Eastside Journal
Friday, January 26, 2001

Teen People honors Redmond boy

by Diana Hefley
Journal Reporter

Teen People Magazine has named Paul Gordon one of the top 20 teens who will change the world. He will be honored in New York next week. Gordon, now a freshman at University of Washington, has made a film, written a book and raised $240,000 for a local boy's liver transplant. Here, he videotapes a 60-foot sailboat.

REDMOND - A local teen's first attempt at film making has landed him in the national spotlight and next to the likes of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys in Teen People Magazine.
The magazine has named Paul Gordon to its list of top 20 teens who will change_ the world, and will feature him in its March issue.

Gordon will be honored for his 32-minute' film, "Silhouettes of Time," at a luncheon in New York next week, and will appear on a WB Cable show dedicated to the world-changing teens next month:
"It is my first actual short film. I've goofed, around making home movies, but this is the first," said Gordon, who is studying film at the University of Washington.

Gordon, who made the film as a senior at Mount Si High last year, found his inspiration to take up the camera after the 1999 shooting rampage at Columbine High School that left a dozen students, a teacher and the two teenage shooters dead.

"Silhouettes" follows the struggles of a loner named Dawson who considers shooting a bully after repeated run-ins. But the plot takes a twist when Dawson sees his plans for revenge acted out in a dream. Dawson's thoughts of murder are squashed when he sees his only friend a classmate who reached out to him - take the bullet in his dream.

"I wanted to make a difference with my peers and send a message about hope," Gordon said. "1 always want to make films that have a message. I'm going to make films with a purpose."
Gordon also has written a book about making a difference, but he sees his future in film making. It is a powerful medium that can change people, he said.

Gordon is an old hand at taking up causes. At 15, he helped raise $240,000 for a liver transplant for 10-year-old Eric Graeve. He went on to raise additional money for a young girl who also needed a liver transplant.

Gordon has been to Washington,. D.C., to lobby Congress about the need for organ donations. He also has set up the Paul Gordon's Children Fund through the National Transplant Assistance Fund.
"You just have to do something," Gordon said.

Diana Hefley can be leached at diana.hefley@eastsidejournal.com or 425-453-4243.