Starting on Thursday, Oct. 25, Paragon Theaters in Davie and Coral Springs will show “Parkland: Inside Building 12,” a documentary about the recent mass shooting in Parkland directed by filmmaker Charlie Minn where ticket proceeds will be donated to charities including, Parkland Cares.
This film gives an indepth look at the massacre last Valentine’s Day inside building 12 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, approximately 30 minutes away from the NSU campus. Through direct eye-witness accounts, Minn hopes to give a voice to the victims of these attacks and for audiences to hear their stories.
According to Minn, this film focuses on the voices of the victims who were inside the classrooms.
“We’ve heard from people who were outside the building and the activists, but they weren’t there. The people ducking from bullets, getting shot, watching their classmates die in front of them, we need to hear from them,” said Minn.
The graphic depictions of the attacks in the film through investigation simulations, cell-phone videos and personal stories hold nothing back. However, like Minn’s other films— 77 Minutes, 49 Pulses and A Nightmare in Las Vegas, it doesn’t mention the killer’s name once. Minn feels that the mentioning of the killer’s name draws attention away from the victims and, in the media, could create copycat killer’s looking for attention and recognition.
This isn’t the first film where Minn focused on mass shootings; of his 28 films, 18 of which are available on Amazon, he has covered five other mass shootings in the United States alone including the attacks at the Orlando Pulse nightclub and in Las Vegas. Each of these films have fast completion rates as Parkland took only four months to produce. There are those who believe that this film has come too soon, as the victims are still healing from the attacks. But Minn believes that it is never too early to create these films when attacks like these are still happening. According to a mass shooting map created by Vox, so far in 2018 alone, 262 people have been killed and 1,131 wounded in 276 mass shootings in the US, including Parkland.
Mass shootings in the United States has become one of the most politically charged conversations mainly focused on gun control and security measures in schools. In this film, Minn takes politics out of the equation and focuses on the story and the events to allow viewers to experience these events for themselves.
“I work in a visual medium and I believe that by seeing [these first-hand accounts], you grow to understand it better than just hearing about these events, that’s essentially a radio broadcast. There’s no human connection with that.,” said Minn.
“Parkland: Inside Building 12 isn’t political. It’s a story about humanity and gives a much needed voice to the victims and their families.”
Last Tuesday, Minn presented clips from the film to Professor Katz’s class at NSU in the Alvin Sherman Library. These students were shown several clips from the film and discussed with Minn the topic of mass shootings and his previous works. According to Nimmi Matthews, a freshman behavioral neuroscience major, the clips were “absolutely riveting and truly allows a viewer to experience the horror of being trapped in a mass shooting.”
