Your family member has been murdered by a stranger or by someone you know. How do you go about dealing with the anguish of such a horrendous tragedy? Do you forgive, take revenge or are there other ways to cope? These issues are explored in the NFB production Forgiveness: Stories of Our Time which will be previewing at the Hot Docs Film Festival this week.
Four individuals share their harrowing stories: Anne Marie Hagan’s father was murdered by a neighbour; Lesley Parrot’s daughter was raped and strangled; Alan McBride’s wife was killed in an IRA bombing and Julie Nicholson’s daughter was killed in an al-Qaida bombing. Each story is unique and each person affected by such violence and horror eventually questions the profound process of forgiveness in his/her own way.
Through interviews and archival footage, this powerful film, directed by Johanna Lunn, takes us on a journey where hope triumphs despite the suffering associated with such unimaginable loss. In a world where violence is so prevalent and often glorified by the media, we need films like this to spark the healing process by offering people a safe platform to question acts of carnage and to further embrace acts of forgiveness.
Ontario Premiere – Sunday, April 29 @ 9:30pm (Al Green Theatre)
Rachael Lovewell
rachael@juicystuff.ca
