"MEMORIAL" - The Highland Park Shooting
"I didn’t want to make a polarizing film, or a finger-pointing film. I wanted to create a film that memorializes the larger American community. We are all suffering from this tyranny of gun violence."
Michael Golden and Jon Siskel
Editor’s Note: Documentary filmmaker Jon Siskel and I attended Edgewood Jr. High together in Highland Park, Illinois. Jon’s soon-to-be released film, “MEMORIAL,” focuses on the mass shooting that occurred in our hometown on July 4, 2022, stealing the lives of seven people and wounding 48 others.
“At that moment, when the horses had just passed, the first shot was heard. The first shot was heard when it hit my dad in the back.”
— Josefina Toledo, from the documentary MEMORIAL
Michael:
Let’s start at the beginning, Jon. You and I both grew up in Highland Park, a predominantly Jewish suburb that sits about 25 miles north of Chicago. First thing, how did the whole making of this film start for you? You’ve made many terrific documentaries over the years, but obviously this one is different.
Jon:
Well, I still feel very connected to the community, as do you. When the shooting happened on that July 4th, I was actually with my brothers out in Seattle and our phones started blowing up. And of course it was shocking and horrific, and immediately we’re making sure everybody we knew was safe.
And then in the days after, being a documentary filmmaker, and being from Highland Park, of course I’m thinking, is there a story to tell here? Can I contribute something? But it was all just so horrific that I couldn’t find a way into it.
Michael:
In fact, it took a while before you went to take a look at the scene of the crime.
Jon:
It was just so disturbing. Weeks had gone by and though I would visit my parents up in Highland Park, I was making sure to take a wide berth around downtown. I just was not prepared to even see the actual area. But eventually, Jacqueline, our mutual friend, reached out to me and said, “you know, I know you’re from here. You should come and see this memorial. It’s interesting. Special.”
Michael:
Right. So Jacqueline Von Edelberg is this really artistically talented person who moved to Highland Park from the city a few years back. And after the 4th, she created this memorial space where people would tie yarn around trees and paint sidewalks and write notes on luggage tags, thousands of them.
Jon:
And it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, which is really something given the horror that was just yards away from this location. You could literally see — feel — the community trying to stitch itself back together. I didn’t bring a camera. I was just there as an individual. And I was sitting down and people just started coming and sharing their stories with me. People, nobody I knew, total strangers. And it was just a beautiful human connection. And so on that day, I knew what I was gonna do, that this was my way into the story.
Michael:
Jon, when we hear that quote from Josefina Toledo (at top of article) about her traumatic experience at the July 4th Highland Park shooting, we don’t see her face. In fact, you intentionally didn’t use talking heads at all to tell this story. No archival footage, no police tape, just people’s voices and images.
Jon:
When I was spending time at the memorial, I just felt like the most important thing that I was getting were the words, what people where sharing with me, their stories. I just wanted people to focus on the words. I didn’t want viewers of the film to get pulled out of it, by, oh, you know, her hair looks a certain way or her home looks a certain way, or noticing a studio environment.
And then the abstract images of Highland Park. Again, I didn’t want specific houses or buildings. Because this is something that the country is experiencing. The images are very specific Highland Park images, but they are abstracted to allow what I hope is that the whole country can see this — because the whole country is living this trauma.
Michael:
And yet the documentary is not political in nature. It seemed like that was intentional too.
Jon:
I wanted to draw as many people as possible. I didn’t want to make a polarizing film. I didn’t want to make a finger-pointing film.
I wanted to create a film that memorializes the larger American community. We are communities that are suffering under this tyranny of gun violence. Mass shootings. But even more importantly, daily shootings in communities on the south and west sides of Chicago, and all over the place. I wanted to engage audiences and have a conversation. The only pointed part of the film is the very end where I put up the statistic about the number of shootings in 2022.
Michael:
There are so many incredibly poignant things said by the survivors and other folks in the film. Is there something that stood out most to you?
Jon: You know, they are all so moving. And what I really wanted to do is weave together a poem out of the words.
That being said, the quote that comes to mind is Jacqueline’s quote that ends the film. She was expressing that she’s just one person. I’m just one person. But like she described, you can drop a rock in a pond and it sends out these ripples. That’s what Jacqueline was trying to do with what she created in that space. And I feel like this film, “MEMORIAL,” is my contribution — my stone being thrown into the pond. And I want it to ripple out as far and wide as possible.
Michael:
It’s a deep and meaningful experience, watching this film. And I would have felt that way whether I was from Highland Park or not. I think that people are going to be very interested, no matter what their background. So thank you for doing this, Jon. Just great.
Jon:
Thanks, Michael. My pleasure. I really appreciate it.
Jon Siskel is the cofounder of Siskel/Jacobs. Michael Golden is the editor-in-chief of JEWDICIOUS.
**This interview has been edited for length and clarity. MEMORIAL premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival and will be in theaters this spring.
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