Received via email 30 mins ago Friday Sept 30 2005
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Thanks for your interest in the KNOCKING documentary. We apologize if
this is a repeat for some. Now that it is fall, look for another update
soon!
Also, there is something new on the web site www.knocking.org Check it
out. Now we have a demographic survey that will for the first time help
journalists and academic researchers understand who Jehovah's Witnesses
are -- for example, a very racially diverse religion. If you are one of
Jehovah's Witnesses, please fill out the survey.
A lot of information is available about the membership of other religions, and now we have
the chance to get a clear snapshot of Jehovah's Witness membership. The
survey is voluntary and the information won't be sold to any commercial
interests. It will be offered to sociologists, religious scholars,
journalists, and the research department at Watchtower. Tell your
Jehovah's Witness friends to fill it out, too.
To take the survey, go to www.knocking.org and click where it says
"click here for updates and more information" at the bottom of the home
page.
KNOCKING DOCUMENTARY NEWSLETTER #1 SUMMER 2005
Thanks for your interest in the KNOCKING documentary about Jehovah's
Witnesses. I'm Joel Engardio, director of the project. Since the
www.knocking.org web site went live recently, I've been hearing from
interested ones from Arizona to Arkansas and everywhere in between. The
site is new, and is still a work-in-progress. Check back from time to
time to see new features, including the film clip downloads.
SPREAD THE WORD
Please forward the link www.knocking.org far and wide. Beyond a
national broadcast on public television (PBS) in the United States, our
goal is to make the film available to international audiences with
language subtitles. Indeed, Jehovah's Witnesses are in more than 200
lands, and their story about blood, the Holocaust and preservation of
civil liberties resonates around the globe.
OUR GOAL
The aim of KNOCKING is to give a general, non-Jehovah's Witness
audience a fair look at a religious group that has long been
misunderstood and relegated to cartoonish stereotypes. KNOCKING uses
the real life stories of real families to humanize Jehovah's Witnesses.
But we don’t shy from criticism. Our aim is that everything is fair and
accurate. We show both the ups and downs, including what it is like for
Witnesses who have unbelieving or opposing family members, and how
divided families can find common ground. For instance, the young man
who undergoes a groundbreaking bloodless liver transplant has opposing
family members who come to the hospital to see first-hand how the new
bloodless technology works.
WHO SHOULD WATCH
KNOCKING will be educational and illuminating for a non-Jehovah's
Witness audience. Extended family, neighbors, co-workers and classmates
of Jehovah’s Witnesses will certainly be interested to take a look.
Closer to time of broadcast, we will offer DVDs for home and school
use. The DVD will be a feature-length version of the film (the
broadcast on PBS will be shorter) and will include extras like expanded
interviews. We’ll be sure to send more details on that later.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
As of Summer 2005, the film is being edited in San Francisco.
Throughout the course of the project, we filmed in California, Georgia,
Ohio, New York, Nevada, and Texas as well as Austria and Poland. We
filmed in Kingdom Halls, conventions and in the door-to-door ministry.
WE ARE INDEPENDENT
Keep in mind that every Jehovah's Witness who has contributed to this
film, either on camera or behind the scenes, has done so by their own
personal choice. There is no official connection to the Watchtower
Society, though the Bethel organization in Brooklyn, Patterson and
Wallkill, New York has been cooperative with the producers of this
film.
We interviewed Watchtower representatives on camera and filmed
inside Bethel. Watchtower has no financial ties to this project, nor
any editorial control. It is important to know that this project is
independently produced for public television, using a combination of
public, foundation and individual funds. No one on the production staff
is a Jehovah's Witness. The director's mother, however, is a Witness.
And we do have Jehovah's Witnesses who are serving as consultants for
factual accuracy. We also have academic, historical and medical
consultants who are experts in their field but not Jehovah's Witnesses.
HOW TO SEE IT
We intend to premiere KNOCKING at a prestigious film festival such as
Sundance in early 2006. A national television broadcast on PBS will
follow. And the film will be made available on DVD. We also hope to
bring KNOCKING to cities throughout the United States in 2006 for
special screenings. This will be a chance for you to see a sneak
preview and perhaps meet some of the film's subjects in a live Q&A
session. The KNOCKING web site and these newsletters will provide
updated information about where and when the sneak previews will take
place. If you are interested in volunteering to organize such a
screening in your city, contact us directly at
[email protected]
. Please type “Volunteer” in the subject
heading.
We look forward to seeing the positive impact this film has in telling
the untold stories of Jehovah's Witnesses. We hope you do, too. Thanks
again for contacting us, and the KNOCKING staff will be sure to keep
you up to date on the latest progress.
Sincerely,
Joel P. Engardio
Producer/Director
[email protected]