I wonder how many films it will take for some government in some rich country to finally step up and help those in dire need of medicine and food in Africa. Where poverty is an unchangeable lifestyle, where HIV is as common as the flu, and where everyday is a struggle to live, let alone a struggle to find something to eat and drink. The young boy pictured in “I Want to be a Pilot” is sadly only one of millions of young children starving, beaten daily, and anxious to experience something other than pure misery in their lives. He wants to be a pilot not because of the appeal of the career, but because he seeks to fly off into other places, far away from the ghettos of his village.
The pictures presented to the audience by Diez will be stark reminders of sheer sadness, to those collecting their Sundance prize bags this year, and “I Want to be a Pilot” is a grim reminder that those who have opportunities before them often waste them, while those with enough discipline to go out and fulfill their dreams have no chance at living into their twenties, let alone be given the chance to succeed. The young boy pictured is a voice of millions begging and pleading on the streets, holding on, and anxious for some sense of relief in a life that’s such a battle at such a young age. And Diez reminds us, it may not be too late to help him and the others. I bet that prize bag feels might heavy.
