Please join us for a special community screening of the film Burden. Winner of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, the film provides a moving character study about the hard work of empathy and understanding when poverty, hatred, and racism drive us apart. Stay after the screening for a conversation with director Andrew Heckler, Rev. David Kennedy, Rebeca Gonzalez-Rocha, and Emma E. Houston exploring the film and opportunities to bridge the racial divide in our communities.
Parking at The Ray Theatre is limited; please park at the Homestake parking lot (a 5-minute walk away) or take public transit.
Presented in collaboration with the Christian Center of Park City and Utah’s MLK, Jr. Human Rights Commission. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; RSVP is encouraged. This screening is free and open to the public—no ticket needed. Seating is first-come, first served.
About the Film
Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Heckler
Not Rated (mature content and language)
Mike Burden is rising through the ranks of the Ku Klux Klan and being mentored by the local Klan leader who has become a toxic father figure—until he falls in love with a single mom who stirs his social conscience, risking retribution from the Klan. An African-American preacher and activist in town, Rev. David Kennedy, offers him safety and forgiveness and a shot at redemption. Based on true events in historic Laurens, South Carolina.
 Forum Participants
Panelists
Andrew Heckler
Director and Screenwriter, Burden
As an actor, writer, director, and producer, Andrew Heckler has participated in all aspects of the entertainment business. Burden is his feature directorial debut, starring Forest Whitaker, Garrett Hedlund, Usher, Andrea Riseborough, and Tom Wilkinson, and it is based on a screenplay he wrote in 1999. Burden received the Audience Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival as well as the same award at the Nantucket Film Festival, where he was also presented with the Visionary Award for screenwriting.
Rev. David Kennedy
New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church in Laurens, South Carolina
Born in 1953, David Kennedy is part of a large, close-knit family that has lived in Laurens, South Carolina, and the surrounding rural areas for generations. He built the congregation of the New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church from the ground up, founded the Laurens County Soup Kitchen, and was active in local civil rights efforts. David graduated magna cum laude from Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, before marrying Janice Pressley and heading off to Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Burden is based on actual events that took place in Laurens and Rev. Kennedy’s church in the mid-1990s.
Rebeca Gonzalez-Rocha
Program Manager, Bright Futures Park City
Rebeca Gonzalez-Rocha is a Park City native and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Utah as a first-generation college student. Her passion for social change has guided her work in youth and community development for the past four years. She is a graduate of Leadership Park City Class 23 and was awarded the MLK, Jr. Youth Leadership Award in recognition of her leadership in promoting the principles of social justice. She is also an active member of PC Unidos.
Emma E. Houston
Incoming Chair, Utah’s MLK, Jr. Human Rights Commission; Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Salt Lake County Office of the Mayor
Emma E. Houston is the former chairman of the Governor's Office of Ethnic Affairs and former secretary for the YWCA Board and UAA/SCANS Board. She serves on several community boards, including the Reverend France A. Davis Scholarship, You Got This! Women’s Interfaith, the Utah Diversity Connection, the Anne Stirba Cancer Foundation, and the Huntsman Cancer Foundation Community Advisory Committee. Emma is passionate about sharing her collaborative skills and community connections and enjoys working with all communities.
Moderator
John Priddy
CEO and Co-Founder, Windrider Institute
A successful entrepreneur and Peabody Award–winning film producer, John Priddy is a leader in the creation and expansion of entrepreneurial companies and development of private and nonprofit enterprises. John has produced numerous web series and short-form content, and along with his brother Ed he is an executive producer of multiple award-winning feature documentaries. He is a co-founder of the Windrider Institute, a nonprofit established in 2004 as a vehicle to promote the presentation and exploration of the human narrative through film and interactive media.
