My name's Daniel Twardowski and I'm a 19 year old Witness from Texas. I first learned about Knocking when the film crew came to my local congregation to document my friend Seth's life and his surroundings before his surgery.
About a year and a half later, I saw Knocking in its almost completed form for the first time. I was really surprised. I didn't know what to expect. I had this gut fear that the filmmaker was pulling a fast one and actually made a negative documentary about Witnesses (this was before I had met the producers, Joel Engardio and Tom Shepard). Fortunately, it was the opposite. In fact, the film was completely different from anything I had imagined.

Knocking is about people. About Seth Thomas' crisis of life and faith and his family's struggles. About Joseph Kempler's beliefs in spite of the pain he faced and his desire to connect with those of his family that he let go. Knocking tells the stories few people outside the Witness community know about. It shows examples of challenges that every Witness faces at some point in their lives.
Another strong theme of the film that many are in the dark about is the huge impact Jehovah's Witnesses have had in the field of civil liberties. Though only seeking the legal right to spread our message, the Witnesses shaped the way we look at freedom of speech as it is today. It's largely unknown, however, because it was never made a large political spectacle. Rather, it was a less glamorous battle fought in the courtrooms. Because of that, many simply have no knowledge of any of this. Knocking makes sure they do.

Knocking is a film that can really be misunderstood by those who haven't seen it, much like the people it documents. When it was nearing completion, a simple Google of "Knocking" and "documentary" pulled up a slew of anti-Jehovah's Witnesses sites that pretty much exploded in a furor over the film, railing it as a "puff-production" and a even trying to prevent PBS from airing it (include an online petition that, as of yet, has 0 signatures). Naturally, much of this came up before the film had even been finished (go figure).
On the other end of the spectrum, there are my fellow Witnesses who are suspicious of the film because it's independently made. They feel this way because the media has rarely treated Witnesses well, especially when addressing subjects such as political neutrality and blood transfusions. There are those who may never watch Knocking for that reason, and I can only say that they will miss out on an encouraging and moving film.

I can't even begin to imagine what the filmmakers had to go through to make this film. I suppose they had to do things such as convincing the Thomas', the Kemplers, and Lillian Gobitas' to share their story, convincing the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (the legal entity of Jehovah's Witnesses) to provide cooperation with the film, and on top of all that, convince somebody with funding that this was a story worth telling.
I'm so glad they did, however, epecially Joel Engardio. I'd imagine he disagrees with Jehovah's Witnesses in a number of areas, yet he made this film to show the world the reality; what Witnesses are like behind the "knocking." Our faith is one we not only preach by, but live by.

My name is Joseph Kempler. KNOCKING tells a story that I saw with my own eyes. I am a Holocaust survivor, raised as a Jew in Poland. I lost my faith because of the things I saw and experienced in the Nazi camps. But ironically what I also saw eventually restored my faith in God. I won't say more about my story here, or the struggles I and my family face because of the past. I'd like to say something about the present.

I often go to schools and speak to students about my experiences. The students always ask me, 'Could the Holocaust happen again?' My answer is: It never stopped happening. There was and now there is Darfur . I have a strong feeling for survivors of genocide, especially Jewish Holocaust survivors. But really I identify with all survivors who have suffered innocently during mass killing. Most people cannot imagine what it is like, but survivors understand one another. Even though I mentioned in the film that some Jews view me as a traitor for becoming a Christian, I have found that often Jewish survivors pay even closer attention to what I have to say. It's not that they necessarily believe it or are interested in changing religion, but they are intrigued by the fact that I now have faith because so many of us survivors lost it and some wish they could find it again. Many Jewish survivors like to talk to Witnesses because they know and respect them for what they went through in the camps, even if the survivors as Jews resent Christian "evangelizing."

In KNOCKING I speak about how I first saw Jehovah's Witnesses in Melk concentration camp. They were the talk of the camp. We prisoners all knew about them but knew nothing about what they believed. It was only after we were "liberated" that I actually got to talk to Witnesses. The Americans set up trials in Dachau concentration camp, where some SS guards were held prisoner. In order to hold the trials, former camp inmates were brought in to testify against SS that they knew and had seen. I was there and happened to sit next to two Jehovah's Witness prisoners. They talked to me a lot about their religion, but it didn't sink in. We got to be good friends. One of the men was terribly crippled. The SS had put bolts between his fingers, tied his hands behind his back, and hung him by his fingers on a pole. His right arm was totally paralyzed and he had only partial use of his left arm. (Another survivor later told me the man only survived because the other Witnesses spoonfed him and got him a job as a painter because he could use him arm a little bit.) The Nazis tried to force him to renounce his faith, but he wouldn't do it. So now as we're sitting in these hearings at Dachau , an SS guard is brought out and this crippled man says to me, 'This is the one that did it, that hung me up.' I was expecting him to stand up and testify against the guard. But he just sat there. When the officials were about to lead the former SS away, I told the Witness he'd better speak up while he had the chance. He refused. He said, "Vengeance belongs to Jehovah." I was furious at him. But at the same time, I admired him. Witnesses were sent to the camps because they dared to say "No," and now that we had freedom, he still stood by his faith in God. I didn't understand it, but it made a powerful impression on me. To make a long story short, when I immigrated to the United States, a Witness woman came to door in New York. I had no idea there were Witnesses in other places besides , and I just had to find out from her what had made the Witnesses so strong. In the process of understanding their faith, very gradually I found my own faith in God returning and growing. As I say in the film, I went from being a God-hater to a defender of God's name.

My wife Virginia and I have attended several public showings of KNOCKING at film festivals. It's given me a real boost to see how positively people react to the film. The two stories, about Jehovah's Witnesses during the Holocaust and facing medical challenges, have the same basis: it's an issue of loyalty and life. Life is precious. No one knows that better than a survivor. But loyalty comes first. I was very touched by the news of the professor at Virginia Tech who was a Holocaust survivor and who died while protecting his students. He took responsibility for saving life by risking his own. The Witnesses feel that way about their loyalty to God. This to me is genuine faith.

I'm Lillian Gobitas-Klose. I really enjoyed being a part of KNOCKING, and whoever thought I'd be blogging at age 83! The DVD version of the film shows how my brother and I were expelled from school in the 1930s for refusing to say the pledge of allegiance and how our case Minersville School District v. Gobitis (the court clerk misspelled our name) went all the way to the Supreme Court. My brother Billy wrote the school board a letter: "I do not salute the flag because I have promised to do the will of God. This means that I must not worship anything out of harmony with God's law. In the twentieth chapter of Exodus, it is stated 'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image nor bow down to them nor serve them.' I do not salute the flag not because I do not love my country. I love my country. I love God more and I must obey his commandments. Signed, Your pupil, Billy Gobitas." [Ed. note: Original letter in the Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr006.html ]

When the Supreme Court decided that the school could force us to say the pledge, it was like open season on Jehovah's Witnesses. We saw so much done against the Witnesses, and we had our share too. But when the Barnette case reversed the decision, everything seemed to calm down. It happened a long time ago, but I still get requests at least once a month, from writers and professors who are writing about the case and what it means for freedom of speech and religion.

At the same time my brother and I were in court (I was12), my future husband Erwin at age 22 was in a Nazi concentration camp, Esterwegen, because of his neutrality. One of the guards put a gun to his head and said, "Now are you ready to heil Hitler?" Erwin said, "I can't. 'Heil' means salvation. My salvation comes from Jesus Christ." So he refused to heil Hitler. The Nazi put the gun down and said, "Go back to your barrack!" Jehovah's Witnesses don't have a death wish. We love life. We also love God, and we're going to be faithful to him no matter what.

Life is precious. I felt so sad when I saw the news about the shootings in Virginia . My heart goes out to the families.

JUDY: I'm Judy Klose, Lillian's daughter. I was most impressed and moved by the interview with Joel on the DVD. During the whole project, I guess I didn't realize how motivated and committed Joel was to telling a fair story. It made me truly appreciate him as a person and all the time and effort he put into making the film. (Joel interviewed me for the film, but it ended up on the cutting-room floor, which was fine with me! There was so much to tell in the film.) I love that KNOCKING is like a dialog with the two families within the timeframe of their lives, past, present, and future. By telling the story of a young Witness and an older Witness, it shows that no matter our age or at what point we are in our lives, we are tested every day to live up to our faith.

My parents had gone through big tests as young people. Dad always taught us to make sure of what we're doing before we made our decisions. I knew that becoming a Witness was my own decision. We have free will. I remember thinking to myself as a little girl that I had decided I wanted to be a Witness. I told my mom, and she just said, "OK, honey." That was it. But it made the rest of my life easier because I had decided for myself, not just because Mom and Dad told me to. I remember telling Mom that like it was yesterday.

My name is Tom Shepard and I co-directed and co-produced the film KNOCKING. When I first started working on KNOCKING, I received a number of raised eyebrows. Colleagues and friends seemed shocked that I would spend three years of my life researching and making a film that casts a conservative fundamentalist group in a largely positive light. After all, I had recently finished a film that was extremely critical of religious ideology - the kind that justifies discrimination against women or gay people or other religious groups. I was raised in a family of agnostics who neither encouraged nor discouraged me from exploring any religious group. My parents were full-time teachers and often hired a baby-sitter to watch me after school. Her name was Shirley and she was a Jehovah's Witness. I spent many hours with her: playing games, making food, watching television and taking walks around the block. We never discussed theology. Yet, I knew Shirley belonged to a religious organization and that it was very important to her. There were certain nights she couldn't babysit because she was meeting with her congregation. There were certain times on the weekend she joined her large family to go knocking on doors. Her life outside our home was a mystery to me and has a remained a curiosity throughout my life. My connection to her as a young child, though, continues to bring back warm and caring memories. As a filmmaker, I've always been interested in what enable alliances between people with different backgrounds and beliefs. From a very early age, many of us learn to associate with those like us. Often, we are raised among similar socio-economic, racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. Rarely are we encouraged to reach beyond our own comfort zones. Rarely do we take opportunities to reach out to those who look different, act differently, speak differently, and worship differently. Despite how ubiquitous buzzwords like "diversity" and "multiculturalism" have become in our parlance, rarely do I see those concepts in play across all lines. In my view, alliances between people with very different backgrounds come unexpectedly: the coalition of neighbors in the aftermath of natural disasters, the forced incarceration of different groups in the Holocaust, the facilitated visits between victims of violent crime and their perpetrators, the common ground found on sports teams. But sometimes it happens more simply. Usually, there is an emotional component - a shared experience or circumstance that humanizes the "other." Rather than dismissing someone as a stereotype or a caricature, a bond of mutual respect emerges. In my own life, I have found this experience hugely gratifying as I watch my own prejudices erode while new friendships develop. Once an alliance has been created, I often want to know more - gather more information about this person or group I previously ignored or made fun of. I hope KNOCKING and the accompanying study material will act as a catalyst to create new and unlikely alliances. As I recall now the beautiful connection with Shirley, my childhood babysitter, I want her to know how much I appreciate all the things I've learned about Jehovah's Witnesses: how Witnesses, through their extensive civil liberties case law, have indirectly helped protect my own civil rights, how their flagrant refusal to cooperate with Hitler gives me courage to stand up against inflexible and totalitarian power, how their steadfast refusal to cooperate with doctors has emboldened me to question medical authority and paternalism. Mostly, I revel in the new friendships with Witnesses around the world who have shared their stories with me and who have listened to my own stories. Tom Shepard, San Francisco April, 2007

Welcome to the KNOCKING blog on AOL. I'm Joel Engardio, one of the filmmakers. I also wrote and narrated KNOCKING. Documentary films can often have a life of their own, beyond the concrete minutes between opening scene and closing credits. Films like KNOCKING seem to inspire thought and commentary. There is just so much to talk about. The issues are relevant to everyone today, not just Jehovah's Witnesses. So it is nice to see that the conversation continues as people exit the theaters where KNOCKING is shown at film festivals or community screenings. There are also conversations among Jehovah's Witnesses who watch KNOCKING on DVD at home gatherings and conversations among Jehovah's Witnesses and non-JWs who see KNOCKING to better understand their JW family members or co-workers. The conversation also continues on doorsteps across America when a Jehovah's Witness knocks on a door of someone with an interest in civil liberties, history or religion has seen KNOCKING at a film festival or on PBS. And the conversation continues further in online chat rooms and blogs. There is much to say, indeed. I only hope that the conversations remain constructive and respectful. We all have a right to free speech in America, but a free society must also be a civil society that respects a multitude of view points. What is remarkable about Jehovah's Witnesses is that they demonstrate how the right to free speech can work best in America, even as the country wages a destructive culture war with itself. Jehovah's Witnesses are social and moral conservatives. They speak their message door-to-door and you may not like what they have to say. But if you disagree with one of Jehovah's Witnesses, nothing else happens after you politely say "no thanks" and close the door. Jehovah's Witnesses are not working to create new laws or amend the Constitution to compel everyone to live their way. They only use the power of persuasion to find new members, and joining is a choice. Our nation was founded on the guarantee of both religious and personal liberty. We can have both without resorting to culture war. The fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are apolitical sets them apart from other socially and morally conservative religious groups that make it their agenda to politicize their beliefs. Everyone has a right to say what they want, but the notion of the separation of Church and State is one that would serve our country well if it were truly adhered to. Religions would always be protected by the Constitution to believe and worship as they see fit, and also have the right to freely speak about their beliefs in efforts to find new members in an open marketplace of ideas. But by keeping religion out of politics, the laws of our land could be equally applied to all people regardless of their faith. A right does not exist unless it is enjoyed by all. Jehovah's Witnesses seem to understand this. They stand firm for their beliefs and do not back down. Yet at the same time, they don't try to stop other groups they disagree with. A pair of Jehovah's Witnesses could be knocking on one side of the street with a Bible message and not be disturbed if another group is knocking on the other side of the street advocating an issue Jehovah's Witnesses don't agree with. When the KNOCKING crew was filming in Atlanta, we followed a group of Jehovah's Witnesses in the door-to-door ministry. It was election season, and as the Jehovah's Witnesses turned the corner, they ran into a group of people knocking on doors to ask residents to vote for a certain candidate. Jehovah's Witnesses do not vote. They believe that Christians should not put faith in human politicians to solve mankind's problems -- JWs say only God can do that. Yet, Jehovah's Witnesses respectfully shared the block with the political canvassers. The Atlanta neighborhood got a double-dose of the First Amendment in action that day, and it was a wonderful example of how the free flow of information and ideas should be able to reach citizens so they can choose which message they want to follow. This is the American way and the America I want to live in.