(courtesy Premium Films)
SNAPSHOT
Cosmo the Chameleon doesn’t fit in with the other animals and must learn to live by his own colors. (courtesy Premium Films YouTube)
Not fitting in with the crowd is something with which I’ve long been familiar.
Growing up, I was bullied furiously and relentlessly, and I never really fit into the church environment either, despite my dad being a Baptist pastor. I could use all the right phrases and do the right things but I never felt like I was a Christian, not like everyone around me. Thankfully I left the bullying and the church far behind many years ago.
But even when I realised I was gay, which was a whole other level of trauma at the time, I wasn’t sure I was going to fit there either.
But then I found some friends, my own rhythm and sense of place, and also discovered people who were creative and loved to read and write as much as I did. I finally felt at peace and at home.
So, I totally get the wonderful freeing idea at the heart of The Social Chameleon by Alex Ross (both book and film), which celebrates finding out who really are and being unabashedly and joyously that person.
When you crack the code and find your people, life is never the same again, especially when, like Ross, you realised the power of being authentically who you are.
Being an artist means being yourself, being comfortable in your own skin, and living by your own colors. I didn’t need to be anything more than myself, and neither did my chameleon.
His message clearly resonates with the film appearing at a slew of film festivals including 2022’s Sydney Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival the same year and Flickerfest International Short Film Festival.
We all just want to belong and be ourselves and The Social Chameleon articulates with colour, vivacity, fun and heart and it will reassure you that there is real truth, power and liberation in being yourself.
Watch and find your freedom.
Here’s the trailer …