‘The Giver’ Film Gives Back

The Weinstein Company, producer of the new film, The Giver, starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, has quietly done some giving of its own.

Beautiful vignettes document the “First Experiences” project, which has given three deserving individuals a chance to experience something they’ve always dreamed of.

As Bridges’ character says in the science fiction thriller The Giver, “These are individuals experiencing things that you or I may take for granted. But for them, this is the very first time.”

The producers surprised a young woman who was a lifelong swimmer and lifeguard in a small landlocked town in South Dakota. Cristina had never seen a large body of natural water before.

She was injured in a 2012 car accident, one so serious that doctors thought it might keep her from ever walking again. But she persevered and taught herself to walk again – and swim.

The “First Experiences” project put airline tickets in Cristina’s father’s hands so he could give her the trip of a lifetime.

“I don’t want to leave this world only seeing South Dakota,” she says in the film.

The Good News Network will feature more of the Weinstein project films, which showcase “the power of giving back,” later this week.

(WATCH the surprise, and the first ocean swim below)

The song, sung by Tori Kelly, is from The Giver soundtrack: (I’m not meant to be) Silent.