Mariska Hargitay's Follow Up to Emmy-Winning 'I Am Evidence': Documentary 'Emanuel' on 'Untold Story' of Charleston Church Shooting Victims and Survivors

Film executive produced by Viola Davis and Stephen Curry and directed by Brian Ivie opens in theaters October 11

Law and Order: SVU opens its 21st season on NBC tonight, a record for a television drama. The show's longevity owes much to the popularity of its star, Mariska Hargitay, who plays intense but empathetic cop Olivia Benson, an NYPD detective investigating "special victims" cases involving sexual assault.

The demands of the series don't afford Hargitay much time to pursue outside interests. Nonetheless, she has managed to become involved in several documentary projects. On Tuesday the HBO film she produced, I Am Evidence, about the alarming backlog of untested rape kits across the United States, won Best Documentary at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards in New York. Her latest documentary, Emanuel, opens in New York October 11 and Los Angeles October 18 [the film becomes available on DVD and streaming platforms October 15].
​

Does Dylann Roof deserve to die for what he did? Yeah, for sure.

--Emanuel director Brian Ivie on the white supremacist who shot to death nine African-American parishioners of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina

The film, executive produced by fellow actor Viola Davis and NBA star Stephen Curry, explores the shocking incident at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina in June 2015 when Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old white supremacist, shot to death nine African-American members of the congregation who had gathered for a prayer service.

"It’s the story that rocked a city and a nation as it happened...and in the days that followed," notes a press release announcing the theatrical release. "Forty-eight hours [after the shooting], in the midst of unspeakable grief and suffering, the families of the Emanuel Nine stood in court facing the killer…and offered words of forgiveness. Their demonstration of grace ushered the way for hope and healing."

The Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Photo courtesy Arbella Studios/Unanimous Media

---

Related:
>Emotional Mariska Hargitay accepts Emmy for I Am Evidence, praising courage of sexual assault survivors: 'You matter deeply and what happened to you matters'

---

Hargitay co-produced the film and Brian Ivie directed. At a Q&A following a screening at Howard University in February, Ivie pointed out that the "demonstration of grace" by victims' families should not be confused with a blanket forgiveness of America's history of racial injustice.

"Forgiveness is a problematic idea societally, like being forgiving of racism in general," Ivie commented. "Person to person it tends to be a little different, I think. The families [of victims] are certainly all over the map as far as where they fall on that. And I think forgiveness is something white America adopted very quickly - for the same reason we always do, which is so we don't have to deal with the reality that we had a 400 year head start, among other things." 

At that discussion, moderator Lauretta Charlton of the New York Times asked panelists whether Roof should be put to death for his crimes. 

"I don't believe in the death penalty," Curry responded. "I feel like there are situations where an individual can be redeemed or be healed - mentally, physically, whatever the issue is at root of why they're in that situation [on death row]. They do not need to be a threat to society - that needs to be taken care of first and foremost."

A screenshot of the panel discussion about "Emanuel" at Howard University. L-R moderator Lauretta Charlton of the New York Times; Jeron Smith, co-founder and CEO of Unanimous Media; Stephen Curry, co-founder of Unanimous Media, and director Brian Ivie. Image from New York Times

"Does Dylann Roof deserve to die for what he did? Yeah, for sure," Ivie added. "But that's never what people aren't saying when they forgive him. They're saying, 'In spite of that we still love you.' So, do I think people deserve it [the death penalty]? Yes. But would I say I believe in it and it solves the problem? No."

From executive producers Stephen Curry and Viola Davis and co-producer Mariska Hargitay…#EmanuelMovie features intimate interviews with survivors and family members of the Charleston church tragedy. Own it on DVD and Digital 10/15 https://t.co/pqtj5uL4Nb pic.twitter.com/yA4SmVBcuK

— Emanuel (@EmanuelTheMovie) September 24, 2019