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“Surviving Pulse”: New Documentary on the Pulse Shooting, 6 Years On

From the Surviving Pulse website

On June 12, 2016, a 29-year-old man walked into Pulse, a gay bar in Orlando, Florida, and began shooting. He killed 49 people and wounded 53 more. Being “Latin Night” at Pulse, most of the victims were LGBT people of color. Surviving Pulse: Life after a mass shooting, a  documentary that explores the lives of some Pulse survivors since the horrendous mass murder, premiered at the Florida Film Festival in April.

The Pulse shooting is regarded as the deadliest attack against LGBT people in U.S. history. It’s the deadliest terrorist attack since September 11. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in the U.S. until the Las Vegas shooting in 2017.

“On June 12th, Pulse Nightclub was hopping with happy club goers until the unthinkable happened, a terrorist attack affecting hundreds of people and taking 49 lives,” Surviving Pulse’s website reads. “This attack would be known as the largest LGBTQ massacre in US history. We are bringing you these stories of some of the survivors who haven’t had the opportunity to tell their accounts of that night.”

Pulse was a safe haven for LGBT people of color. That sense of security was violated in the most terrifying way. “Our documentary has exclusive interviews with survivors and victims families talking about how Pulse Nightclub was a safe place for the LGBTQ community,” the website continues. “A place where everyone was family and patrons could be themselves. In a world of judgement and discrimination, we find that Pulse was their safe haven to not be judged for their sexuality and/or by their race.”

After years of healing, survivors of the terrorist attack are ready to discuss it. “Our survivors have finally reached the point where they want to talk. You will hear their traumatic stories and how they are true heroes in the wake of the tragedy at Pulse. We will talk about lost loved ones, and the physical and emotional impact endured by each one of them. They will discuss how their lives are different now, and how they are fighting to bring the LGBTQ community back together as a whole and return it to the family it once was.” 

The documentary will explore what surviving looks like when healing from something so nonsensical feels impossible. How do you move on from something you can’t understand, let alone forgive? “We will touch base on forgiveness and if they can find that in their hearts. The biggest obstacle society has as a whole is blindly judging and labeling things we do not understand, and subjectively putting people within in the confines of those labels. People are people, no matter their ethnicity or their sexual preference.” 

“One final question will have to be asked, “Will time heal all wounds or just some of them?””

Surviving Pulse has won multiple awards, including Best Feature Narrative Long at the American Golden Picture International Film Festival and Best Director at MQ Film Fest. 

The documentary makers hope to have it on an accessible streaming service soon.

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