USA,
1998, 57 min
Shown in 1998
CREDITS
- dir
-
Michael Chandler
- prod
-
Michael Chandler, Vivian Kleiman
- scr
-
Michael Chandler
- cam
-
Gary Grieg, Bob Perrin
- editor
-
Michael Chandler
- source
-
Forgotten Fires Productions, 534 The Alameda, Berkeley, CA 94707. FAX: 510-527-0581
- gga award
-
Golden Spire, Bay Area Film & Video: Documentary
- premiere
-
World Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Screened with Lockin’ Up.
OTHER
Forgotten Fires is a powerful exploration of the devastating consequences of prejudice. Filmed over one year in Manning, South Carolina following the Ku Klux Klan burning of two local African American churches, the film is a frightening testimony to the emotional and physical violence perpetrated by the KKK. Historically, the churches were the emblem of the fight for freedom and equality. Today, their active role in the community makes them a vulnerable target for racial hatred. But surprisingly, out of this painful story emerges a moving portrait of a community’s ability to forgive and to heal itself. Claiming to stand for the rights of white people, the Klan proclaims that Blacks are responsible for the disenfranchisement of whites. One Timothy Welch, a white man, got caught up in these twisted beliefs and set fire to the Macedonian Baptist Church. From the vantage point of prison, Welch reflects upon how his involvement with the Klan led him to racial violence. As a racist he is a hateful figure, but his remorse and desire for forgiveness are genuine and heartfelt. Through interviews with members of both the African American community and the KKK, Forgotten Fires tells the moving story of Welch’s forgiveness and acceptance by the Black community in a message of hope for the future of racial harmony.
—Lisanne Skyler
FACTOID #75
Italian screen siren and ’60s sex symbol Sophia Loren appeared in two films screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Ettore Scola’s A Special Day in 1977 and Francesco Rosi’s More Than a Miracle in 1981.
