Chance Meeting Between a Former Neo-Nazi Skinhead and His Gay Hate-Crime Victim Leads to Forgiveness and Friendship

Although Facing Fear, directed by Jason Cohen and nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category, runs only 23 minutes, it powerfully recounts a crime of opportunity and a later fateful meeting between the perpetrator and victim.  

As a young, gay teenager living on the streets of Los Angeles, Matthew Boger was savagely attacked and left to die by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads.  One of those skinheads was Tim Zaal.  Although Boger recovered from the attack, it had a lasting impact on him and shaped his life's work.  He never anticipated meeting one of his attackers, but he did.   

While working for the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles 25 years after the attack, Boger was asked to meet with Zaal, who had left the neo-Nazis after realizing that the hateful life of a skinhead was not for him.  Zaal was at the Museum of Tolerance to share his thoughts about his own troubled past and efforts to rebuild his life after leaving the neo-Nazi group.  

After conversing for a few minutes, the two men quickly realized that they had encountered each other before.  The film recounts how this meeting was another life-changing moment for both Boger and Zaal, a moment that eventually led to forgiveness, understanding and friendship.