Free screening of ‘Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree of Life’ to be held Oct. 17
“Repairing the World” is the inspirational story of the citizens of Pittsburgh who were determined to turn the phrase “never again” into action.
A free community screening of an abbreviated version of the documentary “Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree of Life,” will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at Carnegie Mellon University’s McConomy Auditorium. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and be followed by a panel discussion that includes Andrea Wedner, a survivor of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, and Patrice O’Neill, the film’s producer.
The documentary is a production of “Not in Our Town,” a team that has created films on successful community responses to hate for more than 25 years.
“Repairing the World” is the inspirational story of the citizens of Pittsburgh who were determined to turn the phrase “never again” into action following the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
“As we watched the events unfold in Pittsburgh, what we found is a community that cared deeply for one another,” O’Neill said in a prepared statement. “We saw a diverse cross-section of the community standing together in the face of horrific violence.”
The full documentary will premiere on WQED-TV on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 9 p.m. WQED is serving as the presenting station to the American Public Television network, the distribution service to PBS stations across the United States.
“WQED is honored to serve as the presenting station to public stations across America,” said David Solomon, the managing director of production and TV station manager, in a prepared statement. “This film shows how our community rallied in the wake of the worst kind of tragedy to send a powerful message of unity to the world.”
The release of the film coincides with the five-year commemoration of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. O’Neill said the message of how Pittsburgh responded to the attack is more important than ever, as the United States has seen an escalation of antisemitism and hate-motivated violence in the years since the attack.
“Racism and antisemitism are intertwined in the messaging that fueled recent mass hate crime killings,” O’Neill said. “We can do something to stop the spread of hate, and our local communities are places where we can effectively make a change that can be felt in people’s lives. We have to find new ways to mobilize the vast majority of people in our cities and towns who don’t want the spread of hate speech and violence to harm themselves, their children or their neighbors.”
To register for the free screening, go to repairingtheworldscreening.eventbrite.com/. The screening is sponsored by The Pittsburgh Promise. Community partners include the Jewish Community Relations Council, Film Pittsburgh, the 10.27 Healing Partnership and the Center for Loving Kindness. PJC
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