Indianapolis International Film Festival 2009

A generation after his death, the words of Robert Kennedy continue to speak to our political and popular culture. The independent documentary A Ripple of Hope, produced by Covenant Productions, captures one poignant day in the life of RFK and explores a little known act of personal courage and responsibility. On April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Robert Kennedy was in the midst of a presidential campaign that was attempting to bridge racial and economic divisions. As word of the assassination spread, riots and fires erupted in cities across the nation. Though urged to cancel a rally before a mixed crowd in the inner city of Indianapolis, Robert Kennedy refused. The threat of violence was very real. But the few, simple words he spoke that night are credited with creating a sense of calm that averted violence during chaotic days following Dr. King's death. With digitally restored news footage and original music by Grammy Award winner John Colby, A Ripple of Hope dramatically narrates the events of that tragic day 40 years ago through the eyes of those who were there. From the inner city of Indianapolis to the Memphis hotel where Dr. King was shot, A Ripple of Hope explores the passion for justice and the personal courage that linked these two extraordinary figures in life as well as death.A Ripple of Hope was produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Donald Boggs.