A highlight of this year's Berlin film festival and winner of the Teddy award for best documentary, AU-DELÀ DE LA HAINE is Olivier Meyrou's wrenchingly intimate portrait of a grieving family. On a September night in 2002, twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu was brutally beaten, thrown into a pond, and left to die by three skinheads who were initially looking "to bash an Arab." When François Chenu crossed their path, their homophobia overtook their racism, resulting in a senseless death that stunned a small community in Reims, France. Through the tireless and cautious insistence of director Olivier Meyrou, the Chenu family opened up to him and his camera with startling intimacy, using the process of filmmaking to achieve a seemingly impossible catharsis. The film asks that we bear witness to their grief, confusion, and gradual healing - incredibly private moments that defy the camera's presence. Filmed before and after the trial, AU DELÀ DE LA HAINE is also an examination of the French judicial system, whose flair for the dramatic makes for a difficult juxtaposition with the raw emotions of mourning. Psychologically complex and carefully composed, AU DELÀ DE LA HAINE is ultimately a plea for tolerance and love in a world where violence and hatred continue to destroy the lives of innocent human beings. - Andréa Picard