Was there a moment when you realized how much you had changed your feelings about Tim and could trust him so completely?<\/strong><\/p>\nYes. I remember this one time when we were in an airport in New York. We had just finished taping a talk show and I was standing there waiting for my bag. Some guy came up to me and said, \u201cAre you somebody very important?\u201d So I just played with him and said, \u201cYeah, why?\u201d And he said, \u201cOh, I noticed your bodyguard standing next to you.\u201d That was an amazing moment for me. As Tim and I walked away, I realized that now people were viewing this person who once tried to kill me as someone who was protecting me, that\u2019s how he was coming across.<\/p>\n
Jason, did you have any fears going in about how you were going to tell this remarkable story?<\/strong><\/p>\nJason:<\/strong> Yeah. Matthew and Tim had come back together about six years before I met them. They\u2019d done a lot of media early on and some of the stories that were done at the time exploited them a bit. They confided in me that the experience had left a bad taste in their mouth. So for me, my biggest hurdle was convincing them that I wanted to take a completely different approach. I had no interest in exploiting them as characters, I wanted to show them as real people.<\/p>\nMatthew, what was it about those earlier stories that you didn\u2019t like?<\/strong><\/p>\nMatthew:<\/strong> Everyone seemed to want to vilify Tim. As odd as it sounds for me to say this as his victim, that made me very uncomfortable \u2014 he\u2019s really a changed person today. But the articles mostly focused on the brutality, what happened in that alley, and just included a few lines at the end about our relationship now. Our story is much bigger than what happened in that alley. It also bothered me that they always focused on Tim\u2019s tattoos and called me a runaway which I wasn\u2019t \u2014 my mother had thrown me out.<\/p>\nJason:<\/strong> We really wanted to show that forgiveness is a two-way street. The normal reaction is to assume it\u2019s only about the victim forgiving the perpetrator, but we wanted to show what Tim was going through as well \u2014 how he had to learn to forgive himself and deal with his whole life that was crashing down around him during that process. Both Tim and Matthew had a lot of inner struggles they were dealing with.<\/p>\nMatthew:<\/strong> I think the great thing that Jason pulled out of Tim was when he talks about how he ended up in that place to begin with and how if he can ultimately change, anyone can.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s true. Most of us never have the experience that either of you went through, but there\u2019s so much to relate to here.<\/strong><\/p>\nJason:<\/strong> I feel like these themes are always relevant because you can find hate anywhere. I live in Berkeley, one of the most progressive cities in the world. And yet, when we were in the middle of promoting this film, there was a horrible hate crime in the community \u2014 a high school kid who didn\u2019t identify as a boy or girl was set on fire by some other kids. These issues of bullying and homophobia unfortunately remain very relevant 34 years after Matthew\u2019s attack, in addition to the important message about forgiveness that\u2019s in the film.<\/p>\nDo you think it\u2019s very different for young gay kids today growing up than when you were a kid in 1980?<\/strong><\/p>\nMatthew:<\/strong> There\u2019s certainly been a lot of movement forward. But in some ways I worry that things may get even more violent. \u00a0The gay community has moved forward in so many ways, but when you back a monster into a corner, it tends to retaliate. So as more and more states go along with gay marriage and equal rights, you also see a rise in more violent hate crimes.<\/p>\nAnd certainly hate speech and bullying, which is so much easier now with the Internet and social media.<\/strong><\/p>\nYes. So I do think it\u2019s getting easier for kids but there\u2019s still a lot to do. Whenever teachers tell me \u201cWe have a bully-free school,\u201d I say, \u201cOh, so you have only student enrolled here?\u201d It\u2019s just not possible to eliminate bullying completely and the first thing kids tend to get bullied on is their sexuality.<\/p>\n
This is such a remarkable story I wonder if you\u2019ve ever been accused of fabricating any part of it.<\/strong><\/p>\nIt\u2019s funny because when this all came about and Tim and I started doing presentations, the museum had this whole vetting process that I wasn\u2019t even aware of. They researched everything and talked to old friends of mine to see if the stories matched up. They even talked to Tim\u2019s former Nazi leader who is still involved in that world. Of course, who in their right mind would tell this horrific story if it had never happened? Especially for Tim, talking about this awful violence he had perpetrated against this innocent child and knowing that he\u2019d be hated at first for admitting to that.<\/p>\n
Right. And, of course, the film is powerful for all audiences, not just young people.<\/strong><\/p>\nJason:<\/strong> Yes, I don’t even like to classify it as an \u201ceducational film\u201d even though I hope people learn from it. In all of our screenings, we have many adults who tell me that they\u2019re getting so much out of it, especially the message about forgiveness. This is something that we\u2019re all dealing with every day.<\/p>\nAnd now here you are getting ready to go to the Oscars. Is that just mind-boggling?<\/strong><\/p>\nYes! We\u2019re all going and we\u2019re very excited about it. I know it sounds clich\u00e9, but nobody makes a film to win an award. So for us this is just icing on the cake. We were so happy that the film was getting such a positive reaction and we\u2019re thrilled that this honor may open doors to get the film out to more people which was our goal to begin with.<\/p>\n
Matthew:<\/strong> It is<\/em> weird to imagine Tim and I there \u2014 from the alley to the Oscars!<\/p>\nCrazy. How was the luncheon for the nominees? Did you get to talk to Cate Blanchett?<\/strong><\/p>\nI did, actually! (Laughs.) You know, I\u2019ve been so swamped since the nomination was announced that, to be honest, I hadn\u2019t really processed it. Being at that luncheon was really the first time it hit me. There I am in the group photo standing next to Christian Bale! He was very gracious, he came over and wanted to hear all about the film.<\/p>\n
Actually, Christian Bale would be great as Tim if you ever decide to turn your story into a feature film!<\/strong><\/p>\nMatthew: <\/strong>(Laughs.) Maybe. I\u2019m very protective of this story but who knows? Now I just have to think of who could play me!<\/p>\n
![\"jason-matthew\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/jason-matthew.jpg\")
<\/a>Jason Cohen\u2019s stunning Oscar-nominated documentary short\u00a0Facing Fear<\/em>\u00a0retraces the haunting accounts of the attack and the startling revelation that brought these men together again. While delving deep into their backgrounds, the roots of the ideologies that shape how they handle the reconciliation process are exposed. Self-doubt, anger and fear are just a few of the emotions they struggle through as they come to terms with their unimaginable situation. I recently sat down with Jason Cohen and Matthew Boger at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles to discuss this powerful film.<\/p>\n