Parkland: Healing a Community and a Nation

Streaming video - 2018

Seven minutes and nine seconds was all the time it took for an active shooter to take 17 lives at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland Florida on February 14, 2018, one of the deadliest mass school shootings in the United States. To say it changed a community would be an understatement. After all, the once “safest” town in Florida, was penetrated by immeasurable sadness and grief. And yet over the past 12 months, the world has witnessed how the strength of an entire community turned a tragedy into forceful action and positive change. PARKLAND: HEALING A COMMUNITY AND A NATION takes viewers behind the scenes of the Parkland tragedy to witness the birth of the most powerful gun reform movements in U.S. history. The documen...tary focuses on illuminating the unsung heroes; the pro-active individuals made up of Parkland parents, teachers, families of survivors and the students who are using their creativity towards healing and understanding, not just for their beloved town of Parkland, but for their community and their country. And then there are the stories of several Parkland individuals, whose stories of healing others are documented over the course of a year, beginning with the tragedy. Andrea, the sister of victim Joaquin Oliver dedicates her time and efforts to a charity project in her brother’s name. Mother and artist Nava Lundy feverishly paints the portraits of the 17 victims and lovingly delivers them to their bereaved families for comfort. Finally, Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Melissa Manchester dedicates an anthem to the students and with the help of teacher Stewart Rabin, they bring survivors together to sing the song “We are the Fire.” The documentary culminates in a crescendo at an emotional public concert a week before the one year anniversary of the shooting. more