Today we’d like to introduce you to Caitlin Bryant.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Caitlin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Dear Lover Films started in 2019 and I focus on filming about mental health, healthy foods, and children advocacy.
It goes back to memories that I share with my grandmother, late Josephine Bryant who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the early 2000s. I have memories of her telling stories to my brother and me the joy she got from caring for other people.
She had her own land and garden.
She canned food, delivered meals to her church, cared for multiple children and so much more in the community.
The true meaning of being a village.
After not only seeing her throughout her illness but taking care of her while she was in her worst stages, I never forgot who she was before her illness and wanted to not only follow her footsteps but film along the way.
I paused everything after being diagnosed with depression and relaunched in April 2019 making every project teachable and something my son could understand.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Before being diagnosed with depression I lost everything around me from my sanity. I didn’t want to accept the fact that I really needed to talk to someone because I had things bottled up inside of me from 1999. That is not healthy, mentally and physically. I am huge in therapy and promoting self-care and mental health. It’s been instilled in us to keep things to ourselves, and that way of thinking is not healthy.
Please tell us about Dear Lover Films.
Dear Lover Films is an independent production company that I launched a couple of months ago, April 15th to be exact and I focus on not only filming about mental health, healthy foods and children advocacy but also promoting and bringing as much attention to it as I can. After my personal experience with depression, as a mother, I knew staying down was not an option. My depression stemmed from things that happened to me as a child and carried on to my adult life. Our children are our future and there’s so much being exposed to them that shouldn’t, so my main focus is making sure I get to as many children as possible to spread positivity starting with my son.
This summer, I filmed short films over anxiety, choices, and police brutality. I also bring light to things such as gun violence and homelessness. Every month at the end of the month, my son and I feed the homeless & clean neighborhoods together. Sometimes, it’s just the two of us and other times, we gather up others to join teaching community service.
I don’t like to put cameras in their faces because they go through so much, but here and there, I’ll get footage of them telling me about their old war stories and crazy tales making every experience a learning experience.
So, to sum up what I do, I film and photograph humanity. Real-life things that go unnoticed, I teach things that should be taught, such as growing foods, making your own and caring about those who think no one cares at all. That’s how we can make this world a better place. It not only makes me proud that my hard work doesn’t go unnoticed but that I get to share this journey with my son.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I could start over, I would keep everything the same. The reason I am here is by the grace of God. If it were up to my thoughts, I wouldn’t be here but James 1:12 says Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 2146174301
- Instagram: dearloverfilms
Image Credit:
@ottorocketjr
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