screening, two nights later you're on the West Coast. And then we wake up in Shanghai and we're screening the film. And it's just so it's a blast and exhausting and when somewhere in the middle of that, I'm watching Leah up on stage for the 180th time, answering the deepest, darkest, most personal questions about her family and what they survived and are still surviving.

00:35:00:02 - 00:35:13:06
Todd Soliday
It kind of started to be clear that that not only is there a great, great revelation coming out of it, but it's but it's taking it all.

00:35:13:08 - 00:35:39:15
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, it it took a huge toll on my life and our life. But I do feel like I'm in a I'm working through that now and I'm in a much healthier place because I've had time to get my life back on track. You know, being on there as you know very well, to go on the road with the film and to have it be so personal is, you know, there's a lot they have to do to get that.

00:35:39:17 - 00:35:42:10
Leah Warshawski
And it's not always healthy.

00:35:42:11 - 00:35:52:05
Mark Titus
Well, thank you for going into those waters for a moment. I know that can be triggering and. I appreciate you sharing that.

00:35:52:07 - 00:35:57:06
Todd Soliday
Would you say would you say you're proud of it, though? I mean, I'm proud. I'm proud of you for.

00:35:57:08 - 00:36:00:17
Leah Warshawski
Yeah. I don't I don't really miss.

00:36:00:19 - 00:36:01:18
Todd Soliday
I'm sure you don't miss it.

00:36:01:18 - 00:36:04:18
Mark Titus
But here's the thing, Mark. Here's the thing. But so the film was in the.

00:36:04:21 - 00:36:18:00
Todd Soliday
Film was one thing. And as you know, being present at a screening is absolutely necessary if you want to have impact. I mean, it does give life to the film in this case, particular the film.

00:36:18:00 - 00:36:20:03
Leah Warshawski
Mark two because you're that's you're in.

00:36:20:04 - 00:36:21:17
Mark Titus
You're in the film, you're you're.

00:36:21:17 - 00:36:22:07
Leah Warshawski
In the movie.

00:36:22:07 - 00:36:46:03
Todd Soliday
You're the movie. And those screenings were half the film and half the Q&A as far as impact. Many, many of those screenings, the deepest impact was the Q&A after and people didn't want to leave. I mean, it was it was theater owners coming out and saying, flipping the lights, saying it's time to time to.

00:36:46:03 - 00:36:47:16
Mark Titus
Go.

00:36:47:18 - 00:36:49:13
Todd Soliday
And move Sonia to the lobby.

00:36:49:15 - 00:36:50:06
Mark Titus
If you get a clue.

00:36:50:09 - 00:36:58:18
Leah Warshawski
Like with you, you know, you're talking about very personal things in the film and then it brings up people relate to that and they want to tell you about their very personal stories.

00:36:58:18 - 00:36:59:08
Mark Titus
Absolutely.

00:36:59:11 - 00:37:05:06
Leah Warshawski
And so that you're carrying not only your but you're carrying everything.

00:37:05:08 - 00:37:30:20
Mark Titus
There's no question about it. Yeah, I've had I don't know how much I've lost count how many folks have asked if they could be connected in a personal way or have they're literally like one woman. After a screening. Asked if she could connect her brother with me from prison to recovery. Yeah. And I said yes to all of them because it's important.

00:37:30:20 - 00:37:35:21
Mark Titus
But it does. It's a it is. It's grueling.

00:37:36:01 - 00:37:55:02
Leah Warshawski
And I think you have to you have to set some boundaries. And I've gotten better at that. I think I was not prepared for the amount that I would have to set. And now I'm real clear about how much I can do and how much I just can't do. So that's got that's gotten better. And I I'm in a better place.

00:37:55:02 - 00:37:58:12
Leah Warshawski
But it it's you know, it took a lot of trial and error.

00:37:58:14 - 00:38:07:17
Mark Titus
yeah I agree. I mean exact same scenario. Boundaries and being loving to people as well as myself and.

00:38:07:19 - 00:38:19:11
Leah Warshawski
Yes, having grace for yourself, having grace for others, doing what you need to do to stay healthy and well. And, you know, that might have nothing to do with work. You might just need to go away for a little while.

00:38:19:12 - 00:38:46:20
Mark Titus
Yes. I think the water if the water. Very good idea, I guess a little bit. But it is a balance. And though I do know I've seen firsthand the impact that this film and the energy and the love that you and Sonia have put into this thing have Absolutely impacted other people in huge ways. Can you talk about that in a little bit?

00:38:46:22 - 00:39:08:07
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, You know, I think the biggest there's a lot of outcomes. Some are some of the biggest are that we've we've encouraged and inspired more empathy and compassion for humanity in everybody who watches this film. And especially.

00:39:08:07 - 00:39:09:16
Todd Soliday
In a time when the wheels are coming in, a.

00:39:09:16 - 00:39:42:05
Leah Warshawski
Time when the world you know, we've been through a lot in the last 12 years. So we have we the film has given people more empathy and compassion for others and some understanding. It's definitely been impactful for teenagers in that, you know, when they they could they can relate to her story because Sonia was their age when she, you know, watched her mother die and when she was in these camps during the war.

00:39:42:05 - 00:40:27:16
Leah Warshawski
So it's especially impactful for teenagers who are going through, you know, what? Every teenager, you know, bullying is huge antisemitism, you know, just having understanding for other people and for your own family. And so we've had thousands of responses from teenagers that tell us, you know, maybe my maybe, you know, not getting what I wanted for Christmas isn't such a big deal or in in extreme cases, you know, I was thinking about hurting myself and now I'm not you know, these are pretty powerful stories that, you know, teenagers are telling us, you know, I was having suicidal thoughts.

00:40:27:18 - 00:40:36:04
Leah Warshawski
I watched the film. I'm going to get help or, you know, what more can you ask for.

00:40:36:06 - 00:40:36:09
Todd Soliday
A.

00:40:36:09 - 00:40:37:03
Leah Warshawski
Veteran veteran?

00:40:37:04 - 00:41:02:22
Todd Soliday
A veteran walked up to us at a screening in Kansas City. A veteran walked up to us. Sonia Sonia is holding court next to us. But this this person got that. The film is what reached him and came up with his daughter and said, I have severe PTSD and this is the first time I brought my daughter to this film and this is the first time I could somehow relate it to her.

00:41:02:23 - 00:41:03:15
Leah Warshawski
Through that, through.

00:41:03:15 - 00:41:04:11
Todd Soliday
Sonia's story, it.

00:41:04:11 - 00:41:06:15
Leah Warshawski
Opens up this really kind of conversation and.

00:41:06:15 - 00:41:11:08
Todd Soliday
Conversation to to to me and my daughter for her to understand what I'm going through.

00:41:11:10 - 00:41:11:16
Mark Titus
Yeah.

00:41:11:21 - 00:41:12:23
Todd Soliday
And it just goes, of.

00:41:12:23 - 00:41:35:04
Leah Warshawski
Course, there's Holocaust education involved and that's, you know, a big goal of ours. But also for second generation and third generation Holocaust survivors to feel like they're part of a bigger community and to feel like they're not alone because a lot of people don't talk about it. A lot of families of survivors aren't ready to talk about it.

00:41:35:06 - 00:41:42:04
Leah Warshawski
And so there's a huge community that we've, you know, tapped into and.

00:41:42:06 - 00:41:44:16
Todd Soliday
Not only Holocaust this second, third generation.

00:41:44:16 - 00:41:45:22
Leah Warshawski
But know about.

00:41:46:00 - 00:41:46:18
Todd Soliday
Trauma survivors.

00:41:46:18 - 00:41:47:21
Leah Warshawski
Trauma survivors.

00:41:47:21 - 00:41:50:01
Todd Soliday
Second, third generation.

00:41:50:03 - 00:42:09:21
Leah Warshawski
Yeah. And, you know, people feel that the film gives them a way to start a conversation about their own trauma. So we have had a lot of responses from people who the film triggered something in their own life, and now they're ready to talk to their family about it or they're going to get help. So a lot of healing has happened.

00:42:09:22 - 00:42:32:06
Todd Soliday
I'll go back to that day one in the in that shop, in her tailor shop. The first day I met her, we didn't film. We were I was scouting basically, and I got in the car with me afterwards and I told her, I said, I want to make this movie because it's going to be a movie that's going to make an audience leave the theater and call their mom.

00:42:32:08 - 00:42:50:12
Todd Soliday
And it absolutely is true to this day. It makes you want to reconnect or connect. Even if everything's good in your life, you can't help but want to connect to those you love. And I think about that every day.

00:42:50:14 - 00:43:21:08
Mark Titus
Sonia has been on the far end of the human experience, the suffering she's endured and and the relationships that she she has subsequently fostered and and cultivate it and grown. You're a part of that. I'm a part of that through that. And she's going to live on. I mean, most people have a movie about them is right like something unthinkable, right?

00:43:21:10 - 00:43:34:03
Mark Titus
Most that's that's 99% of the population. But there's another way that someone is also going to live on and continue to tell this story that we don't forget. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

00:43:34:05 - 00:44:07:13
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, This summer we filmed actually last summer we filmed a new Dimensions and Testimony project with her that was started by the Shoah Foundation. And now we're working with a company called Storyville to essentially, you know, we recorded and filmed Sonia for a week and the story file team asked her more than a thousand questions. And it's a question and response interactive technology.

00:44:07:15 - 00:44:19:11
Todd Soliday
It uses A.I. to create a version of Sonia that is lifelike and will respond to you on a screen in a museum.

00:44:19:12 - 00:44:20:04
Leah Warshawski
Or a cell.

00:44:20:04 - 00:44:30:17
Todd Soliday
On a cell phone, on your laptop, on your iPad. And it's a way for people of all ages to hear her.

00:44:30:17 - 00:44:32:03
Leah Warshawski
Story and have a conversation.

00:44:32:03 - 00:44:35:14
Todd Soliday
Having a conversation with her. Yeah, for eternity.

00:44:35:16 - 00:44:51:12
Leah Warshawski
It's a little it's a little creepy, but it's also very cool. And we just this morning saw the finished version and now we need to test it as much as possible, because the more you test it, I guess the smarter it gets, the.

00:44:51:12 - 00:44:52:17
Todd Soliday
Smarter soon you get.

00:44:52:19 - 00:45:04:11
Leah Warshawski
So hopefully she'll be able to ask herself the questions. If we, you know, we want to premiere it, I guess, in the fall. And so she would be asking herself questions on the screen, which would be a.

00:45:04:11 - 00:45:08:15
Todd Soliday
Trip which would be hilarious because she she may disagree with her.

00:45:08:15 - 00:45:14:18
Leah Warshawski
So that'll be a moment.

00:45:14:20 - 00:45:16:18
Leah Warshawski
You know, it's another.

00:45:16:20 - 00:45:17:04
Mark Titus
Yeah.

00:45:17:04 - 00:45:25:20
Leah Warshawski
It's like we didn't think that was going to happen either. I mean, we knew about the program. We we'd done research about the program. We knew what the cost was.

00:45:25:20 - 00:45:27:18
Todd Soliday
We went to USC, we tested it.

00:45:27:18 - 00:45:28:09
Leah Warshawski
We tested.

00:45:28:09 - 00:45:29:18
Mark Titus
It many, many.

00:45:29:19 - 00:45:49:11
Leah Warshawski
Years ago. And then we said, you know what? There's no way we can do this. It's too expensive. We're raising money to finish the film. That's the focus. And it was it was always cost prohibitive because it's new technology and it's an enormous setup. It's not you know, it's a loop. I think we had 10 to 15 people there every day.

00:45:49:11 - 00:45:53:19
Leah Warshawski
It's a big crew. It's, you know, we flew out, the crew from L.A. flew out the show.

00:45:53:19 - 00:45:56:06
Todd Soliday
It's it's an immersive camera acquisition.

00:45:56:07 - 00:46:10:18
Leah Warshawski
It's it's a large scale project. So we had shelved we tabled it. And then because of COVID, we were doing more virtual screenings, which was great for me because I didn't have to be on the road and we could still talk to people.

00:46:11:00 - 00:46:14:18
Todd Soliday
It didn't hurt that that the 60 Minutes.

00:46:14:20 - 00:46:34:01
Leah Warshawski
And the 60 Minutes keeps airing. Every time that airs, people get in touch with us. So somebody yeah, at the end of a Q a Zoom Q&A, someone asked, well, what else do you guys want to the film? It's done. Like what else do you want to do? And I was like, Well, there's always been this this idea that maybe we would do this, you know, this new dimensions and testimony.

00:46:34:01 - 00:46:53:07
Leah Warshawski
But we just have it's, it's quite expensive. We haven't been able to wrap our heads around how that would work. And one person who's a friend of the project and also a friend of ours was on that Q&A and she just said, We're going to do this. We're making it happen. And I was like, okay, I will do.

00:46:53:09 - 00:47:19:18
Leah Warshawski
Let's try. And we got to committee together, you know, which was super important. So it didn't all fall on my shoulders and that was hugely helpful. We had people helping us and advocating for us and reaching out to their friends and we were able to raise the money to make it happen. And now once it's out this fall, I'll be doing a ton of outreach, trying to get it into museums and schools and, you know, lobbies.

00:47:19:23 - 00:47:22:00
Mark Titus
And.

00:47:22:02 - 00:47:43:21
Leah Warshawski
It there are other survivors who have done this and are doing it. But, you know, because of Sonia's personality and just how unique she is and like, of course, we had to put her in a leopard print chair and no one had ever done that before. And like, you know, it's Sonia. It's like, you know, it's really sad because some day she's not going to be here.

00:47:43:23 - 00:47:58:23
Leah Warshawski
But this ensures that, you know, her story at least is going to live on forever and ever and ever. I mean, this is a huge legacy. The film is a legacy and this is another legacy and this is another piece.

00:47:59:01 - 00:48:17:07
Mark Titus
It's it's absolutely incredible. I saw the 60 Minutes piece both times. They've aired it and yeah, it's if you haven't seen it, you should check it out to do a search on it. It's it's just amazing. It feels like you're in front of this person actually having a conversation. Yeah, it's a trip. It's a trip. It's a trip.

00:48:17:12 - 00:48:35:15
Mark Titus
And what a great complement to this emerging technology is to this storytelling work that we do. And obviously, when you have the links for this project going live, we will share and disseminated.

00:48:35:15 - 00:48:36:15
Leah Warshawski
Thank you. Thank you.

00:48:36:15 - 00:48:38:03
Mark Titus
Yeah, we put everything.

00:48:38:03 - 00:48:40:21
Leah Warshawski
On our big Sonia website, so I think that's the clearinghouse.

00:48:40:21 - 00:48:42:10
Mark Titus
For excellent.

00:48:42:11 - 00:48:43:12
Leah Warshawski
All things.

00:48:43:14 - 00:49:10:18
Mark Titus
Excellent. You know that that will be the the focal point here as well on this show. Now one more question on on Sonia and then moving on from there. But where is it now? You mentioned PBS. This is a huge deal. Yeah. I mean, to the big distribution. Yeah, it is the kind of the brass ring for for all of us in this business.

00:49:10:20 - 00:49:13:09
Mark Titus
What happened?

00:49:13:10 - 00:49:15:21
Leah Warshawski
You mean, how did we get there or what's happening from here?

00:49:16:01 - 00:49:19:13
Mark Titus
What's happening from here with with PBS. And so we have.

00:49:19:15 - 00:49:53:09
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, right now we've got 900 something air dates that started in the beginning of April. And right now we're going through the middle of May, but I anticipate it'll, you know, it's happening for the next three years. It's just really heavy. This month in May, we're going to do another push in January and February 20, 23. So by the time we're done, we'll have probably thousands of air dates and a few million people will have seen the film, although it's a it's an hour long version of the film.

00:49:53:09 - 00:50:19:02
Leah Warshawski
So we did have to cut it for PBS specs, but we'll be working on it again. Like the ebb and flow, probably for the next three years. At some point we'll be working on it more than others. And our most important goal, really, and the thing that we're most passionate about is this educational package that we have that we created and continue to market and promote and sell to schools and organizations.

00:50:19:02 - 00:50:44:19
Leah Warshawski
And our goal is to get that into as many schools as humanly possible so that the next generation, you know, is able to learn from the film and the entire package. My hope is that when people see the PBS version that they'll be interested in the film enough to reach out and say, you know, I want my kids to watch this, or I need my kids school to see this, That's our hope.

00:50:44:21 - 00:50:46:08
Todd Soliday
Or I hear there's a future version.

00:50:46:08 - 00:50:52:23
Leah Warshawski
Or I hear there's a feature version, although we don't I mean, to be quite honest, we make no money on the feature version. So yeah.

00:50:53:05 - 00:50:54:23
Todd Soliday
But as the editor.

00:50:55:01 - 00:50:55:20
Leah Warshawski
As the editor, you.

00:50:55:20 - 00:50:56:21
Todd Soliday
Want to you.

00:50:56:21 - 00:50:57:11
Leah Warshawski
Want to make 30.

00:50:57:11 - 00:50:57:20
Todd Soliday
Minutes.

00:50:57:20 - 00:51:18:01
Leah Warshawski
$0.50 on that, not even $0.50. But yeah, I think that, you know, education was our goal since the very, very beginning. I mean, within our lifetime, all the survivors are going to be gone. And so everything that we're doing is just a way to ensure.

00:51:18:01 - 00:51:18:22
Todd Soliday
That each young.

00:51:18:22 - 00:51:22:04
Leah Warshawski
People, we can reach younger audiences.

00:51:22:05 - 00:51:30:16
Mark Titus
Yeah. So folks that want to see the film can see the PBS version pretty much across the country at this point. Their local PBS was.

00:51:30:18 - 00:51:32:23
Todd Soliday
95% of.

00:51:33:01 - 00:51:37:07
Leah Warshawski
It's pretty much on every PBS station. At some point in.

00:51:37:09 - 00:51:38:06
Mark Titus
The next in the.

00:51:38:06 - 00:51:39:20
Leah Warshawski
Next couple of months.

00:51:39:22 - 00:52:06:22
Mark Titus
Well, congratulations, you two. You are my heroes. I am just looking at your tenacity and your vision and your willing. This story up the mountaintop. This is just incredible. And and if you haven't seen it out there, check your local listings for PBS. And then Big Sonia Adcom is the central place to see the film in its entirety.

00:52:06:22 - 00:52:33:10
Mark Titus
And check out the education kit for schools, universities. It's the biggest part of this, this whole story. But I did want to ask you all each of you, what story, Todd, would start with you? What story do you have a burning desire to tell that maybe you haven't done yet?

00:52:33:12 - 00:53:09:14
Todd Soliday
We started filming and covered a story of a local surf instructor who in Hawaii, as you know, when COVID happened, tourism ended overnight. And so this economy is 80% tourism economy. And so this surf instructor who'd been here for 30 years doing his thing, suddenly had no employment. And rather than asking for help or.

00:53:09:16 - 00:53:10:23
Mark Titus
Or.

00:53:11:01 - 00:53:35:16
Todd Soliday
Caving in, he stood up and decided it's time to get back to my community. And so he started rounding up every kid who was out of school, and many of them who were without a home because there is quite a homeless problem here in the islands and took these kids to the ocean and taught them to surf. And that's what he did.

00:53:35:21 - 00:54:10:19
Todd Soliday
And he's hell bent on creating a generation of good humans from his lessons that go beyond how to stand up on a surfboard. And he's just an amazingly powerful, humble monster of a man. His name is Bully and the film is Uncle Bully Surf School. We are still in production, though. We've begun editing just because we believe this needs to get out as soon as possible.

00:54:10:19 - 00:54:39:20
Todd Soliday
There's so many that he's got. He's got so much to say that is timely. But what he brings out of kids is really the goal for me. Kids have not had the quote unquote, privilege of being jaded by the world. And they have a pure a pure insight, I think. And if we could be a lot more like our child's selves, maybe we'd all be getting along a little bit better.

00:54:39:22 - 00:55:05:19
Todd Soliday
And this this film, we filmed it in a way that's extremely intimate, where you go out into the waves with Billy the Instructor and these 79 year old kids, and everybody has a microphone and a camera right there in that intimate moment and the parents aren't there. And it's just a kid on the water with a guy who has something to say about ocean in life.

00:55:05:19 - 00:55:15:12
Todd Soliday
And what happens in those unedited, intimate moments is is well, I haven't seen anything like it. And so I'm really excited to bring that out.

00:55:15:16 - 00:55:17:06
Mark Titus
I cannot wait.

00:55:17:08 - 00:56:03:08
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, I'm excited for that one, too. And anything outside on the water, I really I really want to do something different next time or I want an opportunity to. We've we keep trying to get away from stories that are so heavy and involved and multi year, but we get pulled back into these deep intense stories and there's a big part of me that's ready for just something totally totally different and I don't know exactly what that is just yet, but would I would be pretty happy being away from the screen and just kind of out in the.

00:56:03:08 - 00:56:26:06
Mark Titus
World for a little while. Well, when you open yourself up to the universe and just get let go, it seems like those things tend to happen. And I know, I know your practice and I know that's kind of the space that you're you're trying to occupy. So I can't wait to find out what that is and hopefully be of service to you.

00:56:26:06 - 00:56:47:04
Leah Warshawski
And then let's do it together. I'm at this point, yeah, I'm, I, I think I just have to set the right intention. There's a lot of stuff swirling, but being on the water is a huge part of that. And being outside and around animals and nature. I think it's just so healthy for our souls. And if we can tell stories at the same time, great.

00:56:47:04 - 00:56:55:02
Leah Warshawski
But honestly, if if that's just so fulfilling in another way, I'm happy to not be working the entire time to.

00:56:55:04 - 00:57:18:10
Mark Titus
Hear that couple. Couple last questions to wrap this up for you. For our artists and filmmakers, composers, coders, everyone with a dream, listening, how do you keep this dream of saving what you love and telling these stories that you love going in your daily life?

00:57:18:12 - 00:58:09:11
Leah Warshawski
Well, I think we we both prioritize authenticity, storytelling, beauty, you know, doing things in a way that we're going to be proud of. Conservation, resilience, you know, these are values and core values that Todd and I both have and feel strongly about and come together on. So it's great to have a partner in that. I think it would be it's it's hard to do anything on your own, but especially in this industry, I think we we both just have really clear values and priorities when it comes to saving what what we love, who we love in a lot of cases.

00:58:09:16 - 00:58:10:08
Mark Titus
And.

00:58:10:10 - 00:58:39:14
Todd Soliday
You know, our relationship, we constantly challenge each other not, you know, not in a direct way, but just we both to impress the other. And I know for me, I'm constantly refining my craft, whether I'm holding a camera or I'm editing something, a shot and constantly looking for the new, better or efficient way to get the gear out of the way and and capture the story.

00:58:39:16 - 00:58:49:20
Todd Soliday
And I just I just think it's subjecting myself constantly to the challenge, being open to the challenge of that.

00:58:49:22 - 00:59:12:15
Leah Warshawski
Yeah. And I think we're right now getting smarter about taking care of ourselves because we understand deeply that we can't really save anybody else or anything that we love if we aren't in a good place in our own lives. And that's become more and more apparent and important in the last couple of years. And yes, it's it's now a huge part of our life is actually taking care of ourselves.

00:59:12:15 - 00:59:28:12
Todd Soliday
I would say. I would say without it, without a doubt for me to be fresh in it and and work every day at it, I need to put it down. Yes. And just go put my feet in the ocean or my body in the ocean.

00:59:28:14 - 00:59:28:23
Mark Titus
Yes.

00:59:29:00 - 00:59:54:09
Todd Soliday
Or put my head under and look at the amazing, beautiful beasts that are there that we so want to be a part of saving and just experiencing are as much as we can. And I could be the sunrise or I could be the freaking whale that almost dumped us out of our kayak last month. You know, it's it it's is everywhere.

00:59:54:10 - 01:00:03:01
Todd Soliday
And I'm extremely intentional about finding that every day.

01:00:03:03 - 01:00:28:23
Mark Titus
Amen. I had a friend and mentor discussion recently, and they asked me if I could make one wish, what would it be? And I don't know where this came from, but it just came out of me from somewhere else. But it would if it was if I had one wish, I that my fear would be transformed into wonder.

01:00:29:00 - 01:00:30:23
Todd Soliday
Well, that's great, Mark.

01:00:31:01 - 01:00:56:02
Mark Titus
And that's exactly it. We can choose to pull away and go put your head underwater or walk a river or kayak or take a hike with somebody you love. And that's up to us. And then the rest is, you know, putting yourself in that position and then being open to what the universe will provide you.

01:00:56:03 - 01:01:19:14
Todd Soliday
Yeah. And I think our day to day lives can easily pull us into believing that what's most important is that we stay in front of our screens and get the work done and get the work done. Always make it. But if you're intentional about just getting your ass outside or somewhere where you can just feel wonder for 2 minutes, it's it resets everything.

01:01:19:15 - 01:01:41:16
Leah Warshawski
Well, and I think to bring this all back around actually to Sonya that is a superpower. That's what people aspire to do. And that's what she does so well as she has turned her trauma into awe and wonder. And when you're around her, you feel that and you see it and you witness it and you think, my gosh, why can't I do more of that?

01:01:41:16 - 01:01:43:15
Todd Soliday
If she can do it, I can do it.

01:01:43:20 - 01:01:57:21
Leah Warshawski
And it's the small stuff. It's not even the big stuff, you know, it's the smallest thing. It's a butterfly, it's a flower, it's a fish. I mean, whatever it is, she operates in the world like that. And so everything that we're talking about right now actually comes back to.

01:01:57:23 - 01:01:59:06
Todd Soliday
Maybe that was a big takeaway.

01:01:59:06 - 01:02:31:18
Mark Titus
For me, too, that given what you know, especially in the lens of Sonia and that work that you've done, how do we how do we start finding a way to sit down at the long table with one another again and having conversations about how to find our similarities that unite us as the same species as opposed to divide and further put us into tribal positions that are creating strife and suffering in the world.

01:02:31:19 - 01:02:32:16
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, I mean, I.

01:02:32:16 - 01:02:34:01
Todd Soliday
Think about this a lot.

01:02:34:03 - 01:02:35:04
Leah Warshawski
One day at a time.

01:02:35:10 - 01:02:39:20
Todd Soliday
It's the empathy gap, man. So let's just stop talking.

01:02:39:22 - 01:02:47:03
Leah Warshawski
Stop talking less 24 hour news cycle or actually like authentic human storytelling and listening.

01:02:47:03 - 01:02:54:03
Todd Soliday
Stop talking and stop talking in your head when someone else is talking and just listen and try to be where they are. Like.

01:02:54:05 - 01:02:55:06
Mark Titus
Even if just disagree, just.

01:02:55:09 - 01:02:56:05
Leah Warshawski
To be present.

01:02:56:05 - 01:03:02:13
Todd Soliday
Just be present in hearing someone else's place at the other end of the table.

01:03:02:15 - 01:03:03:22
Mark Titus
It's completely.

01:03:04:00 - 01:03:05:05
Todd Soliday
Amazing what happens when.

01:03:05:05 - 01:03:15:16
Mark Titus
You're losing. What happens? Well, look, you two are so generous with your time, and we have much more to catch up on off air.

01:03:15:18 - 01:03:28:17
Leah Warshawski
For your time. I know you're so busy as well. And we really appreciate the chance to to talk with you in depth and talk about the hard stuff, because I think that's another step in all of this, too, is I agree. Yeah.

01:03:28:19 - 01:03:46:13
Mark Titus
I agree. All right. You don't get out of here without the bonus round, though. So between the two, you can jump in and mix and match this. If you've listened to this show before, you know this fantastical question about if in your case, if you had a tsunami coming and now you're in, you're above sea level.

01:03:46:13 - 01:03:50:03
Todd Soliday
So it's now becomes I'm staying right where I am.

01:03:50:05 - 01:04:02:01
Mark Titus
What it's like the locusts are coming. They're going to take everything other than your loved ones. What's the one thing that you take out of the house? Physical thing that you take our dog?

01:04:02:01 - 01:04:02:15
Leah Warshawski
Of course.

01:04:02:15 - 01:04:10:23
Todd Soliday
Yeah, a dog. Although he's said to me now I'd be. Maybe I'd leave you. Yeah.

01:04:11:01 - 01:04:13:01
Mark Titus
So one thing I.

01:04:13:03 - 01:04:29:19
Leah Warshawski
Take of the out of the house. Honestly, I wouldn't take a thing. I'd love to start over. I'd love to start over from nothing. And I would have more stress trying to figure out what the one thing is than just starting from scratch.

01:04:29:21 - 01:04:33:10
Mark Titus
I love it. I think.

01:04:33:12 - 01:04:48:11
Leah Warshawski
Yeah, there's something so freeing about having nothing that that's very appealing to me. Actually. The idea of everything, that everything might go away and then I'd just be left with my own devices.

01:04:48:16 - 01:04:49:09
Todd Soliday
That is so.

01:04:49:10 - 01:04:50:09
Mark Titus
Yeah, it is.

01:04:50:09 - 01:04:54:16
Leah Warshawski
Isn't that so? Yeah. And that's. No, not how.

01:04:54:16 - 01:04:59:06
Mark Titus
To follow that up.

01:04:59:07 - 01:05:00:20
Todd Soliday
Through my lenses.

01:05:00:20 - 01:05:07:21
Mark Titus
But model. How do I.

01:05:07:23 - 01:05:09:04
Leah Warshawski
That's just how I operate.

01:05:09:04 - 01:05:14:18
Mark Titus
I Lucas take me and just me transport.

01:05:14:18 - 01:05:15:21
Todd Soliday
Me from this place.

01:05:16:03 - 01:05:29:22
Mark Titus
Through. All right now out on the metaphysical level, what is one trait about each, each one of you that you would want to take? You could only take that one thing about, you know.

01:05:30:00 - 01:05:31:18
Leah Warshawski
About Todd or about myself.

01:05:31:20 - 01:05:33:06
Mark Titus
Myself.

01:05:33:08 - 01:05:33:15
Leah Warshawski
that's.

01:05:33:15 - 01:05:36:04
Mark Titus
Harder.

01:05:36:06 - 01:05:38:13
Todd Soliday
A trait that I'd want to take of hers or a.

01:05:38:13 - 01:05:39:05
Mark Titus
Trip to.

01:05:39:06 - 01:05:44:18
Leah Warshawski
You want to take of yours. What's your favorite trait about yourself?

01:05:44:20 - 01:05:49:23
Mark Titus
The other thing that you think would you couldn't do without her served you best in life.

01:05:50:01 - 01:06:13:23
Todd Soliday
I have an intense and unending and proudly stated zest for living. I am curious what a constant state of wonderment, and it just gives me great zest for trying anything and everything. And that would be and I know that she loves that about me. So I had this is true.

01:06:13:23 - 01:06:39:09
Leah Warshawski
I think just I think my survival sense of survival at all cost, you know, calm in the storm, get through it kind of mentality because there's no other option. And I mean, I'm sure that's genetic and been you know, we all know where that comes from. But I think that that's something that's really strong inside of me.

01:06:39:11 - 01:06:51:03
Mark Titus
Which we all are. Chesky Todd Solid, a filmmaker, storytellers, Change Makers. Thank you so much for your friendship and for your stories that changing this world. Thank you so much for your book.

01:06:51:03 - 01:06:51:19
Todd Soliday
You can't we.

01:06:51:19 - 01:06:53:05
Mark Titus
Absolutely.

01:06:53:07 - 01:06:55:18
Todd Soliday
Can't wait to do more with you.

01:06:55:20 - 01:07:01:12
Mark Titus
Indeed, indeed. Same here. And for folks that, want to find the work that you're doing? Can you give us a place to go?

01:07:01:14 - 01:07:17:18
Leah Warshawski
Yeah. Big Sonia tor.com by gso nyah dot com or our company which is inflatable film scum. Lots of info on both of those and we're we're very accessible and easy to get in touch with. So I'm happy to connect.

01:07:17:19 - 01:07:23:10
Todd Soliday
Yeah. Our films that are currently in production are at inflatable film. I think they're right at the top.

01:07:23:12 - 01:07:26:09
Mark Titus
Beautiful, my friends. Thank you for this conversation.

01:07:26:09 - 01:07:29:09
Todd Soliday
We'll see you Smart, lovely man.

01:07:29:11 - 01:07:38:09
Mark Titus
Thank you.

01:07:38:11 - 01:07:45:16
Music
How do you save what you love?
How do you save what you love?

01:07:45:18 - 01:08:11:17
Mark Titus
Thank you for listening to Save What You Love. If you like what you're hearing, you can help keep these conversations coming your way by giving us a rating on Apple Podcasts. You can check out photos and links from this episode at evaswild.com. While there, you can join our growing community by subscribing to our newsletter, you'll get exclusive offers on wild salmon shipped to your door and notifications about upcoming guests and more great content on the way.

01:08:11:19 - 01:08:48:21
Mark Titus
That's at evaswild.com. That's the word Save spelled backwards Wild dot com. This episode was produced by Tyler White and edited by Patrick Troll. Original music was created by Whiskey Class. This podcast is a collaboration between Ava's Wild Stories and Salmon Nation and was recorded on the homelands of the Duwamish. People. We'd like to recognize these lands and waters and their significance for the people who lived and continued to live in this region whose practices and spiritualities were and are tied to the land in the water, and whose lives continue to enrich and develop in relationship to the land waters and other inhabitants today.