'Emanuel' explores life after tragic church shooting

NEW YORK (AP) — Jennifer Pinckney was hiding under a desk holding the mouth of her then-6-year-old daughter when Dylann Roof fired more than 70 shots in Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine black worshippers.

The new documentary, "Emanuel," explores life after the tragic shooting on June 17, 2015, as family members, friends and the community try to heal through faith and forgiveness.

Pinckney's husband, the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, was one of the nine killed by Roof, who sat through 45 minutes of Bible study at the church before firing shots. Pinckney and her daughter, Malana, were in the reverend's office when they heard gun shots in another room.

"It brings it all back for me," Pinckney said of watching "Emanuel," which opens in theaters nationwide for a limited run on Monday and Wednesday . Oscar winner Viola Davis and NBA star Steph Curry are executive producers.

It's emotional. I can't help but to relive what happened."

Roof was convicted of federal hate-crime and obstruction-of-religion charges and sentenced to death.

Before the attack, the then-21-year-old had told a friend that he intended to kill people at the historic black church to start a race war. Emanuel is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in the U.S. South.

Pinckney said she hopes the film, directed by Brian Ivie, "kind of opens people's eyes."

"It's like an awareness," she said. "We have to get to that point where we start respecting, and showing more love and more care, and coming together, (and) becoming one unity."

At a bond hearing days after the attack, some of the victims' family members offered Roof forgiveness and said they were praying for him, even as they described the pain of their losses. Emmy-winning actress Mariska Hargitay, a co-producer...