The extraordinary and emotionally powerful documentary Pain and Peace begins with the story of Rais Bhuiyan. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, an attacker who was looking to kill Muslims, any Muslims, shot two convenience store clerks to death and then entered the workplace of Bangladeshi immigrant Bhuiyan and shot him in the face with a shotgun; Bhuiyan somehow survived and then, perhaps even more remarkably, began a campaign of forgiveness for his perpetrator. What follows is an exploration of forgiveness as a necessary prerequisite to reconciliation and ending the cycle of demonizing other people.
Bhuiyan interviews other survivors of hate crimes, many of the highest profile, like the Georgia church shooting, the Buffalo supermarket shooting, the Orlando nightclub shooting, and more. It’s riveting when they retell their experiences and talk about forgiving their attackers.
Bhuiyan, as a hate crime survivor himself, brings major credibility as an interviewer and is superb as the narrator/guide of the film.
Pain and Peace also introduces us to some perpetrators of hate crimes, and that brings some surprises, too.
Pain and Peace is the first feature for director Mark Feijó.
I screened Pain and Peace for its world premiere at Cinequest. I highlighted it as one of two Must See films in my Best of Cinequest. It’s not very often that I see a movie as potentially life-changing, but this one is.