''41'' is an independent feature-length documentary about Nicholas O'Neill, the youngest victim of the Station nightclub fire, which claimed the lives of 100 people in

West Warwick, Rhode Island West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census. West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the wester ...

on February 20, 2003. The documentary, which was co-created by filmmakers Christian de Rezendes and Christian O'Neill (Nicholas's brother), interweaves the story of Nicholas's life, as described by his family and friends and illustrated with home videos, with footage from the film ''They Walk Among Us'', which is based on a play of the same name written by Nicholas a year before he passed. The titular number, as described by the film, was of spiritual significance to Nicholas, although the reasons behind this are not fully known. The film also details how his family and friends believe that Nicholas may have prophetically known that he would die at a young age, and that he continues to communicate with them as a spirit, often through "signs" involving the number 41. Several notable individuals either appear in the film or acted as consultants on it, including novelist Jon Land, writer

Ann Hood Ann Hood (born 1956) is an American novelist and short story writer; she has also written nonfiction. The author of fourteen novels, four memoirs, a short story collection, a ten book series for middle readers and one young adult novel. Her essa ...

, paranormal researcher

Gary Schwartz Gary E. Schwartz is an American psychologist, author, parapsychologist and professor at the University of Arizona and the director of its Laboratory for Advances in Consciousness and Health. Schwartz researches the veracity of mediums and energy ...

, psychic mediums Robert Brown, Maureen Hancock and Cindy Gilman, and AVID co-creator Tom Ohanian. Both of the directors appear in the film and act as storytellers, relating their personal connection to the story.

History

Christian de Rezendes describes in the film itself how he was inspired to after he himself had an experience of the number 41 which he believed may have been a sign from Nicholas.

Reception

To date, ''41'' has been played at nine film festivals across the United States and Canada, including the

Bare Bones International Film Festival The Bare Bones International Film and Music Festival was founded in 1999 by the Darkwood Film Arts Institute (DFAI) in the city of Muskogee, Oklahoma, United States to showcase independent motion picture projects with budgets of less than 1 milli ...

in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the

Woods Hole Film Festival The Woods Hole Film Festival was founded in 1991 by Judith Laster and Kate Davis. Since its foundation, the festival has grown from a one-day invitational event to an eight-day event with films submitted from around the world. The Festival is hel ...

in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and the Blue Mountain Film Festival in Ontario, Canada. Reviews have been generally positive, including a five-star review from

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...

. In 2008, the film was picked up for distribution by Nehst Studios, a production and distribution company headed by Larry Meistrich (producer of ''

Sling Blade A sling blade or kaiser blade is a heavy, hooked, steel blade at the end of a long (around ) handle that is usually made of wood. The blade is double-edged, and both sides are usually kept sharp. It is used to cut brush, briar, and undergrowth. ...

''). Since that time, it has had two theatrical runs, both in its home state of Rhode Island. In 2007, the filmmakers were the featured guests on Beyond Reality Radio with

Jason Hawes Jason Conrad Hawes (born December 27, 1971) is an American plumber and the co-founder of The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS), which is based in Warwick, Rhode Island. He is also one of the stars and co-producers of Syfy's '' Ghost Hunters'', w ...

and

Grant Wilson Grant Steven Wilson (born July 3, 1974) is an art director and developer for Rather Dashing Games (now a division of Kalmbach Publishing), a game company he founded with Michael Richie, and is the co-founder of The Atlantic Paranormal Society ...

from the television program '' Ghost Hunters'', which is based in Warwick, Rhode Island, close to the site of the Station fire.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1053792, 41 2007 films American documentary films The Station nightclub fire Documentary films about the paranormal 2007 documentary films Films set in Rhode Island 2000s English-language films 2000s American films