Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace 10/18/2009
Vision and Values – ABC
Presented by the National Council of Churches USA; Produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Beginning October 18 through December, 2009, ABC stations across the US will be airing a documentary I produced about forgiveness. Even though the Acholi people of Northern Uganda were living in a war zone, they can teach the rest of the world a lesson about forgiveness. More than 300,000 people were packed into camps for safety. Despite all this, the Acholi people are ready to forgive the rebels who caused them so much pain.

They have a tradition known as Mato Oput or “drinking the bitter herbs.” When two parties come together and taste the bitter herb, they sense each others pain. Then, the broken relationship is restored. Join us for an hour-long trip into faith, forgiveness and reconciliation, an African story of grace.

Visit http://www.interfaithbroadcasting.com/vv.aspx for more information or air date and time in your area. ABC stations have a window in which to broadcast this program through December 2009.

Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace is a production of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America www.elca.org/readytoforgive for the National Council of Churches and the Interfaith Broadcast Commission.

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Sunday morning after a meeting in New York with Intersections International about an upcoming shoot in the Middle East, I leave for a short return visit to Uganda for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Two years ago I produced a documentary about the Acholi people in Northern Uganda and their quest to forgive a rebel movement that killed thousands and forced them into internally displaced person camps for more than twenty years. Here is a link:
http://archive.elca.org/readytoforgive/

The ELCA now has an opportunity to have this program air on ABC television this winter. I will be returning to Uganda to update the program and add an additional six minutes. Since the original program, the Acholi people have returned to their villages. But a major drought has struck the region. Crops have failed and people face widespread hunger.

Look for updates here and on my Facebook Page.

The post Returning to Uganda appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

Through 21 years of war, death, rape, torture and child abduction, rebels known as the Lord’s Resistance Army forced two million people into internally displaced person camps. Yet, the Acholi people are united in a belief that the only real solution is reconciliation and forgiveness.

“The program was recorded on location in Northern Uganda,” said Tim Frakes, writer and producer, Tim Frakes Productions, Lombard, Ill. “In this story, the Acholi people offer lessons of forgiveness that we can learn from,” Frakes said. “Most stories from Africa emphasize western nations helping Africans,” he said. “This is an example of Africans helping us.”

The host of the program is Immaculee Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and author of “Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan Holocaust.”

“The Acholi people of Northern Uganda have been through so much and to be able to capture this amazing story of forgiveness and reconciliation was truly a blessing. Now our task is to bring their story to a wider audience,” said Ava Odom Martin, director for public media, ELCA Communication Services.

“If the Acholi people can forgive the Lord’s Resistance Army for the torture and massacre brought upon their community and get on with their lives, then hopefully someone else may be touched by their action
and find forgiveness for an injustice done to them,” said Martin.

The ELCA is one of 35 member communions of the National Council of Churches of Christ U.S.A. (NCC). The NCC is a founding partner of the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC), which provides television programming to the affiliates of three major broadcast television networks. NBC’s “Horizons of the Spirit” provides four hours per year for documentaries produced by the IBC faith groups.

Martin said “Ready to Forgive” will be available for broadcast through May 31, 2008. “Please contact your local NBC station for specific dates and times in your area,” she said. The production was made possible in part through a grant from Faith and Values Media, she added.
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Information about the television program, “Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace,” is at http://www.elca.org/readytoforgive/ on the ELCA Web site and http://www.frakesproductions.com/ on the
Internet.

The post ELCA News Release: Uganda: Ready to Forgive appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

Contact your local NBC Affiliate for air dates and times beginning December 2, 2007 through March 1, 2008.
www.frakesproductions.com

The post Uganda: Ready to Forgive Spot appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

Jim Quattrocki and I produced this documentary in Northern Uganda in October, 2006. Kevin Jacobson helped with logistics. Jim Parks edited the program and wrote some of the music. This is an African story of God’s amazing grace. Northern Uganda has been at war for twenty years. Those most affected, a tribal people known as the Acholi, or Luo people, endure rape, torture, and child abduction. Thousands have died. Others are missing. Two million people are displaced.

Most live in squalid camps for internally displaced persons, protected by government soldiers they often fear more than the rebels. Despite all this, the Acholi are united in the belief that the only real solution to the problem is reconciliation and forgiveness. The Acholi are ready to forgive. Tim Frakes Productions is a full service video production company specializing in single camera, documentary productions for corporate and non-profit clients.
www.frakesproductions.com

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