Raising the Ashes — Pilgrimage to Auschwitz
Film and Discussion
at FOR
521 No. Broadway, Nyack, NY
March 21, 2010
The next film to be shown as part of the Phil Greenspan film festival at the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Nyack, NY will take us on a healing journey to what is acknowledged by most to be akin to the heart of darkness; Auschwitz. Directed by actor Michael O'Keefe, who participated in the pilgrimmage, the documentary brings us close to the stories of the 150 people that talked, comtemplated, prayed and meditated on and around the grounds of Auschwitz during the 1996 event. The group was composed of Americans and Europeans who are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and secular and who share their reflections during their time together.
Actor Michael O'Keefe directed this documentary, shot on video and transferred to 16mm, about a five-day interfaith retreat at Auschwitz. Teacher and activist Roshi Bernie Glassman brought together 150 people from different religions, including a few descendants of both camp survivors and Nazis, for a "healing experience". With soundtrack songs by Patti Smith and Neil Young, footage of guests at the retreat are intercut with black-and-white atrocity footage. O'Keefe reads a poem by a camp survivor.
After the film we will have a meditative discussion led by Francisco "Paco" Genkoji Lugoviña. Paco is an ordained Buddhist priest in the Soto Zen lineage and in the Zen Peacemaker Order; is a member of the Zen Peacemaker Circles and Peacemaker International; and is the founder of the Hudson River Peacemaker Center-House of One People in Yonkers, New York where he has a fledgling sangha.. He works with gang members and other youth groups in Council Circle format and meditation practice. Francisco 
has participated in pilgrimages to Tibet, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and in the streets of New York City. He has an admirable history as a community organizer and civil rights activist spanning his college and professional careers. Additionally, Paco has been active in community and political affairs in New York City for most of his adult life.
It is our hope that this event will be a prayer for everyone to learn the lessons of the Holocaust to not inflict suffering on any people, anywhere, again.
More information about Raising the Ashes can be found at Michael O'Keefe's site.
