PRODUCT INTELLIGENCE

Laura Waters Hinson documents—and lives—forgiveness.

Ushering in Forgiveness through Film

_>>> The age-old question of whether life imitates art or art imitates life takes on a modern spin in Laura Waters Hinson’s personal journey. Writer and director of the breathtakingly powerful Mpower documentary, As We Forgive (reviewed in last month’s CBA Retailers+Resources), Hinson had to forge a path of forgiveness herself when her life took an unexpected turn after wrapping the film’s shoot. As We Forgive exposes the great need for forgiveness between the perpetrators and victims of Rwanda’s genocide. Through the personal stories of several victimized women, the film shows how forgiveness is possible even after an unfathomable tragedy. In 1994, neighbor turned against neighbor in one of the swiftest genocides in history, leaving nearly one million Rwandans dead and even more orphaned or widowed. Ten years later, the prisons were overflowing, and Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, made a controversial decision: He released the prisoners who had admitted their crimes and said they had repented. Although a decade had passed since the genocide, not all Rwandan citizens were prepared to once again live next door to killers. Hinson and her crew of film students explored the power of forgiveness through the eyes of survivors who now stood face to face with the genocide’s perpetrators. The resulting hour-long documentary explores if and how survivors can forgive; if the Rwandan government can expect them to; and if the church, which failed at leadership during the genocide, can now aid in the reconciliation process. “The film has taken on a life of its own, and it really does give me great joy to still be working on it,” Hinson told CBA Retailers+Resources. “If it was any other subject matter, I would have gotten tired of it already, but it’s so profound.” While Hinson has never faced the trauma her subjects have, she has her own forgiveness story. In 2002, wedding plans consumed Hinson’s life when her fiancé unexpectedly broke off the engagement. During the next four years, Hinson attended film school and developed her Masters thesis on forgiveness in Rwanda. Two weeks after returning to the U.S. after filming, Hinson’s ex-fiancé called to ask for her forgiveness. “During the years we had been apart, his life had changed and he had healed,” she said. Tom Hinson and Laura Waters were married nine months after Tom’s initial call, and today Laura jokes that their entire marriage is based on forgiveness. Tom is now a pastor. “I never imagined I would be in this place, but I have loved every moment of it,” she said.

As We Forgive won a prestigious Student Oscar in 2008. After Hinson accepted the award, she was approached by Hollywood filmmakers who confessed to being tremendously moved by the documentary. The film’s reach didn’t stop there. Two weeks after Hinson spoke with CBA Retailers+Resources, she left again for Rwanda—this time to take the film back to the country from which it came.