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**What are viewers saying about Coexist?**

Audience members yearn for more time to unpack the many messages of Coexist. Here are recent comments about both the film and the debriefing discussions facilitated by members of the Coexist team:

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“The documentary Coexist offers an excellent look at the complexity of determining who is the “good” and “bad” guy in genocide and shows the answer is not always so straight forward. This beautiful documentary compels viewers to think deeply about the challenges imbedded in national reconciliation processes that follow periods of horrific atrocity. Remarkably, it is one of the only such documentaries I have seen where a filmmaker and a professional educator have collaborated to develop a curriculum to accompany the film. The Dodd Center at the University of Connecticut hosted Dr. Lesser to work with pre-service and veteran teachers, all of whom raved about the day-long workshop. A fantastic treasure for human rights educators at all levels!” –Lisa J. Laplante, Interim Director of the Dodd Center University of Connecticut, Human Rights Law Professor

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“Coexist is a remarkable film and unparalleled in conveying the complexities of life today in Rwanda for survivors of the genocide. The experience of survivors such as Fifi and Domitilie, and the unique opportunity to hear their views in their own words, is a call to action for us all. Not only must we remember the victims of the genocide, but also the survivors still living with the consequences of genocide today.” -David Russell, Executive Director, Survivors Fund (SURF)

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“Coexist is an amazingly sober and fair film that captured the complexity and nuances of the current situation in Rwanda” -Dr. Purna Sen, Director, Programme for African Leadership, Department of International Development, London School of Economics & Political Science

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“This is an excellent film. Of the various films I have seen on the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, this is the most truthful, the most real. It presents things as they are, not driven by the desire to show how wonderfully people reconcile. It shows the pain, the mistrust, with some glimmering of hope.” -Professor Ervin Staub, author of Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict and Terrorism (Oxford University Press, 2011) and Founding Director of the doctoral program in Psychology of Peace and Prevention of Violence, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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Coexist was carefully and sensitively made, drawing in a variety of narratives, beliefs, and perceptions that underscore the complexity of mass violence. The video and educational programs serve as beneficial learning tools for American adults and young people who may not know much about Rwanda and have not been faced with the need for social healing and reconciliation after genocide. I especially appreciate the film for not offering simplistic remedies to the profound questions of how people live together, and live with themselves, after such atrocity. The film reminds us that we each face ourselves and manage our recovery differently, and that human beings have an astounding resilience.” – Dr. Paula Green, founder, Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, and CONTACT Program, SIT (School for International Training Graduate Institute)

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“The power of the film and Mishy’s way of inviting us to experience it deeply has Saturday evening still reverberating in me. So many levels of engagement arose as the evening progressed, with Mishy setting the context, with the brief history presented, with Mishy’s inviting and facilitating comments from the audience.” - Sarah Conn, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist and Co-Founder, Earth Circles

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“Coexist is outstanding, in part because it brings up for viewers so many profound thoughts and feelings. The film underscores our capacity as humans for evil and betrayal and injustice. And Mishy’s welcoming, context-setting, and facilitation of the debriefing were terrific.” – RobertRyan, Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Consultant/Coach

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“Coexist is so evocative; it crushes the heart because it is so real and tells the truth about what did happen and what could happen. I feel edified by having seen it.” – Brett Litz, Ph.D., VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University

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