DC Area Premiere

Drawn to a camera at an early age, Kurt Kuenne devoted much of his youth to making movies with his friend, Andrew Bagby. When Andrew was killed years later, Kuenne expressed his love in the only way that made sense to him: he picked up a camera and crossed the country to document the memories of everyone who knew and loved Andrew. In the process of committing these recollections to tape, the details and consequences of Andrew’s untimely death developed into a scenario so unimaginable that it could have rivaled any Hollywood concoction.

Unfortunately for David and Kathleen Bagby—Andrew’s parents—his death was neither the beginning nor the end of the story. His girlfriend's sordid past, the unfathomable injustices perpetrated on the family by the courts, and the Bagbys’ gut-wrenching concessions to a psychopath lace DEAR ZACHARY with utter horror. Rapid-fire editing underscores the persistent emotional upheavals, leaving us no option but to hope for the best. Thankfully, the Bagbys did not rely passively on hope. Refusing to sit idly by as their lives unraveled, the Bagbys set out to honor their son’s memory and ended up championing an international cause.

DEAR ZACHARY is propelled by the capacity of film to document love and loss as they happen; that relentless documentation sustains the film’s intensity by mimicking the allure of breaking news. Sitting immobile with mouths agape, we are powerless to stop what is unfolding in front of us. Ultimately, the real power lies with Kuenne, whose mastery of style and storytelling stands up to events that would overwhelm a lesser filmmaker and certainly a lesser friend.

—Deborah L. Jaramillo