INTERVIEW IN THE HIGHLAND PARK MIRROR, Jan. 13, 2008
Sebouh Gemdjian
H.P. Mirror staff
reprinted with permission
There comes a time in a man's life when he realizes he can do whatever he aspires to without setting conditions for satisfaction or excuses for failure. For Neil Selden, a published novelist and award winning playwright, the completion of his first feature film may be one of many such moments. Selden and his wife Lee, both in their seventies, will soon release their first feature film, "Final Gifts," through their independent studio Wayhaven Productions.
Speaking to Selden, who also keeps a successful psychotherapy practice in Highland Park, one does not get the urge to measure success -- because one is met with unconditional joy. Along with his wife Lee, his editor, his co-producer and his muse through decades of marriage, Neil has been simply acting on inspiration and compassion.
"Final Gifts" tells the story of a Salvadoran peasant and a Jewish doctor, both of whom, in different wars, fought against tyranny. Although passionate about the tragedies in the Salvadoran Civil War and in the Warsaw Ghetto, what seems to inspire the Seldens is not so much railing against atrocities as the act of transcending them.
As we talked about the peaks and valleys of Lee and Neil's lives, it became apparent to me that the Seldens owe much of their success to the knowledge that it is not solutions that make up transcendence. According to them, everything truly boils down to self discovery, to speaking about the unspeakable, shining a light on it, so a lingering thought can move on and the inevitable next one can be known to us, and we do not have to stumble blindly through life, we can make our suffering the source of wisdom.
The Seldens married, divorced, started living together and married again, all in the 1960’s. "We were really seriously divorced," said Lee. "It wasn't just a separation." This is hard to believe, as the spark between the two seems as fresh as ever after many decades of companionship and collaboration, including such community work as helping organize and lead the first successful drug rehab program for young substance abusers in Manhattan. The Seldens believe that everyone is a teacher, and that everyone is a student. In "Final Gifts," this lesson brings two brave and compassionate women together to begin their own healing.
To Neil and his wife Lee, art is a self-discovery inherent in all things. Hand in hand they have immersed themselves in self-exploration since the beginning of their relationship, constantly rediscovering life in the universal flow.
The premiere of "Final Gifts" is expected later in the year.