Program Description: Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
- Robert Kennedy, June 1966
A generation after his death, the words of Robert Kennedy continue to speak to our political and popular culture. A RIPPLE OF HOPE captures one poignant day in the life of RFK and explores a little known act of personal courage and responsibility.
On April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was in the midst of a presidential campaign that was attempting to bridge racial and economic divisions. As news of King’s assassination spread, American cities were engulfed in chaos and fear. Urban areas erupted in riots. Fires burned out of control. Dozens of people were killed.
Though urged to cancel a rally before a mixed crowd in the inner city of Indianapolis, Robert Kennedy refused. He courageously kept his promise to speak, climbing up on a shaky flatbed truck and delivering a moving, impromptu plea for peace and reconciliation — a talk that eventually would be regarded as one of the great political speeches of the twentieth century.
With digitally restored news footage and original music by Grammy Award winning composer John Colby, A RIPPLE OF HOPE draws on interviews with Kennedy aides and associates, as well as “everyday people” who were in the crowd that night, to tell the story of an inspiring moment in history.
Film Festivals/Awards:
Durango Independent Film Festival
Harvest Moon Film Festival - Winner, Best Documentary
Heartland Film Festival - Winner, Audience Choice Award
Indianapolis International Film Festival - Winner, Hoosier Lens Award
Memphis International Film Festival
New Orleans Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival
Ojai Film Festival
