A Full Length, Feature Documentary Directed by Alex Zarek
In March 2020 — a month before the world shut down — Chicago-born videographer Alex Zarek flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico to spend a week with me: documenting my work, interviewing my friends and family, and capturing the places that have made Levi The Poet what it is.
We’re excited to present to you his finished, full-length work:
It’s All Worth Living For: The First 10 Years.
Your purchase includes access to my Track-By-Track Exclusives — featuring filmed, interview-style video commentaries about every poem I’ve ever released.
It's All Worth Living For
It's All Worth Living For
Run Time: 01:29:11
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A full-length documentary commemorating the first 10 years of Albuquerque-based spoken word poet Levi the Poet's career.
No cinema cameras. No big-ticket production. Just a sentimental piece highlighting the journey of an artist Levi Macallister dedicating his life to spreading the positive message of faith and hope within and beyond pain.
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Mental-health awareness is incredibly important - especially in today's world.
Levi the Poet's career and discography were born out of his own personal struggles and journey with mental and emotional pain. His work has since been shrouded in sharing stories - both personal and fictional, to show life and joy beyond pain, death, and personal turmoil. Through 5 studio albums, countless national / international tours and performances, and work with various mental health centric organizations, Levi has become a beacon of hope for audiences of all ages and walks of life - screaming the encouraging motif that 'it's all worth living for'.
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INTRO & PROLOGUE
Introduction to Levi Macallister and his message of hope and life beyond pain and death.
He shares a heartbreaking story while driving through the mountains east of Albuquerque.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Emphasis on the importance of friends and family as a support system.
We visit a conversation between Levi's mother, siter, and himself as they discuss the origins of his love for writing. Levi goes in depth on his initial passion for the art and his eventual development into spoken word poetry and storytelling.
WEREWOLVES & INITIAL SUCCESS
Levi discusses first performances, and recording the debut studio album Werewolves.
He highlights the subject matter of the album, mentioning coming-of-age contexts, suicidal ideation, and familial discord.
PLACES & THINGS (PT. 1)
We visit the school where Levi started journal keeping and he expresses his view on the important of not negating or minimizing others' problems no matter how trivial they may be. We visit his childhood skatepark, highschool, and talk about the locations and context that inspired the project as a whole.
SOPHOMORE RELEASE: MONOLOGUES
This highlights the writing and recording of the sophomore release - Monologues.
Creative collaboration, dark foreshadowing of his father's suicide, and dealing with the distancing that comes with being on the road as a touring artist.
PLACES & THINGS (PT. 2), FAMILIAL DECLINE, & SEASONS
We take a trip into the mountains outside of Albuquerque and visit Levi's childhood neighborhood for his first time in over 7 years. This is the home where his father's health declined and led to his eventual suicide. Those events in 2011 led to the subject matter of what much of the tragic Seasons album was and the generally dark context of the cycle.
LETTER TO PAST LEVI (PT. 1)
Taking a step away from the darker topics, Levi reads through a letter he wrote to his past self.
We get a glimpse at the sentiment and beauty of the beginning of the project and how it went on to blossom.
This segment is revisited throughout the rest of the piece
CREATING FROM A PLACE OF PAIN, OPEN WOUNDS, TRANSPARENCY
Levi confesses his struggle with creating from a healthy headspace and deliberately putting himself into a dark mindset to write. We discuss the unhealthy impact this type of things has on people and how it has led to the surging of celebrity suicides. Levi highlights the importance of processing pain before exposing it.
CORRESPONDENCE, COLLABORATIVE CREATION, TONAL SHIFT
After the Seasons album, the tone of Levi's work changed quite a bit for the next cycle. He discusses the reasoning for the drastic shift from autobiographical stream of consciousness to fantastical, fictional storytelling. He talks through the theology behind the album and his inspiration for it. We also sit with the two men who helped create the musical score for the project.
LETTER TO PAST LEVI (PT. 2)
CATARACTS
Following drama and traumatic events within the systems of Levi's church, many of the congregation were left feeling abandoned and let down. This prompted the most recent album in his discography - Cataracts.
In contrast to the previous release, this album had a darker, more angry tone to it with hip-hop styled instrumentals.
LETTER TO PAST LEVI (PT. 3) & LIFE BEYOND THE PAIN
In addition to continuing to read his letter to himself, he reminisces with family and friends about being happy to be alive.
IT'S ALL WORTH LIVING FOR
To conclude, we pick up where we started in a sentimental final reflection of the last 10 years. We hear a final 'it's all worth living for as the piece closes and a drone flys up and spins around to reveal the gorgeous city of Albuquerque.
A Brief Letter, From Levi
“Why This Might Matter To You”
The First Ten Years is a passion project that became a reality in the winter of 2019, when my (Levi’s) phone rang and I answered “Hello?” to an unknown number from one Alex Zarek — a name I recognized from probably every show I ever played in Chicago during this decade’s worth of touring years.
“I hear you’re working on a book… what if I shot a documentary to go along with it?”
A few months later, Alex was in my home, meeting my friends and family, visiting my childhood houses and middle school playground and drinking Blue Moon in a town with (apparently) too much better beer to know what to do with…
The plan was to release this in some sort of conjunction with the release of my book. The planet, however, thought otherwise.
Alex shot more footage than I’d ever know what to do with, and spent God-knows-how-much-time editing it down to something beautiful over the course of the years between then and now. This documentary was entirely his idea, his time, his money, his expertise, his generosity, his love.
As I sit here the night before we start to make it available to the world, typing this sentence, I’m struck by the realization that I likely won’t know how grateful I am for this gift until much later in life — perhaps when some future iteration of myself (or my children — who knows?) has a chance to reflect on what a miracle it actually is to have an entire career (in many ways, with you included: a communal becoming) documented with the kind of care you’ll see here.
It’s a gift alright, at any rate, and I believe it will be that for you, too.
The “Levi The Poet” people…? You’re not just some casual listeners. We grew up together. We were the same age when I started performing. We were (are) figuring life out together.
That’s what what this is about. These aren’t my years.
These are our years.
Thanks Alex,
Levi
P.S. Stoked to see you at the premiere.
We’re going to give a percentage of all sales to To Write Love On Her Arms.
The poem “It’s All Worth Living For” — in all actuality — would not have ever existed if they hadn’t asked me to write something for their NSPD “Stay” Campaign over five years ago now.
Hell, a lot of us might not exist anymore at all if it weren’t for the work that they’re accomplishing in the world.
Words can’t express how thankful I am for my friends at TWLOHA — founder included (What’s up, Jamie!). What better work is there to do in the world than to keep on telling people:
Your story matters. Keep going. It is all worth living for.