The general counsel and chief operating officer at Pilgrim Media Group, attorney Gretchen Stockdale joined the company in 2008. Responsible for handling Pilgrim Media’s legal matters and compliance obligations, Gretchen Stockdale has assisted the company in expanding into documentaries.
In 2017, Pilgrim co-produced Soufra, a widely acclaimed documentary about Syrian refugees. The film features Mariam Shaar, who has spent her life in the Bourj el-Barajneh Refugee Camp in Beirut. Initially established for Palestinians in the 1940s, the camp is now home to thousands of Syrians. Directed by Thomas Morgan, the film spotlights the camp’s unlivable conditions and details how the Lebanese government works to contain its occupants without legal recourse.
However, Mariam Shaar conveys a sense of optimism and hope by showing how she founded her own catering company, Soufra, which means “a bountiful dining table.” Shaar’s company provides work for refugee women, for whom the preparation of healthy and traditional cuisine serves as a creative outlet to help them to overcome their dire circumstances.
