The last thing a parent wants to hear from their child is, “I want to become an artist.” Which basically means, “I want to live with you forever. And you get to pay my bills.” All this from the guy who writes movie reviews for a living. We are fortunate to live in a time and place where it’s possible to follow your passions and potentially make a living from it. Director Nathan Ives offers hope and insight in his documentary Somewhere In The Middle.
“These are artists living in the middle range between super-stardom and complete obscurity.”
Fulfilling dreams and becoming wealthy is not guaranteed. Somewhere In The Middle is an interview-style documentary with five legitimate, yet not-so-famous artists who have found a way to live and thrive on their art. These artists include musicians Aaron Tap and Griffin House, actress Jasika Nicole, and artists Dan McCaw and Jeff Nishinaka. These are probably names either you’ve never heard of or know their work but never knew the person behind it. That’s the point. These are artists living in the middle range of super-stardom and complete obscurity. They are artists who are excellent in their respective fields but must always produce to pay the bills and build a future.
Somewhere In The Middle is academic in the way it approaches the subjects. For all of them, the journey is the same, while at the same time very different. Ives takes us through every step of becoming a professional. He starts with stories of how each discovered their talent like Jasika finding her love of acting in her school theater program. The stories then flow into having someone affirm their ability and then finding a mentor to hone that talent. Aaron Tap talks about finding a tutor at a music store that only taught him rock and roll.
"…the journey is the same, while at the same time very different."
