Anuar Arroyo is an incredibly talented storyteller, director, producer, editor and human being.
Here we are at the banks of China’s Yellow River prior to filming. He’s likely saying something along the lines of “Get out of your head. Stop rehearsing. Just be yourself.” Simple advice for filming and for life. Anuar always creates a space of safety - where we are welcome to be ourselves. Audiences have a sense of whether or not we are being authentic. It’s the same in life, is...n’t it? People can sense when we are trying to act a certain way to produce a desired effect, often times that produces the opposite effect of what we wish. People do not want to see an actor trying to “host” a TV program. They want to see a human being… simply being. There is strength in vulnerability, honesty and openness. As we open up, we give others permission to do the same. In a world which people seem to be increasingly divided by race, class and culture - it is our Humanity that will Bridge the Gaps we have forged between each other. When someone shares something we have a direct experience of, we immediately feel empathy for that human being. In that moment our walls dissolve, and a bridge is built.