Wallflower

Writer/director Jagger Gravning recounts the Capitol Hill massacre of 2006 in this docudrama, based on the events of that night. Though the story of a mass shooter and his victims is, sadly, not an uncommon one, this film traces the events through the eyes of the perpetrator as he struggles with the choices he's made and the ones he hasn't. As he meets an eccentric group of ravers who welcome him into their home and lives, making him question what he believes he must do, the conflict within himself is evident. In the words of Gravning, this film is not meant to gain sympathy for the 2006 shooter, Kyle Huff. Rather, he uses Wallflower as a homage to empathy, reveling in the fact that if empathy is shown to those who put themselves in the position of the perpetrator, tragic events of this nature will stop becoming the norm in this culture. Gravning's passion for the project and message is evident throughout the film, while also paying tribute to the creative, colorful, lively cultivation of the Seattle rave scene. (Seattle International Film Festival)