Hi there, my name is Desireena Almarotti and I'm directing a film entitled Kathleen and Eddie.
The film tells the story of my old high school friend Kathleen, whose brother was murdered by the Badr Meinhoff group back in the 80s.
Der Fahrer zeigt den Dienstausweis von Edward Pimentel. Der junge GI musste in der Nacht zuvor nur wegen dieser Zugangskarte sterben.
Im Kofferraum des Tatautos zündet eine Bombe.
So, this campaign is to fund a trip that's happening very soon. Kathleen and I are going to Germany and I'm planning to document Kathleen's efforts to connect with people who were former members of the Red Army Faction or the Badr Meinhoff group.
So, we found a great producer in Germany and through him we've lined up an amazing crew. I'm really, really looking forward to what we're going to uncover in Germany.
Luckily on this documentary we've been able to get by with the small amount of money that we've been using and through in kind and other donations.
We've been able to make a little bit of a dent in this project and we've gotten some great footage here in the United States.
We have some awesome interviews. We're hoping that if everybody out there can help a little, just a little bit, we could possibly get this thing going in Germany to make a complete story.
I hope with the clips that you're about to see from the film that you'll be moved enough to contribute some money to this very important project. Thank you.
I experienced so much anger and so much despair and it felt like it was always going to feel that way.
As time has passed, I've gotten to have a different relationship to the murder where I'm like, now I can notice how sad it is and there are still new places to grieve what my brother didn't get to have because he was killed so young.
But when we were young, it was Eddie and Kathy, and I followed Eddie. Now it's like Kathleen and Eddie, that it's actually I go and I lead in my brother now.
Because I've outlived my brother, he follows me, he goes now where I go.
Dear Ms. Hogafeld, I hope this letter finds you well. I'm Kathleen Picanio and I live in Portland, Oregon. I'm Edward Pimentel's younger sister. I was 15 when my brother died, so I've lived most of my life without him in it.
And I've come to the point where I want to have a different relationship to former members of the Red Army faction.
I'm not satisfied with the resolution provided to us by the criminal justice system in which we are all supposed to go our separate ways. You took prison, my family to our invisible grief on the outside.
I think that is incorrect and counter to the sort of world I want to live in.
If possible, I would like to get to know you and to know how Eddie's death has affected you, your life and your family in the decades since.
I am focused on understanding how my brother's death and its aftermath have changed our lives since then.
I want to make sure that we have the opportunity to see each other as fully human.
I want to know what sort of connection is possible among us, given the reality of his death and the deaths of others connected to the Red Army faction, both members and victims.
If we are not in touch again, I want one message to reach you.
I have read that you have described Eddie's killing as horrible and inhumane. Although it does not restore my brother with his life or make our family whole again, it did mean something to me.
I cannot explain what beyond to say that yes, his life did matter and we have felt his loss keenly. Thank you for acknowledging him and us.
