Film tells story of nun murdered in Brazil

By Denver Catholic Register

Of the scores of films being screened this year at the Denver Film Festival, one of the most poignant is the story of the murder of a nun in the Brazilian jungle.  Narrated by actor Martin Sheen, “They Killed Sister Dorothy,” is a powerful testament to the work of Sister Dorothy Stang, an American nun who spent more than 30 years in Brazil helping the poor and working to prevent the destruction of the Amazon rain forests through a sustainable development program.

While focusing on her execution-style murder by wealthy ranchers opposed to her project and the efforts to bring her killers to justice, Sister Dorothy’s story chronicles the difficulties in achieving justice in a corrupt political system where those with money have a great deal of power and influence and justice is often for sale as well as bringing into focus some of the conflicts that exist in Third World development today.

The film aims to capture the true spirit of decency inherent in the Christian ideal, the filmmakers said.The film, which was three years in the making, is a project of local production company Just Media, a nonprofit organization that produces social justice films, primarily documentaries that have aired on PBS and BBC.  Home Box Office will be added to that list when the cable channel broadcasts “They Killed Sister Dorothy” in January. 

The film’s director, Daniel Junge said that when he first heard about Sister Dorothy’s story, he knew it had all the markings of a good movie.

“It was such a huge story internationally,” Junge said.  “Not just as a story about a murder, but because of the important issues associated with it: agrarian reform, rain forest destruction and religious freedom.  It’s a retrospective of this woman, her work and the future of the programs that she founded.”

Junge said he was looking forward to the Denver premier of the film.

“It’s great to show it to the hometown crowd,” he said.

“They Killed Sister Dorothy” will be screened at 1 p.m. Nov. 22 in the King Center Theater on the Auraria campus, 855 Lawrence Way in Denver.  Cost of the event is $11. Tickets can be purchased in advance at  denverfilm.org.  On the day of the show, tickets can be purchased at the Starz Film Center box office (until one hour before show time) or from the box office at the King Center one hour before the show.

More information on this and other films of the festival is available online at denverfilm.org. Parking in the Auraria lot is free for film festival attendees.