Life is made up of many moments whether they are good, bad, or ugly. Rarely do we ever witness a moment that hits as at our core. I was lucky enough to witness one of those moments at the screening of West of Memphis.
It was a moment in time that I'll never forget. Now if you haven't been following the case of the West Memphis Three over this past decade here's a little breakdown. Three young boys were murdered in Arkansaw in 93 and three teens labelled as the 'West Memphis Three' (Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin) were hastily convicted of the murders. However nothing really added up from the witch hunt-styled case the state bought forward to the 'encouraged' (or as I see it, forced) confession of the mildly retarded Misskelley. Echols was to take full blame and serve a death row sentence while the other two received life in prison and all because they were viewed as a little off centre making them satanic worshippers clearly. Fast-forward a decade – along with the noted Paradise Lost documentaries, things well still didn't make sense.
This was the story. I say was because it has long developed since then and all thanks to (ironically) another three that go by the name of Sir Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and the director of 'West of Memphis' Amy Berg. Good things come in three? Sorry bad joke. Not only did they create this master piece of a documentary, they provided actual help in the way of defence teams, an actual authentic investigation, and an array of officials to the 'West Memphis Three' to aid in their case. This was very much a story of the filmmaker becoming an investigator and doing the job that the state of Memphis should have done all those years ago. Filmmakers – 1, Judicial System – 0.
And so this brings me to the screening. Note mild spoiler coming up. Not only were we one, viewing this amazing story in the historical Civic Theatre (which in itself was amazing), two, in the company of Sir Peter Jackson, but we had the honour of meeting the Damien Echols and his wife Lorri Davis (who played an integral role in story). The film was quickly followed by one of the most empowering standing ovations one could hope for and a Q and A session with Jackson, Echols, and Davis. Some questions were most certainly cringe worthy, others shared stories, but the best were the short stabs of curiosity that encouraged Echols to give us a real insight into his world. The cherry on the cake was when Echols said he wouldn't be adverse to living in New Zealand because he loved it – little kiwi pride there for you.
What an amazing man. Having served 18 years in prison on death row you would think that he would be bitter with the world having lost all faith in humanity. And you know what? In some ways he was arguably but rightfully so – at least when the Judicial system is concerned. But what we mainly saw was an intelligent, forward thinking man that could have easily crawled up in a corner hating the world but decided you know what? I've got my life back and so I'm going to live it.
That was the moment. To see that such an incredible human being come back so strong after everything he had endured. Those are the stories that make your spine tingle. Those are the stories that demand attention. Those are the stories that really do put faith back into the cruel humanity we have come to know.
The film has very explicit footage so be warned. It is approximately 2 hours and a half long, but worth every second. It serves as a statement on what humans are, what they're not, and what they can be (See? Good things come in three's). At times you will feel despair, and then be enlightened by a strong sense of empowerment to do the right thing – all things good films are made of. The journey was rough and it was real and my emotion scale was certainly forced on a roller-coaster ride. If you've watched it you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, and if you haven't you owe it to do yourself a favour.
"Celebrity that's not something I have thought about, I'm no celebrity I'm living my life day by day It's the only thing I can do the only thing I want to do", Echols answered after being asked about his new 'celebrity' status. This was one moment in my life that I will never forget.
It was a moment in time that I'll never forget. Now if you haven't been following the case of the West Memphis Three over this past decade here's a little breakdown. Three young boys were murdered in Arkansaw in 93 and three teens labelled as the 'West Memphis Three' (Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley, and Jason Baldwin) were hastily convicted of the murders. However nothing really added up from the witch hunt-styled case the state bought forward to the 'encouraged' (or as I see it, forced) confession of the mildly retarded Misskelley. Echols was to take full blame and serve a death row sentence while the other two received life in prison and all because they were viewed as a little off centre making them satanic worshippers clearly. Fast-forward a decade – along with the noted Paradise Lost documentaries, things well still didn't make sense.
This was the story. I say was because it has long developed since then and all thanks to (ironically) another three that go by the name of Sir Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and the director of 'West of Memphis' Amy Berg. Good things come in three? Sorry bad joke. Not only did they create this master piece of a documentary, they provided actual help in the way of defence teams, an actual authentic investigation, and an array of officials to the 'West Memphis Three' to aid in their case. This was very much a story of the filmmaker becoming an investigator and doing the job that the state of Memphis should have done all those years ago. Filmmakers – 1, Judicial System – 0.
And so this brings me to the screening. Note mild spoiler coming up. Not only were we one, viewing this amazing story in the historical Civic Theatre (which in itself was amazing), two, in the company of Sir Peter Jackson, but we had the honour of meeting the Damien Echols and his wife Lorri Davis (who played an integral role in story). The film was quickly followed by one of the most empowering standing ovations one could hope for and a Q and A session with Jackson, Echols, and Davis. Some questions were most certainly cringe worthy, others shared stories, but the best were the short stabs of curiosity that encouraged Echols to give us a real insight into his world. The cherry on the cake was when Echols said he wouldn't be adverse to living in New Zealand because he loved it – little kiwi pride there for you.
What an amazing man. Having served 18 years in prison on death row you would think that he would be bitter with the world having lost all faith in humanity. And you know what? In some ways he was arguably but rightfully so – at least when the Judicial system is concerned. But what we mainly saw was an intelligent, forward thinking man that could have easily crawled up in a corner hating the world but decided you know what? I've got my life back and so I'm going to live it.
That was the moment. To see that such an incredible human being come back so strong after everything he had endured. Those are the stories that make your spine tingle. Those are the stories that demand attention. Those are the stories that really do put faith back into the cruel humanity we have come to know.
The film has very explicit footage so be warned. It is approximately 2 hours and a half long, but worth every second. It serves as a statement on what humans are, what they're not, and what they can be (See? Good things come in three's). At times you will feel despair, and then be enlightened by a strong sense of empowerment to do the right thing – all things good films are made of. The journey was rough and it was real and my emotion scale was certainly forced on a roller-coaster ride. If you've watched it you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, and if you haven't you owe it to do yourself a favour.
"Celebrity that's not something I have thought about, I'm no celebrity I'm living my life day by day It's the only thing I can do the only thing I want to do", Echols answered after being asked about his new 'celebrity' status. This was one moment in my life that I will never forget.