A 'Bear' of a Tale to Share

Have you ever relied on the kindness of strangers? Does the thought of going up to one just to say "hello–"much less ask them for a place to sleep for the night–give you the heebie jeebies?

Then, you're likely not Greg Grano or Sarah Sellman, two filmmakers who, in 2010, decided to travel for 60 days to the five places in the United States named "Bear," and destinations inbetween, while chronicling their adventure.

Their film, "American Bear: An Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers," is currently in post-production. A trailer for the young couple's journey is available on their website, www.americanbearfilm.com.

It all started when Grano, a Morris Township native and Morristown High School Class of 2007 graduate, spoke in the middle of the night about the couple's need to go to a "Bear, Colorado."

"We were excited, but it doesn't exist," Grano, 22, said.

Undeterred, they decided to see where there were Bears, finding five: in Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Arkansas and Delaware. "It maps out a great circle," he said.

Prior to setting out in July 2010, friends and family let Grano and Sellman–both graduated film majors at NYU–know of their reservations. "They had a lot of negative expectations," Grano said.

Still, the couple found a place to sleep almost every night. "Often, we felt like part of the family," he said, noting most people let them sleep in their house, while one person let them sleep in an RV. Some even took them out to dinner, or prepared a barbecue.

They didn't just visit the Bears, however. Grano said some of their best experiences came while in Las Vegas, Atlanta and Chicago, where, the first person they met welcomed them warmly, then, "someone paid for us to stay in a hotel," he said.

Their favorite stop, however, was Bonners Ferry, Idaho, on the Fourth of July.

Grano said, while some politely refused a place for them to stay, often due to space, this family with nine children (five recently adopted), invited them into a three bedroom house for the night, where they had a cookout and watched the fireworks.

Sure, there were five nights they slept in their car in a Walmart parking lot, but that didn't really matter.

"Sarah and I are both very optimistic about humanity," Grano said. "We live in a culture of fear. We wanted to explore that, and this seemed like a wonderful opportunity."

"One of the most amazing things about the experience of making American Bear for me was watching my hypothetical trust in all people turn to an actual one," Sellman, 22, said. "I loved strangers before, but now I am almost fearless when it comes to kindness and connection.

"I think it's really important for people to connect with each other in a way that's less interface, more face-to-face," she added. "We are sort of losing that these days and it's a little sad. We should talk to the people sitting next to us on the airplane and in a movie theater. We should feel comfortable making small talk with almost anyone but I think generally we don't."

The couple is currently editing the film, which is being funded in part through the Kickstarter fundraising website. They also have a forum, where they encourage people to share their stories of random acts of kindness, on Facebook.

Grano said he would like to see the film convince people that "there is a smile around every corner."

"Hopefully, even a couple strangers will hug after they see the movie," Sellman said.

For more information about "American Bear: An Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers," visit: www.americanbearfilm.com. The trailer for the film also is included with this story.