Captivating, disturbing, informative and upsetting, the new documentary Lessons from Homicides: The Buffalo Story invokes a wide range of emotions and reactions.
Presented by Quality of Life Associates Inc. and Quality of Life Films and Productions, Inc. Lessons from Homicides chronicles losing a loved one to a gang fight or a drive-by shooting, and the fate of all of these people still hurting their surviving family members.
Filmed by UB's own Associate Professor of Sociology, Dr. Peter St. Jeans, the documentary strives to raise awareness of the violence and murder that plague the Buffalo community.
Premiering on Friday, Oct. 19, 2007 at the Buffalo Science Museum, the large crowd shared one common purpose: "Stop the Violence."
Dr. St. Jean started off the premiere with a welcome speech and was right on the money when he described this work as "gripping and personal," foreshadowing the reactions of the audience members to the film. The motivation for St. Jean's documentary was the increasing number of deaths each year in Buffalo. He began being active in these causes when the death toll reached up to 400 people in the year 2000.
The documentary compiles the life and death of men, women and children who lost their lives to murder, and the journey for their families to heal. St. Jean also uses music in his film from local artists, giving it a sense of familiarity and a kind connection to the community.
There were many community groups that contributed to raising awareness on this issue such as Parents Encouraging Accountability and Closure for Everyone (P.E.A.C.E) and Stop the Violence Coalition. The purposes of these activist groups are to promote change and be a catalyst for acceptance, peace and prosperity.
After the first few minutes in the theater there was not a dry eye in the audience. The most heartbreaking moments depicted the victims with their family members, sitting in the cold movie seats looking at their lost loved ones.
One particularly heartbreaking moment was when Charles Murray, father of a young boy named DeVonte, started telling the story of his son's death and said, "he'll never go to college, and I'll never see him getting married." It was especially heartbreaking because young DeVonte passed just last month, only a few weeks into his sophomore year.
Charles Murray was brave enough to make it to the premiere of Lessons from Homicides. Murray's strength is the type of strength that Dr. St. Jean is using to connect the documentary with the world.
Essentially, the documentary speaks to the disheartening truth of living in a society that is so desensitized by violence that many often forget the severity of murder, rape and robbery.
"Homicide is not like how it is on TV," said Theresa Williams, President of P.E.A.C.E.
On TV all the glitz and glamour of detectives are hyped up and a case is solved in a few days. In real homicides, families aren't notified right away, and the time it takes to solve a case is much longer.
Lessons from Homicides: The Buffalo Story is helping make another step toward ending violence, while the main ingredients for success in this documentary is receiving support from all of those who believe in making a difference.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
