Reviews

“What sets apart ‘The Worst Thing’ from many other restorative documentaries is that it doesn’t attempt to provide a linear path to reconciliation and healing... ‘The Worst Thing‘ is a story of Pequeño’s search for humanity after a dehumanizing tragic event. Pequeño’s courageous pursuit of this humanity evokes compassion and self-reflection precisely because Almoradie stays true to this story and doesn’t try to do more.”

-Mikhail Lyubansky, Psychology Today

“This personal story, and the history of the RAF, feels even-handed and historically accurate, without any ideological eagerness or tabloid drama – something that German cinema has yet to achieve. Kathleen seeks understanding, and the film accompanies her in her search, without judgement or voyeurism, and without condemning the former RAF members being interviewed. The film pulls us close without being intrusive, offers emotional depth without becoming sentimental, and maintains the required distance to function as a documentary. It is an all-around accomplished film that illustrates the necessity and the difficulties of Restorative Justice.”

-Theresa Bullmann, TOA Magazine

“Desireena Almoradie’s ‘little big film’ brings broken figures so close to reality that we transform ourselves into them, becoming their sworn shadow. Almoradie succeeds brilliantly in her documentary film about her childhood friend Kathleen Pequeño, whose brother fell victim to an attack by the third generation of the Red Army in 1985 as a young US soldier stationed in Germany.”

Snowdance Independent Film Festival Jury – Winner for Best Documentary

“The documentary is part of the healing journey itself, it does not only tell a story, it constitutes the story, affecting the quest. Desireena, respectful of her friend’s personal journey, is nevertheless not a distanced director, but a true companion and remains at the right distance and proximity from the pain and the search for meaning and healing.”

Brunilda Pali, Security Praxis

“This film moved me and helps stretch our imaginations into the necessary and still nascent territory of applying restorative principles to historical harm and all the complexities of political action.”

-Dominic Barter, Founder, Restorative Circles

“While watching ‘The Worst Thing’ I was so compelled by Kathleen’s evolution from ‘conservative’ to being someone seeking to understand and forgive. At Global Peace Film Festival we often press people to think not only broadly about what Peace can mean, but also to think of Peace as a process of dealing with the very real conflict we will encounter throughout life. Kathleen’s clear-eyed pursuit represents one of the best examples of Peace in action that I have seen recently. I hope that her story inspires many others.”

-Kelly DeVine, Artistic Director, Global Peace Film Festival