‘POSTCARDS FROM BABYLON’
Local filmmakers release new documentary featuring June march for racial justice
SOUDERTON » At 7 p.m. Jan. 21, Souderton residents David and Kathi Peters’ new documentary “Postcards from Babylon” began streaming in New Zealand, then spread around the world beginning at 7 p.m. in each time zone.
By the next morning, there had been more than 1,300 views.
“So, already a large group of people have been touched and moved by what happened in our sleepy little borough of Souderton,” David Peters said.
The 80-minute long documentary includes about two minutes of footage shot in Souderton during a June 4, 2020 march against racism and injustice.
“We were, of course, at the time, working on this documentary,” David Peters said in a telephone interview. “We wanted to talk about race within the film, but I also wanted to contextualize that within a story, so I thought maybe I could get some footage that would be useful.”
Expecting to see maybe 50 or 60 participants, he and Kathi were surprised to arrive and find more than 1,000 people on hand, he said.
After walking down East Broad Street to Main Street, the crowd took a knee in the borough parking lot at Hillside Avenue and Main Street as organizer Veronica Moeller re
cited the words spoken by George Floyd in the last 8 minutes and 46 seconds of his life.
“Within the first 20 seconds of her impassioned recitation of those words of George Floyd, I thought people need to see this,” David Peters said.
Floyd, a Black man, was killed May 25, 2020 as a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota knelt for more than nine minutes on the neck of the hand-cuffed and face-down Floyd. Trials for that officer and three others are slated for later this year. Protests were held throughout the world following the deaths of Floyd and others, including Breona Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
While the documentary will continue to be available to be streamed and there are plans for a DVD version, the Peters said, there’s only one place people can expect to see it at a movie theater. The recently reopened Broad Theater in Souderton has screenings scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, 3:30, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31.
“I’ve known David and Kathi for years and invested in a film they created in the past. I’m a total film buff myself and love their work as filmmakers, so we’re honored to host a screening of their latest film in our theater,” said Kyle Hoff, coowner of the theater with Charlie Crown, in a release.
The documentary by the Peters’ Global Story Films is based on the book “Postcards from Babylon: The Church in American Exile,” by Brian Zahnd, which explores Christian nationalism.
“People are wondering what’s going on within the context of the church and the way it behaves in politics and it’s a deeply dividing issue and church pastors are really struggling with how do I work with my congregations that have been so polarized by the political arena and how can I call people within my congregation to realize that we’re a broader kingdom that should have priority and that because of our conflicted allegiances, we often tend to put greater credence and lean more heavily on our political position as Christians than our positions as followers of Christ,” David Peters said.
“The film steps on toes, let’s put it that way,” Kathi Peters said.
The response from those who have seen it has been positive, though, she said, with “people saying this is what our churches and our communities and people who claim to be Christians need to hear so that we can re-position ourselves to be more beautiful.”
The “Postcards from Babylon” documentary includes interviews with Lisa Sharon Harper, Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Merritt, Peter Wehner, Kristin Du Mez, Walter Brueggemann, Scott Hancock, John Fea and John Huckins, along with singer/songwriter Daniel Dietrich’s “Hymn for the 81%.”
David and Kathi Peters will be at each of the Broad Theater screenings for a question and answer time following the screening. Scott Hancock, an associate professor of History and Africana Studies at Gettysburg College and one of those interviewed in the documentary, will be at the 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday shows. Veronica Moeller will be at the 7:30 Friday, 3:30 Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday shows.
“I’m sure that there will be people that will say, ‘I was at that march, I wonder if I show up in the footage,’ so hopefully we’ll get a lot of people to come out,” Kathi Peters said.
“We know that we live in a community that likes to support local,” she said, “and we make that effort ourselves personally, so we’re just thrilled that we have this opportunity.”