A world was turned upside down on September 11, 2001, affecting thousands of families and millions of lives. Action and reaction was the order of that day and every day since then. Now, a new New Yorker documentary, STRANGER AT THE GATE, reminds one of seeiing beyond the inhumanity to try and gauge the humanity.
Former US Marine Richard ‘Mac’ McKinney was a troubled teenager who turned to the U.S Armed Forces to try and get some self-respect and satisfaction from the perils and wonders of war. Returning home, he found love in an adopted mother and daughter, but had conflict due to PTSD from his fight on the front line. With the advent of Al-Qaeda’s actions on that fateful day two decades ago, he looked for a physical scapegoat in the community of Muncie, Indiana where his target would be a mosque.
However, it was enlightenment that could be the key and a possible way out from atrocity….
Joshua Seftel’s balanced and informative documentary is a sobering and valid analysis of what the world perception has been over the years, as well as being a hugely uplifting tale of redemption. Questions remain unanswered for those affected by the context of what this film represents, given the Bush Administration’s own key perspective.
Michael Moore might have defined a certain world view, but Seftel’s film will give any number of concerned individuals food for thought.
ABOUT THE FILM:
The documentary short film “Stranger at the Gate,” a prize winner at this year’s Tribeca Festival, will be published by The New Yorker as part of the magazine’s award-winning New Yorker Documentary series, and will début on newyorker.com and on The New Yorker’s YouTube channel on September 14th. “Stranger at the Gate” will be available worldwide.
The New Yorker’s short films in 2021 included two Academy Award nominees: the animated short film “Affairs of the Art” and the live-action short film “On My Mind.” Six of The New Yorker’s 2021 films were on Oscar shortlists, including: “Águilas,” “A Broken House,” “Affairs of the Art,” “Step Into the River,” “Les Grandes Claques,” and “Under the Heavens.”
“At this moment, when senseless hate crimes across the U.S. are an everyday occurrence, ‘Stranger at the Gate’ shines a light on our shared humanity and delivers a message of hope,” the film’s director, Joshua Seftel, said. “The heroes of this story show us that, if we offer kindness and openness to the people around us, transformational things can happen.”
Praised by film critics and considered a leading awards contender, “Stranger at the Gate” tells the true story of the U.S. Marine Richard (Mac) McKinney. Suffering from P.T.S.D., McKinney decides to bomb the mosque in his home town of Muncie, Indiana. When he arrives at the mosque to gather more information for his plan, the congregants, including Afghan refugees and an African American convert, welcome him, get to know him, and show him deep love and kindness. Within weeks, the story takes a stunning turn. Instead of committing an act of violence, McKinney converts to Islam and becomes president of the mosque.
“Stranger at the Gate” is the newest film in Seftel’s decade-long effort to combat Islamophobia and shatter stereotypes: “Secret Life of Muslims,” a series of shorts nominated for Emmy, Peabody, and IDA Documentary Awards. The strategy of the series, which has more than seventy million views to date, is to tell stories in many different formats, from short films to animations to music videos. Its partners include Vox, the New York Times, NPR, and now The New Yorker.
Seftel’s deep committment to the mission of his project stems from his having experienced antisemitism as a child. “When I began to notice the level of Islamophobia in the U.S., I thought, Maybe I can do something as a filmmaker to give a more accurate depiction of American Muslims.”
The project met obstacles early on, but picked up momentum when Donald Trump began his Presidential campaign. Seftel has occasionally received hate mail for his work, but mostly he has been lauded, including with the Muslim Public Affairs Council Hollywood Bureau Media Award (shared with Sir Bob Geldof and the director Lena Khan) and the upcoming El Hibri Foundation Peace Awards’ Fearless Ally Award, which he will receive in late October.
Seftel is known for directing work with a social conscience, including the Emmy-winning landmark series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” the political satire “War, Inc.”—starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, and Ben Kingsley—and many award-winning documentary films.
Read the New Yorker article here:
UPCOMING SCREENINGS:
· Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Films – Wednesday, September 14th, at 7:30 P.M., 87 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10013
· Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival – Thursday, September 15th, at 6:05 P.M., 1000 W. Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90015
· Breckenridge Film Festival – Saturday, September 17th at 1:30PM Eclipse Theater 103 S Harris St, Breckenridge, CO 80424
· WBUR City Space – Wednesday, September 21st, at 6:30 P.M., 890 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
· Port Townsend Film Festival
· Bend Film Festival
· Omega Institute – Saturday, October 8th, at 8:00 P.M., 150 Lake Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572
· Hamptons Film Festival
· JW3 – Thursday, October 20th, 341-351 Finchley Road, London NW3 6ET, United Kingdom
· Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock – Sunday, October 23rd, 48 Shelter Rock Road, Manhasset, NY 11030
· Ludlow House – Wednesday, October 26th, 139 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002
· Doctober – Sunday, October 30th, 1318 Bay Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
· Doctober Encore – Thursday, November 3rd, 1318 Bay Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
· Commonwealth Club – Tuesday, November 29th, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105
· The Rubin Museum – Friday, December 2nd, 150 W. 17th Street, New York, NY 10011
