Indie Lens Pop-Up, presented by the Independent Television Service (ITVS), Independent Lens and Nashville Public Television, offers a free advance screening of The Armor of Light, filmmaker Abigail E. Disney’s documentary about combating gun violence, on Saturday, April 16, at 2 pm. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Lucy McBath, national spokeswoman for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, our partners in the screening. The event is free and open to the public.
Ms. McBath appears in the film as an eloquent gun control advocate following the 2012 shooting death of her unarmed teenage son, Jordan Davis. Over the course of the film, McBath transforms from shocked and grieving mother to impassioned and persuasive orator. She appears on television, speaks at events and also meets with an unlikely ally, The Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister and president of D.C.-based Faith and Action.
Dr. Schenck is a well-known anti-abortion activist who comes to question whether the far right’s pro-gun stance is consistent with its pro-life platform. In the face of shooting after shooting (and the 2013 Washington Navy Yard shooting that is particularly close to home) Dr. Schenck begins to change his mind and his message, despite warnings from colleagues that this is a politically explosive issue.
The Armor of Light follows these allies through their trials of conscience, heartbreak and rejection, as they bravely attempt to make others consider America’s gun culture through a moral lens. The film is also a courageous look at our fractured political culture and an assertion that it is, indeed, possible for people to come together across deep party lines to find common ground. The scene in the documentary where McBath and Schenck meet is a powerful one; watching Schenck’s countenance change as he listens to McBath discuss her faith is particularly moving.
The directorial debut of award-winning producer Abigail E. Disney (Pray the Devil Back to Hell; Women, War & Peace), and produced and co-directed by Kathleen Hughes, The Armor of Light premieres on NPT, 7 pm, Tuesday, May 10, on the Independent Lens series.
