An Optimistic Light

When 2030 filmmaker Johnny Boston first met FM-2030 (then F.M. Esfandiary) Johnny was only ten years old. FM provided a supportive, stabilizing and optimistic hand as Johnny set out on his own path.

A Statement from 2030 Director Johnny Boston:

"I love cinema; everything about it. A well-made film can transport you into worlds that can be both meaningful and fantastical, and occasionally both.  

I met FM-2030 as a kid; a ten-year-old misfit. I had recently seen the 1930 film "All Quiet on the Western Front." This incredible masterpiece of filmmaking made me re-evaluate my own prejudices. As a Jewish young man living in London with a father who lost his house and nearly his mother during the blitz, it was fair to say that I wasn't fond of Germans. The director Lewis Milestone not only brings you into the world of these young German soldiers but humanizes them in such a way that the audience is right there with them in the classroom, the trenches, and in no man's land, where we experience sights and sounds of blood, sweat, and fleeting moments of beauty. It was after seeing this that I knew I wanted to be involved in making films.  

And it was shortly after this that I met FM, who, like like Lewis Milestone, made me re-examine my worldview. FM offered me a different lens to regard life; his lens showed a bright optimistic future a bit beyond the horizon but within reach.  

My own journey from cynicism to optimism hasn't been a linear one. In fact, it's still a daily endeavor. I'm proud to have made this film with the help of many exceptional people. My hope is for the film that we have made to challenge audiences not just as it relates to the specific themes but to examine their own belief system. If we can accomplish this, we will move one step closer to the rapidly approaching 2030, which I hope will be a magical time." 

• Johnny Boston