Circle Up

Two mothers of murdered sons transform their devastating loss into healing for themselves, their families, and their community. One of the mothers, Janet Connors, offers forgiveness to the men responsible in exchange for their personal accountability. Together, these courageous mothers and one of the murderers work to guide a group of traumatized young high school students away from revenge violence through a series of transformative and heartrending restorative justice circles. Circle Up is a call to action for reframing approaches to crime and punishment through the lens of restorative justice, forgiveness, and accountability. It shows the power of circle practice to change minds about the meaning of true justice and second chances. (Sedona International Film Festival)