Filmmakers present documentary on poverty

By Phil Cobb | April 7, 2016 |

By JESSICA ALLEN Staff writer
From left, David Peterka, Dan Parris, and Rob Lehr answer questions from the audience after a screening of their documentary “What Matters?” Tuesday night in the Charles Johnson Theater on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University. The Missouri natives journeyed through the United States, Eastern Europe, and Africa in 2009 to experience poverty firsthand and create a film to encourage others to take action against poverty.

Ignorance is not bliss.

This message was clear to the audience that gathered in Charles Johnson Theater at Northwest Missouri State University on Tuesday evening.

The Student Activities Council sponsored the event that featured a team of documentary filmmakers as part of their SAC Speaks lecture series.

Attendees viewed the 90-minute documentary “What Matters?” before getting the chance to speak with the creators during a question and answer segment.

Dan Parris, Rob Lehr, and David Peterka, all Missouri natives, set out in July of 2009 to experience what it’s like to live in poverty on three different continents.

Living on just $1.25 a day, the young men began in St. Louis before traveling through Eastern Europe on their way to Africa.

They interviewed officials in Washington D.C. and the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland who explained that the top priorities for wealthy nations are job security, national security, and maintaining wealth.

One official quoted Mother Teresa who said, “Today it is very fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them.”

In order to better connect with those in poverty, the friends slept on the streets and experienced the “level of shame involved in poverty” by begging for money on the streets.

Shortly after their first experience in an African slum, Parris and Lehr were involved in a deadly plane crash while filming aerial footage of Kibera, Kenya. The pilot and mechanic were both killed and Parris and Lehr were forced to return to the U.S. for treatment.

Peterka continued on the journey, accompanied by his brother Tim, and visited six countries in Africa.

While there, they interviewed those affected by the AIDS and HIV epidemic, documented the need for simple essentials like clean water and basic education, and got firsthand experience with the “constant sensation of hunger” experienced by millions each day.

Back in the states, Parris battled a mysterious sickness that caused him to lose 45 pounds and Lehr struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Despite the unexpected turn of events, the three friends finished their documentary in 2011 and now travel around the U.S. presenting the film at schools, churches, and community centers with the purpose of “connecting those who need something to live for with those who just need something to live.”

Following the screening of the film on Tuesday, Parris, Peterka, and Lehr answered questions from the audience that ranged from inquiries about their current projects to questions about their faith.

Parris and Peterka are professing Christians, while Lehr is an atheist. Their differing beliefs caused them to butt heads occasionally, but all three said they came out of the trip with similar views as when they began.

“What that says to me is that people think these big traumatic moments are the things that are really going to drive them to believe one thing or another, but I think your beliefs can be changed on a Tuesday night during a presentation,” Parris said. “A lot of times big changes in what we believe just happen in everyday circumstances if we let them.”

Lehr said that although he still does not believe in God, the trip helped him become less angry and cynical.

“The world’s not as big a place as it seems and I think people have more in common than they have differences,” he said.

The travelers also said they were surprised by the amount of joy they saw in people who were living in extreme poverty.

“I went to Africa thinking that I’d become really depressed and have to come back to America to get happy again, but it was incredible because in a lot of ways, the opposite happened,” Peterka said. “There’s an incredible luxury that (people in poverty) have when they don’t have a ton of things in their hands that can distract them. They actually value the people around them much more and they have this incredible sense of community and love.”

The filmmakers emphasized the need for everyone to use their gifts and talents in some way to help others.

“Our big message from the film is everyone should ask themselves two questions: what breaks your heart, and what makes you come alive?” Parris said. “How can you find an intersection between those two things? For each of us, it’s about tackling that one issue that we were made to tackle.”

Parris is currently living in St. Louis where he works with inner-city youth and creates films for nonprofit organizations, while Lehr works for Scotts-Miracle Gro in Springfield and runs his own video production company, Hambone Productions.

Peterka will return to Africa for the 12^th time in a few weeks, where he runs his nonprofit organization working to end sex trafficking in Malawi called “When the Saints.”

The men ended the night by encouraging their audience to not hesitate or let distractions stop them from discovering their passion and helping others. Their website provides links to numerous charities and nonprofits.

“We hope that tonight we’ve planted a seed or watered a seed that’s already there,” Parris said.

For more information on the documentary, visit whatmattersfilm.com.