Macky Alston reviews the film Trust
Me: Shalom, Salaam, Peace
Trust
Me: Shalom, Salaam,
Peace
Winner of the 2004
Wilbur Award for Best
Television Documentary, Trust
Me: Shalom, Salaam,
Peace, is a funny,
inspiring, and deeply
moving film about overcoming
prejudices and fears
at an interfaith summer
camp. It is ideal for
use with youth and
adults and a great
resource for deepening
multifaith awareness
in any community.
An emotional chronicle
of 33 children attending
a North Carolina interfaith
summer camp for Christians,
Muslims, and Jews, Trust
Me was filmed
in the wake of the
September 11th, 2001
terrorist attacks on
the United States.
Rob Fruchtman, award-winning
producer and director,
follows 33 Christian,
Jewish, and Muslim
boys, ages 9-13, who
arrive at camp with
some trepidation and
preconceived notions
about the children
of other faiths.
The film tells the
story of the boys,
as well as the staff,
as they engage in typical
camp activities and,
in the process, forge
strong bonds. One disconcerting
aspect is the inexperience
of the staff, but their
attitudes and beliefs
work wonders on the
boys. As one young
Christian boy observes:
“I thought [Muslims]
would act totally differently,
speak differently,
eat differently. How
could anyone mistreat
someone as nice as
this?” And a Muslim
child responds, “I
thought the kids wouldn’t
treat me as an equal.”
While typical summer
camp issues, such as
homesickness, surface,
it quickly becomes
evident that this is
no ordinary camp experience.
By the fifth day the
children participate
in each other’s prayer
rituals. A Christian
boy who joins the Muslims
in afternoon prayer
exclaims: “I like how
active it was. You
didn’t just stand there.”
The week culminates
in one of the most
stirring moments of
their young lives,
as the children stand
hand-in-hand in silence
around the final campfire.
Macky Alston is the
director of Auburn Media,
a division of the Center
for Multifaith Education
at Auburn Theological
Seminary committed to
supporting, cultivating
and promoting powerful,
engaging, balanced and
responsible media on
religion, spirituality
and ethics. He is a graduate
of Union Theological
Seminary and an award-winning
documentary filmmaker.
Completed: 2003
Running Time: 60 Minutes
Producer/Director: Rob Fruchtman
Executive Producer: Stuart B.Rekant
Producer: Cheryl Miller Houser
Editor: Charlotte Stobbs
Director of Photography: Lex Gletcher
Music: Art Labriola
Trust Me Shalom Salaam Peace aired nationally on Showtime.
If you are interested in purchasing Trust Me, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org.
Just click on “Masterworks” on the homepage for more information. The VHS version
of the film is priced at $19.98 and the DVD at $24.98.
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