Collaboraction to Screen HEALING FROM HATE

Collaboraction, Chicago's theater for social change, will co-host the first Chicago virtual screening of Healing from Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation, a new documentary by filmmaker Peter Hutchinson that examines the bold work of former extremists in their efforts to de-radicalize White Nationalists and heal communities torn apart by racism.

Prominently featured in this riveting new documentary is former violent extremist Sammy Rangel, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Life After Hate, a Collaboraction board member and a nationally celebrated peace activist.

Healing from Hate will be available for streaming via Collaboraction's Together Network, the company's new platform for interactive online programming, from Wednesday, December 9 at 11 p.m. CT through Sunday, December 13 at 12 a.m. CT. Tickets are $9.99. Pre-orders are available now at collaboraction.org/together-network.

To learn more about Collaboraction and its upcoming work, visit collaboraction.org, follow the company on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, or call the Collaboraction box office, (312) 226-9633.

Healing from Hate is the latest documentary from filmmaker Peter Hutchison, director of the critically acclaimed Requiem for the American Dream, which featured Noam Chomsky. Healing from Hate examines the root causes of hate group activity through the bold work of those battling intolerance on the front lines. The doc spotlights the work of Life After Hate, an organization founded by Sammy Rangel, former Skinheads and neo-Nazis, now engaged in transforming attitudes of intolerance, and groundbreaking sociologist Michael Kimmel (author, "Angry White Men" and "Healing From Hate").

Documenting a stunning year of hatred in America, Healing From Hate follows former violent extremists mostly from the far-right who are working to de-radicalize, or "re-humanize," White Nationalists, and to heal communities torn apart by racism. The 85-minute video digs deep into what's needed to return meaning, identity and tolerance to a generation of disenfranchised white men.

Healing from Hate was an Official Selection at the Doc NYC and Big Sky Docs film festivals. Forbes Magazine called it "a powerful reminder of the racism, anti-Semitism and prejudice still deeply ingrained in American society" and how it "examines how the current administration perpetuates this divisiveness through fear-mongering." The Los Angeles Times wrote "at a time when the rhetoric of a certain leader in power has awakened supremacist groups, the documentary Healing from Hate should be mandatory viewing."

Sammy Rangel is an author, social worker, peace activist, speaker, trainer and father. After living a life fueled by violence, Rangel is now Executive Director and Co-Founder, Life After Hate, a Chicago-based non-profit committed to helping people leave the violent far-right to connect with humanity and lead compassionate lives. Today, he is a nationally celebrated peace activist. His autobiography, "Fourbears: The Myths of Forgiveness," chronicles his life from the physical and sexual abuse he endured as a child to his path of self-destruction that culminated in a 15-1/2-year prison sentence. In 2012, Rangel founded Formers Anonymous, a national self-help group based on the 12-step model for people addicted to street life and violence. In May 2015, he participated in the TEDxDanubia Conference: Balance On the Edge held in Budapest, where he spoke about the power of forgiveness. Two years later, Rangel forged a lasting connection with Collaboraction where he now serves on the board, when he shared his own inspirational story of hope and redemption on stage in the company's 2017 Peacebook Festival.

Life After Hate is committed to helping people leave the violent far-right to connect with humanity and lead compassionate lives. Its vision is a world that allows people to change and contribute to a society without violence. Life After Hate launched in 2011, when a group of former violent extremists came together and committed to a singular cause: Anyone wanting to leave a hate group would never have to do it alone. Today the organization offers an exit strategy for men and women ready to leave hate behind once and for all. Since the deadly "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, VA in August 2017, Life After Hate has helped more than 500 people and families. For more information, visit lifeafterhate.org.

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