ICTJ Events

December 5, 2006

SCREENING: ICTJ Previews South African Film "Forgiveness" | New York City

California Newsreel and the International Center for Transitional Justice invite you to a special preview screening of

FORGIVENESS

a film by

IAN GABRIEL

SCREENING DATE & VENUE
Tuesday, December 5th at 6:00 pm
at the International Center for Transitional Justice
5 Hanover Square, 24th floor (between Pearl and Water Streets)

Q & A and Reception to follow at 8pm

RSVP to Edward Torres at (917) 637-3800 or etorres@ictj.org

About the Film
The story of one man's quest for absolution amid a people destroyed by the weight of his sins, Forgiveness shows that a country heals one person, one family at a time. His quest poses a challenge to us all: Can South Africa's road to reconciliation not also be traveled by others?
Do we not have the courage to confront our violent past, to not turn away in denial, so we may begin to heal?

Synopsis
Granted amnety for crimes committed in the past, South African ex-cop Tertius Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo) still feels shackled by the weight of his sins. His unrelenting quest for closure plunges the family of one of his victims into a furnace of personal emotion. Inclined at first to drive Coetzee away, the family becomes involved in a plot to keep him in the town to avenge the death of their son, triggering the road-trip of three friends intent on revenge. Truth Commissioner Dr. Faizal Randera suggests "If we cannot understand what made people think and do what they did, these conflicts will arise again within our society." In storing up hatred and choosing revenge we deny not only the humanity of the perpetrator, we stunt our own humanity as well.