Jeff Azize, who’s twenty-three, found out what it felt like the hard way – during his childhood in a tough neighbourhood in New York City, he was up against exactly these difficult challenges and more. ‘There was a truly crazy lifestyle in my home,’ he says. ‘I’m not sure I’d have made it through without the St Francis House, which really gave me a second chance and the opportunity to see the world in a whole new way.’

The St Francis House, in Brooklyn, was the brainchild of Franciscan Fr Benedict Groeschel. He founded it in 1967 as a place where youngsters like Azize, who’d come from the most challenged of backgrounds, could experience the kind of structured, caring family life that would put them back on track, and give them the support and faith in human nature to go on to become fully functioning, successful and secure adult human beings.

‘In many ways,’ says Joseph Campo, the director of the St Francis House, ‘what we do is give them a second chance. They come from all faiths and none, and what they have in common is that they have had a very tough start in life, and they’re keen to experience a new way of living.’

Central to Campo’s philosophy during his time at the St Francis House has always been a core belief that the way to make people aware of what they’ve got is to put them in touch with people who have less than they do – which is why the St Francis House has always been interested in making its young residents aware of the needs of those less fortunate than themselves. AIDS sufferers, the homeless, impoverished children in developing countries – these people, and their stories, have always been close to the heart of the St Francis House experience – and a few months ago, keen to share his philosophy with a wider audience, Campo decided to make a movie about what it could mean.

The resulting film, The Human Experience, features Jeff and his brother Clifford, another resident of the St Francis House. The boys, and other members of the St Francis Community, go round the world in a globe-trotting adventure that seeks to open their eyes – and the eyes of the audience – to what it truly is to be human.

The film starts, though, on the St Francis House doorstep. ‘We wanted to show the boys, and beyond them our audience, that people in need aren’t necessarily thousands of miles away – they might be just down the road,’ says Campo. So through the coldest week of the year, in a city where winter temperatures plummet, the brothers are shown sleeping rough. ‘It certainly was an eye-opening experience,’ says Azize. ‘The cold was like nothing I’ve ever been through before – and while it was only a week for us, for those guys we were on the streets with, it’s ongoing.

‘It certainly made me think about the things I have got in life – I might have had to deal with some problems, but the St Francis House gives me a bed each night, and warm food in my belly.’

From New York, the Azize brothers and the film crew headed off to Africa, where they met AIDS and leprosy sufferers, and to Peru, where they spent time in a home for abandoned and disabled children. Being at the leper colony in particular, says Jeff, left a profound impression on him. ‘People were struggling with this horrible disease, and as well as that they had to cope with being thrown out of their own families – leprosy there is still looked on as a curse.

‘What stayed with me, long after I’d left, was that these people, despite their own problems, were determined to live life to the full and to get the most out of each day. And it made me think: I might have had a tough start in New York, but I’m a healthy twenty-something with my whole life ahead of me. What, really, have I got to complain about? It put my whole existence into a new perspective – it really was an inspirational journey.’
They come from all faiths and none, and what they have in common is that they have had a very tough start in life.

What’s extraordinary about Jeff’s journey is that as well as inspiring him, it’s now inspiring thousands of others. Despite the fact that this was an amateur, cobbled-together movie – much of the financing ended up, says Campo, on his personal credit cards – it’s now won a host of international awards including best documentary in the International Independent Film and Video Festival, and it has drawn a huge amount of interest around the world. Jeff and Campo are currently taking it on a tour, which includes UK screenings, and they’re hoping they’ll eventually find a distributor so the movie can be seen by even more people.

Why has such a simple concept – two brothers on a quest to find out about human suffering – been such a big hit? The film has been much praised for its cinematography but, says Campo, what comes through most is the honesty and openness of the individuals at its heart. ‘This is a documentary about ordinary guys and the ordinary people they encounter in different situations,’ says Campo. ‘But of course they’re not ordinary, because no one is really ordinary – and it’s finding that essence of the human spirit, and what life is all about, that makes the film what it is.

These people, despite their own problems, were determined to live life to the full.‘Some of the kids who come to the St Francis House feel they’ve had it so tough that life isn’t important any more – and out there in the world there are lots of people who feel they’ve got such a lot to deal with that it’s not worth carrying on, that life is too much effort. What I hope our film shows is that there are people in this world who have really huge challenges – kids who can’t walk, mothers with AIDS who aren’t going to see their children grow up – and they’re all making the most of every minute…and so can all of us.’

What strengthens the film is that, alongside their travels to different parts of the world, Jeff is also on a personal quest. ‘I think a lot of us are looking for closure on difficult times we’ve had, and that’s what I’m doing,’ he says. ‘I’m looking for a chance to forgive, and I’m looking for a chance to move on from the problems of my early life.’ The result of this quest is, says Campo, the big highlight of the film. It’s a highlight he wants to keep secret, but he hopes to share it with lots more people on the March tour.

For more information on The Human Experience and its
UK screenings, go to:
www.grassrootsfilms.com
for more information on the St Francis House see:
www.stfrancishousebrooklyn.com