Meg Ryan says A POWERFUL NOISE is the "real spirit of the women's empowerment movement"

"This movie is about three women who transformed their personal pain, changed their own lives, and in so doing transformed the lives of everyone around them; their families, their communities, their worlds. What struck me most watching it was just how powerful and contagious one person's transformation can be. The Power of One is personal transformation. The Power of One is contagious. The Power of One is "A Powerful Noise" .

'Better to light one candle than curse the darkness,' Mother Theresa said. I've always thought what she meant by it was instead of complaining about how rotten everything is, just do one good thing. Certainly a profound enough sentiment. But I'm starting to suspect that as usual I sort of missed it and what she really meant was something far deeper. Maybe she was suggesting that if I'm unhappy with the way the world is, the best thing I can do to change it, is change myself. Strike my own match and light my own candle, own my disowned parts, love what I think unlovable about me, transform my own life and stop pointing out what's wrong with everything else.

As one woman in the film says, 'Educate a man, you educate a man. Educate a woman, you educate a village. Educate a village and you educate a nation.' Women are highly contagious and we are the most underused and undervalued natural resources on this Earth. As a woman lights up so does her world. As an individual flowers so does her world. Each one of the women in the film is highly contagious. Each one of us is highly contagious. For me this is the real spirit of the women's empowerment movement. The Power of One is a power each of us has. The Power of One is the Power of Many. The Power of One is "A Powerful Noise" ."

Reactions from the Road

Since premiering at Tribeca, we’ve taken "A Powerful Noise" on the road. It’s our own mini-tour, so to speak. Our goal is to introduce the film to select audiences and build a base of supporters who can carry forth the message of this film and engage others to see it, embrace it and promote it.

On a rainy Monday night in Washington, DC, we held a small private screening at the Motion Picture Association of America. What better place to kick off our tour than at the headquarters of an organization that serves as the voice and advocate of American films? Among those in attendance at our MPAA screening were Ted Leonsis, producer of NANKING and KICKIN’ IT, Ambassador Diop of Mali, Ambassador Turkovic of Bosnia, Paul Dobrainsky, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Senior Advisor for Women’s Empowerment for Secretary Rice, and Congressman Jim Moran. The film was really embraced by the audience and sparked discussion about the importance of screening "A Powerful Noise" at the State Department and for members “on the hill.” I agree, it’s vital that we make a powerful noise to the leaders in our nations capital who direct the funding and policies of U.S. foreign aid. We will certainly work to make that screening happen through the connections we made that evening.

Two nights later, we were in our nation’s entertainment capital, Los Angeles. How would some of Hollywood’s elite react to our film with no stars, no English and no script? I admit to having thought about this on more than one occasion. Creative Artists Agency screened the film in their Ray Kurtzman Theater for about 150 invited guests. The night was warmly kicked off with beautiful remarks from Meg Ryan, one of the co-hosts. We had prepared a welcoming statement for Meg to read, but she said that after watching the DVD, she was inspired to put her own feelings about the film into words. Never have I been happier to hear someone throw out the script and speak from the heart. I was truly touched by Meg’s description of the film and consider it a compliment that she took time to frame it her own way. The LA audience really connected with the film also and most of them stayed afterwards discussing the issues at a wonderful reception sponsored by Saks Fifth Avenue.

Next stop on our tour is Chicago. Stay tuned!