“More people died at our school than died at Columbine. Think about that,” gun control activist and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting survivor David Hogg says in the trailer for “Parkland Rising.” Cheryl Horner McDonough’s documentary chronicles the movement for stricter gun control that was galvanized on February 14, 2018 — the day of the Parkland tragedy — and the subsequent backlash.
“One main thing is to keep away from hate, hating anybody. It’s very easy to fall into that,” observes Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the shooting. There’s definitely plenty of hate aimed in his and his fellow activists’ direction. Someone yells “NRA! God bless America!” from their car, before peeling away, at a gun control demonstration. One counter-protestor sticks his middle finger in Hogg’s face.
These situations are scary, but Hogg, Oliver, and the movement’s other leaders see no other way forward. “If we don’t take action now, these things are going to continue,” Hogg stresses. “We’re here to get shit done,” Emma Gonzalez announces at an event.
Horner McDonough also documents the movement’s focus on voter turnout, and the power young people can have if they mobilize. “Four million people turned 18 this year,” an activist emphasizes, “if every single one of those people votes, we can make real change in this country.”
Katie Couric is among “Parkland Rising’s” executive producers. The doc will make its live-streaming premiere on June 2, National Gun Violence Awareness Day. You can RSVP via the film’s website. An encore streaming event will take place June 5.
Abramorama will also release “Parkland Rising” via virtual cinemas for two weeks, beginning June 5.