Filmed over the course of nearly three years, the filmmakers use unique access and never before heard testimonies to tell a story of the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history on December 14, 2012. Newtown documents a traumatized community fractured by grief and driven toward a sense of purpose. Joining the ranks of a growing club to which no one wants to belong, a cast of characters interconnect to weave an intimate story of community resilience.

Serving Life is the first original documentary commissioned for the OWN Documentary Club, narrated and executive produced by Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker, and directed by Lisa Cohen.

The film takes viewers inside Louisiana’s maximum-security prison at Angola, where the average sentence is more than 90 years. The prisoners within its walls are the worst of the worst – rapists, kidnappers and murderers. With prison sentences so long, 85 percent will never again live in the outside world. Instead, the will grow old and die in Angola.

Serving Life documents an extraordinary hospice program where hardened criminals care for their dying fellow inmates. In doing so, they embark on a journey that may end in personal rehabilitation. “Serving Life reveals the humanity that exists inside each and every one of us,” said Whitaker. “In the Angola prison’s hospice, we meet inmates who decide to take an opportunity for redemption, reminding us of the connection that exists between each and every human being.” The volunteers are trained, pushed and tested. Some fail, but some succeed and discover that the human touch can reach the soul. “I thought maybe if I helped somebody else,” one inmate says, “that would help relieve some of the guilt.”

Audience response to Serving Life has been overwhelming. The documentary has now won over 10 awards, including the CINE Master Series Award and the Humanitas Prize.

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[su_quote cite=”Forest Whitaker”]“I thought it was clearly an exploration of compassion, an exploration of redemption, and whether we can be redeemed in how far off we fall and bring ourselves back upwards. It’s a great statement about humanity.”[/su_quote]

[su_quote cite=”Ginia Bellafante, New York Times”]“The camera turns to the most gruesome aspects of the work and demonstrates how the most broken lives can find meaning in quotidian displays of compassion.”[/su_quote]

Following the Peabody Award-winning Newtown documentary, Lessons From a School Shooting: Notes From Dublane depicts Father Bob Weiss, who in the days following the Sandy Hook Massacre that took the lives of 20 children and 6 of their educators on December 14, 2012, was tasked with the burial of 8 of those children. In the throes of profound PTSD, he receives a letter from Father Basil O’Sullivan in Dunblane, Scotland wherein 1996, 16 school children were gunned down at the hands of an unhinged lone gunman. In the ensuing months, the two priests forge a bond across the Atlantic through a series of letters sharing experiences of trauma and recovery. Father Basil recalls his own town’s efforts to launch the “Snowdrop” campaign that brought about radical gun policy reform in the UK, whereas the US has had no federal reform to date. There have been over 1600 mass shootings since December 2012 in the US. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Father Basil journeys across the Atlantic to bring solace to Father Bob and the community of Newtown.

The rise in anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric in the U.S. in the past 3 years has generated a new wave of activist. One of them is actor/writer/producer/comedian Aasif Mandvi, “the first brown guy” on The Daily Show. This short film, featuring a performance by Mandvi, Lewis Black and Roy Wood, Jr., reveals what led this artist to become an activist, and why it’s important for other artists to step up. Mandvi says, “When the world is falling apart, the artist’s job is to say ‘hey, let me tell you a story.’”

On April 14, 2014, 276 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, Nigeria. 219 girls remain missing, and have come to be known as the “Chibok Girls.” One mother, Esther Yokubu, carries on raising her family but the daughter who was taken is never far from her mind. On the anniversary of the kidnapping, she writes a letter to the daughter she has not seen in two years.

Set in the military outpost of San Antonio, Texas, After Fire highlights the challenges faced by the fastest-growing group of American veterans: women, who now account for one in five new recruits to the U.S. Armed Forces. Demonstrating courage during their military service and resilience in its aftermath, three women military veterans candidly confront the fallout of their experiences on their personal lives as they adjust to the civilian world. The film throws a spotlight on the human toll of military service – including military sexual trauma, combat injuries and bureaucratic dysfunction – telling a universal story about strength in the aftermath of trauma.

A documentary showing the emotions, people, and challenges behind constructing the 104-story One World Trade Center.

Narrated by Ed Harris

Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg

Premiered on Discovery Channel

Odyssey Impact® has produced more than 100 short videos that showcase the stories of people of faith in action. Please contact Michelle Budnick, Head of Production and Distribution to learn how you can use these shorts in your own work.