Local producer's documentary of 20-year-battle to get TV play

By Mark BuschDocumentary filmmaker Tim Frakes, of Lombard, in his Glen Ellyn studio Tuesday Nov. 10. Frakes' most recent documentary,"Ready to Forgive: An African Story of Grace" will be airing on ABC 7 this coming Sunday.

By Eleni Demertzis, edemertzis@mysuburbanlife.comLombard Spectator Thu Nov 12, 2009, 05:13 PM CSTLombard, IL -Lombard film producer Tim Frakes will see three years of work on his documentary, “Ready to Forgive: AnAfrican Story of Grace,” come to fruition Sunday when it airs on ABC.Written and produced by Frakes, a local resident of 18 years, the one-hour program tells the story of a20-year battle, in which the Acholi people of northern Uganda suffered from rape, torture, and child abductionby the Lord’s Resistance Army. The battle has ended and the Acholi people are now starting their lives over and trying to forgive the army for two decades of terror, Frakes said.“Forgiveness is the overwhelming statement through this thing,” said Frakes.Jim Parks, Elmhurst resident and editor for the documentary, said the documentary does not focus on thehorror of the Acholi people’s experience, but rather on a much larger concept.“The real significance of this story is the compassion against all odds of the people willing and ready toforgive those who have raped, tortured, and murdered their families and friends,” Parks said. “They believe itis the only way to attain peace and move on.”Frakes said in the two decades of warfare, about 20,000 children were abducted. Some were turned intochild soldiers, while others were tortured and raped.Frakes came upon this project while he was working as a staff videographer for the Evangelical LutheranChurch in America. A videographer since 1984 who has worked independently from his Glen Ellyn-basedproduction company since 2007, Frakes began work on this documentary three years ago.Parks and Frakes have worked on over 50 documentaries together in the past 12 years. Parks compiledand composed music and served as editor for the first version of the film.“It began as a half-hour documentary, then was re-edited into a 50-minute program,” Frakes said. “For thelast final product, ABC wanted us to expand it.”