Mature Content Policy


graphic is about empathy


why is empathy so important?

Before a doctor can provide treatment or perform surgery on a patient, he must first look at the wound. It must be assessed. The doctor must spend time with it and then no matter how ugly the wound is, no matter how much it smells or disgusting and dirty the wound is; he needs to set those thoughts and feelings aside and just go in, get his hands dirty and do the work. Putting a band-aid over a wound that clearly requires intensive surgery is irresponsible and in the long run; causes far more dangerous problems potentially up to and including death.


Putting a band-aid over a wound that clearly requires intensive surgery is irresponsible and in the long run; causes far more dangerous problems potentially up to and including death.

For the healing process to begin, one must deal with the wound. A counselor or psychologist would never tell a pregnant teenager or rape victim that they’re not allowed to talk about the sexual encounter because it’s ‘inappropriate to talk about sex’. Or telling a soldier returning from war that they shouldn’t talk about the brutal violence they witnessed and were also a part of because ‘violence is wrong’. They would have absolutely no judgement and allow an open discussion; because to find healing you need to go to the point of pain.

Wounds can come in many forms. It’s not just physical; they can be emotional wounds, psychological wounds, even spiritual wounds. They are not always inflicted by ‘malicious means’ like murder or rape. They can be the product of bad luck, bad choices, accidents, neglect, fear, nature, failure, disappointment and the list can again, go on and on.

Humans are multi-faceted beings and all elements are consistently at work, the physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological.

If the character has an emotional wound, we look at how it manifests itself in the physical and in the psychological. How has this wound affected the way they think, the way they view others? How has it affected their moral discernment? How do these thoughts become physical actions? If it’s a physical wound, how does it affect their emotional life?

While as filmmakers, we are not, and do not claim to be, doctors or psychologists; the same principles do apply. However, while the director or writer does not require a doctorate in human psychology, a strong and firm understanding of human behavior is.

At Thousand Year Films, we understand that humans are physical beings, they’re sexual beings, they’re emotional beings, psychological beings and they’re spiritual beings, and in all areas; they are flawed beings.

There is no such thing as perfection in this material world.  It is important to us not to leave these elements out of our characters because when that is done, they become incomplete or false portrayals. The storyteller must understand how these elements of a human being interconnect with each other, how they affect each other; understanding that within each of these elements of being is the possibility for great joy, pleasure, fulfillment, and equally so; great sorrow, pain, and disappointment.


At Thousand Year Films, we understand that humans are physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and spiritual beings...
...and in all areas; they are flawed beings.

These things are all taken into account when when we tell a story or creating a character. Things like hope, healing, understanding, insight or revelation cannot happen without empathy.

We approach without judgement trying to see a full and accurate picture. By full and accurate picture we mean a ‘clear and effective picture depicted in a realistic and vivid manner’; and to see a ‘full and accurate picture’ we need to see the ‘full and accurate picture’.

This is where ‘graphic’ comes in....