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The Minnesota Daily

Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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‘The Human Experience’ comes to U

The documentary features two brothers who travel and live with those less fortunate.

Ten minutes before the scheduled start of the documentary âÄúThe Human Experience, âÄù Coffman Theater was packed, a testament to the message of the film. The documentary, shown Wednesday night, features two brothers from New York who challenged the norm and took the term “experiment” to new heights, as they traveled the globe living with those less fortunate in an effort to emphasize the beauty of life. The brothers, Jeff Azize, 22, and Cliiford Azize, 29, traveled the globe and experienced life as if they were homeless. At the same time, they were gathering life stories from the likes of: people on the streets of New York, âÄúLost ChildrenâÄù in Lima, Peru, and lepers in South Africa. Electrical engineering sophomore Sean Niemic was one of many audience members struggling to secure a seat. Niemic, a member of Students for Human Life , said he decided to attend the event because he liked the idea of how the film company that produced the documentary, Grassroots Films , âÄúpushed the agenda of life.âÄù Mychael Campo , the associate producer of the film, traveled to Minnesota along with Jeff Azize for the screening and said his involvement in the project âÄúdefinitely made [him] less of a selfish person.âÄù Jeff Azize said the brothers fully participated in a homeless lifestyle âÄî âÄúWe met with these people, ate with them, and actually learned from them.âÄù âÄúWhen you sit down with [the homeless], you see that these are beautiful people full of hope,âÄù he said. The Azize brothers, who come from an abusive childhood, lived homeless in New York City for a week at the start of the documentary before traveling to Peru and finally to South Africa. Jeff Azize said he was amazed at how hopeful the homeless people they encountered were about their lives, despite their living conditions. The film, which is directed towards questioning human dignity, attemped to tackle the question, âÄòHave we forgotten what it means to be human?âÄô âÄúThese people really helped us to know the meaning of true relationships,âÄù Jeff Azize said. The documentary was brought to the University of Minnesota thanks to St. PaulâÄôs Outreach , a student group for young Christians. Jenna Krause, an SPO member, and seven other SPO members traveled to Fargo, N.D. last month for a screening of the film. There, the group met the Grassroots crew and invited them to the University. âÄúI cried the whole time. It was just so profound and so beautiful,âÄù Krause said of the first time she saw the documentary. âÄúIt just shows each and every human being is worthy of dignity.âÄù WednesdayâÄôs screening was to 39th screening the film company has conducted across the country, reaching more than 40,000 people since October 2007. Next month, they will travel to Europe for additional screenings. There will be another screening at the University of St. Thomas Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the OâÄôShaugnessy Educational Auditorium.

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