Film & Television

    Writer • Director • Producer

    Currently in Production

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    Abundant

    Abundant is a feature-length documentary film about the human experience of giving.  The film explores many of the ways abundance, altruism and the act of giving affects us and others.  The film includes true, first-person stories from the most extreme altruists in our society: non-directed kidney donors.  These are everday people who decide to give a kidney to a complete stranger.  Yet, not every such abundant gift goes the way one would expect.

    Abundant also features commentary, facts and opinion from experts in abundance from the fields of psychology, economics, neuroscience, business, spirituality, medicine and more.  Their collective insights on abundance, frames the rare perspectives of the non-directed kidney donors and explains why such abundance is so uncommon.

    Filmed in part at CrowdSource for Life, a major storytelling arts event featuring living kidney donors staged at Dallas, Texas’ historic Majestic Theater, Abundant takes you inside the impact of great giving, the fears and restrictions that reinforce scarce thinking and the incredible potential of abundance for all of us.

    Produced by Donald Griswold’s Maitri River Productions, Abundant is directed by Donald Griswold.  It is planned for release in 2024.

    Note from Donald about Projects in Development

    When I select a project for development, I look for two qualities.  One is societal issue that our country or culture really struggles with, for whatever reason.  The other is an angle to open the conversation on that struggle and keep the audience engaged.  My work at Maitri River productions is not like a show-and-tell or book report.  it’s an immersion into an environment we create to open the door to learning and empathy.

    Through The Music

    Through the Music is a part Austin City Limits, a bit of No Reservations and a little of Axios.

    Through the Music     is a premium television travelogue of discovery, rediscovery and music emanating from transcendent venues around the United States of America.

    Hosted by musicologists and cultural commentators, Through the Music travels to American cities and towns in search of progress and the music that pushes progress forward.  Featuring casual interviews with local experts, authorities and activists, each episode of Through the Music explores the history and the forward trajectory of an American community, pairing the conversation with expertly-curated music from an emerging musical artist playing one of the community’s historic music venues.  We’ll dig deep into American culture through the music found in these places.

    Citizen Me

    Citizen Me is a first-person storytelling podcast about empathy.

    Today, mentioning the term “citizenship” often sparks a politicized response. With a focus on building empathy, Citizen Me begins with common ground, taking an important look at the definition of citizenship…. Just not the legal or dictionary definitions.  We’re defining it like a first-grade teacher might do it with a “citizenship grade.”  Just like in elementary school, when the value of getting along well is reflected in a “citizenship grade,” Citizen Me focuses on the fifteen personal qualities of a good citizen. 

    The fifteen qualities of a good citizen are: honesty, integrity, responsibility, accountability, respectfulness, compassion, kindness, tolerance, courtesy, self-discipline, moral courage, love of justice, participation, volunteerism, trustworthiness, and respecting the rights of others.  This is our common ground.