Emanuel (2019)

Emanuel: Directed by Brian Tetsuro Ivie. With George Howard Adams, A.R. Bernard, Nadine Collier, Brien Gregorie. An inside look at the tragic event that took place in Charleston, South Carolina at the Emanuel AME Church, where 9 innocent churchgoers were gunned down.

“Emmanuel manages to tell a riveting, heartbreaking story, while successfully refraining from glorifying a killer. It is unfortunate how forgettable these tragedies can become, as society has to acclimate and recover from what seems like a new headline every month. Still, Ivie accomplished the impossible task of making the story about the victims only. Is the evil subject mentioned? Sure. But this documentary is not his documentary. This film gives the families of the fallen a chance to speak and let those distant from the tragedy have an idea of what they went through, and how large this problem truly was, and still is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEven with a message to share, this piece is able to deliver it without preaching to the audience. Nothing feels heavy handed or over-explained. Ivie lays out the facts, then lets the viewer decide on their own what weight this issue carries. Although I left the theater with tears in my eyes, I also left with a feeling of empowerment and forgiveness — something that was a focus of the film makers.”