rizpah
mourning or madness?
Rizpahs story began as a "project" but quickly became part of my own healing journey. This page documents that process: the storytelling, the conversations, and the deeper understanding that can emerge when we choose not to look away from grief.
About This Film
Rizpah: Mourning or Madness is a documentary designed to explore our Spiritual Formation and elements of Spiritual Direction through the story. This biblical documentary allows us to sit with 2 Samuel 3:6-11 and 21:1-14, listen to the characters' voices, and feel their emotions. There is much to be learned through Rizpah's story as it offers insight into trauma, healing, reconciliation, and motivation for deep and abiding social change.
Rizpah Teaser
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Hi, I'm Dr. Shonda Carter
Director, Producer, Writer, & Editor
I created Rizpah as part of my dissertation research, Stepping into Story: Creating an Environment for Spiritual Formation, to study the effects of imaginative prayer and formational reading.
What began as a dissertation film became something far more deeply personal after a close friend lost her baby to violence. At the time, I realized I did not know how to sit with her grief. I avoided it, struggled to witness it, and failed to fully understand what she needed from the people around her.
Years later, interviewing her for this film forced me to confront that discomfort honestly. Through her vulnerability, and through Rizpah’s story, I began to understand grief differently — not as something to fix or escape, but something that deserves to be witnessed with empathy and presence.
Experts, Scholars, etc.
