Aamion Goodwin had an unorthodox upbringing. A product of his father’s rejection of the constraints of modern society, Aamion spent much of his childhood bouncing between Fiji, Australia, and Kauai. Now a father himself, Aamion, along with his wife Daize, are passing along that love for cultures around the world on to their young children, Given (their son), and True (their newborn daughter).
Given is a cinematically stunning film that traces the travels of the Goodwins over the course of a year around the world, from Hawaii to Australia, Nepal to Peru. And it’s all told from the perspective of the Goodwins’ son, hence the name.
More than anything, says the film’s director Jess Bianchi, Given is meant to show people not that the Goodwins’ way of life is the right way, or that they’re the poster children for an alternative lifestyle, but simply there’s a way to get by that exists outside the norm. “I do hope the film will inspire people to break from whatever, like, block they have in their life,” Bianchi told The Inertia in an interview. “Whether it’s a family that wants to travel the world, or maybe it’s just a block in their smaller circle. But just to get out of their ordinary life that’s obviously not working for them, and just see that there’s a whole different life they could be living.”
