Paper Clips: a film directed by Joe Fab and Elliot Berlin.

February 10, 2008 - 4:00 PM

Tickets $5 - free popcorn - discussion following movie.

A documentary about a small town's efforts to comprehend the Holocaust.

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Whitwell - a tiny, almost exclusively white Christian community - is nestled deep in the mountains of Tennessee. It is pretty much an insular community, but in 1998, something happened in a classroom, launching its students into an unlikely project.

During a history lesson on the Holocaust, students learned that Nazis had exterminated over 6 million Jewish people. One student bravely asked what 6 million looked like. He could not conceptualize so large a number.

Finding it difficult to explain the loss of life this great figure represented, administrators and students embarked on an inspirational journey of comprehension and remembrance. One principal's desire to help her students open their eyes to diversity and an unfortunate event epitomizing hate and bias, soon transformed into an international effort, breaching the walls of this insulated valley.

This movie tells a heartwarming story about a mission to honor each lost soul by collecting - yes - paper clips. One for every life lost. Eventually, this community even managed to procure an authentic German rail car, which would become the container for the millions of paper clips collected.

Please join us for this film, and other events throughout the year. We welcome all, men, women, singles, families, young and old. We are committed to serving the spiritual, educational, humanitarian, and social needs of our community.