FAITHS FILM FESTIVAL FINAL FIVE

This morning the schedule for the film festival at Phoenix Square during Inter Faith Week is made public. Phoenix Square’s November brochure is published online (printed version to follow in two days). I've been particularly keen to see the finalised programme, so that I can get the details into the flyer that we’re having printed this week, listing our main activities during Inter Faith Week.

So, how does the final programme for Leicester's first Faiths Film Festival shape up against what I've been hoping for? At first sight, the result could be thought disappointing. But it ain't necessarily so.

When I first enquired about the possibility of Phoenix Square screening a short season of faith-related films at the same time last year, it was just a wish - and rather formless, as wishes tend to be. A couple of months ago, when making a more formal approach to Phoenix Square, I would have considered it a triumph to get five films on. At one point, I as discussing with Andy Jones (Programme Manager at Phoenix Square) the viability of showing as many as 14 titles: two per day throughout the week. As is the way with Leicester Council of Faiths, we were trying to represent each of our member communities equally. But as you can imagine, faithful reader, it's harder to find movies about, by or from some of those communities than others. I put out an APB, by email, social media and word of mouth, seeking recommendations for titles. Some of the suggestions were innovative, inventive, inspired – although some left me wondering if the respondents had ever been to the movies themselves or even knew what a feature film was. Sifting through a considerable amount of dross, there were a few nuggets of gold.

The ideal situation (from our point of view) would have seen two movies screened per day (half of them in Screen 2, which seats 120 and half in the Screen Room, which seats 30; half of them in English and half in another language with English sub-titles; half of them commercially proven and the other half more of a risk). Phoenix Square has whittled this down to a final five, as listed in the brochure.

I've learned a lot about how a cinema like Phoenix Square goes about its business. It's certainly not a matter of simply presenting a wishlist and expecting to get everything you want. The eventual choice was based on several factors, e.g.

• availability in suitable format for projection;
• having been passed by the British Board of Film Classification and granted an age certificate;
• ownership of current screening rights in the UK by a trading distributor (some of the proposed films have never been licensed for public screening in the UK, while screening rights for others have long lapsed).

So after all that, here's the final selection of films:

Sun 20: Little Buddha (Buddhist - obviously) 

Mon 21: A Serious Man (Jewish) 

Thu 24: Life in a Day (illustrating the Bahá'í principle of world unity) 

Fri 25: My Name is Khan (Muslim - with Hindu connections too) 

Sat 26: Lourdes (Christian)

I should stress here that the final choice was made by Phoenix Square – and in the end, they’ve gone with those films most likely to get patrons out of their homes on a cold dark November evening and parting with £7 for their ticket. Three of the five have been shown at Phoenix Square and deserve another go-round there.

I saw two of these films during their theatrical release (A Serious Man and Lourdes). I've already blogged about the latter.

We’ve been asked to write copy for the A4 cribsheets that are available free at the time of screening. On these we can say something about the relevance of the film to the respective faith communities, something about Inter Faith Week and something about the Council of Faiths. We were also offered, initially, the opportunity for an introductory talk about each film, of no more than three minutes in length. I haven't pursued this - so far.

I would like to find out if we can get a slide shown before each of the films, saying something like:

This film is being screened as part of Phoenix Square's Faiths Film Festival, presented in association with Leicester Council of Faiths, during Inter Faith Week.

A few too many "Faiths" in there? I'll work on it.

Phoenix Square's online brochure has a page devoted to the Faiths Film Festival. This web page has a slide show of still from four of the  movies, each with Leicester Council of Faiths logo added in the bottom right hand corner. That looks very nice. And there’s a paragraph of copy, written by me, linking the Faiths Film Festival with the Council of Faiths 25^th anniversary:

The third national Inter Faith Week is being celebrated from Sunday 20 to Saturday 26 November. Leicester has a positive and widespread reputation for the diverse and cohesive nature of its faith and cultural communities, so when Leicester Council of Faiths asked if Phoenix Square would host the first Faiths Film Festival – of course we said yes! This varied selection of movies showcasing faith, religion and belief also marks the 25th anniversary of Leicester Council of Faiths – which has been working to promote trust, understanding and cooperation among the city’s communities since 1986.

I hope that this is a success and that we get to do it again next year. Now it’s up to you, faithful reader. If you’re within the catchment area of Phoenix Square, then come along to one or more of these screenings during Inter Faith Week, show your support and enjoy a good film with our blessing!

LEICESTER'S FIRST FAITHS FILM FEST GETS GO-AHEAD!

Meeting at Phoenix Square Film and Digital Media Centre this afternoon with Andy Jones, Programme Manager. From this point on, the proposed Faiths Film Festival during National Inter Faith Week (Sun 20 - Sat 26 November) is a goer! I've set my hopes on this one for ages now (certainly since well before National Inter Faith Week last year); I'm delighted that we've got the green light now.

Phoenix Square often features such festival presentations, often linked to local activities, events and occasions.  Our Faiths Film Fest will be included as part of Phoenix Square's regular public programme, promoted through its printed and online brochure, double-badged in association with Leicester Council of Faiths, showing our logo.

The films will not be put on  for members of the faith communities alone. The intention is certainly not that the "Buddhist" films (for example) should only appeal to Buddhists. The films have to be commercially viable, available for screening in a decent format and the kind of movie that will bring in up to 75 patrons (for Screen 2) or 30 patrons (if shown in the smaller Screen Room). Proper films, in other words - accessible and appealing to the kind of audience that uses Phoenix Square (and definitely not any kind of propaganda material).

We're hoping to be able to schedule at least one film from each of our eight member faiths. As much as possible, I'm taking recommendations from people who adhere to these faiths themselves, so that they can get some buy-in from the communities. It's not our desire to be contentious or controversial, but we also have no wish to be comfortable or bland.

Here are some of the titles we hope to be able to show:

• A Serious Man
• Little Buddha
• Lourdes
• The Message
• My Name is Khan
• Phörpa (The Cup)
• The Robe
• Ushpizen

That's two Buddhist titles, two Christian, two Jewish and two Muslim. We're on the lookout now for two each that would work from Bahá'ís, Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. If any of them can't recommend a suitable title, we may be able to show something that exemplifies or illustrates a theme that chimes with that particular faith community (e.g. on the theme of the unity of humankind to stand for Bahá'ís, on the theme of non-violence for Jains, since there's a paucity of films directly related to those faiths). Three of the films listed above are in languages other than English.

This week-long event will be a strong complement to the exhibition in Highcross and a distinctive contribution to this national occasion, which will be celebrated for only the third time in 2011.

Recommendations of movies for inclusion in the first Faiths Film Festival will be gratefully received, faithful reader: all reasonable suggestions considered.

Of Gods and Men

This is one of a growing number of films that have piqued my interest for their grown-up, reflective and thought-provoking attitude toward religion and spirituality, alongside two great movies I saw last year: Jessica Hausner's Lourdes and the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man. The film won the Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Here's the plot synopsis as published on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb):

"Brotherhood. Religions. Faith. Martyrdom. Love. French monks are living, working and praying in a catholic monastery in Algeria in the '90s (civil war). It starts of showing how the Islamic locals and the christian priests coexist in harmony. The situation with the Algerian Muslim-terrorists becomes worse. They will have to decide whether to stay or go back to France. They are forced to question themselves and their mission very profoundly. Their sense of fraternity with the locals and amongst themselves is challenged. They are very much appreciated by the local Islamic population, especially the medic-priest, but very much in danger. This becomes clear after some Croatian volunteers of the monastery are brutally killed by the guerrilla-fighters. Threatened and unwanted by both guerrilla-forces and the government their presence becomes less and less obvious. At some point after intense confrontations with each other, the terrorists and the locals, they all decide to stay. In the end they are all, safe two who have hidden themselves well, abducted by the terrorists to swap them for their own prisoners in France. As we see them struggling in a snowblizzard in the Atlas mountains, we will not explicitly see what their final fate is ..."

You can read a thoughtful review of the film here:
http://www.speroforum.com/a/33436/Of-Men-and-Gods-a-meditative-film-on-faith-in-the-face-of-violence

Or get the classic Kermode and Mayo 5Live approach on video here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00cnj7w

I'd proposed a short festival of films for National Inter Faith Week 2010 at Phoenix Square but left it too late (and had too much to do for that week in other ways) to make it happen then. It's on my agenda for when it returns later this year though. Such festivals are a regular feature at Phoenix Square, where they've recently had programmes of films on such diverse themes as cycling, LGBT issues, and the spoken word. We're also thinking of approaching them to do something similar for the return of Leicester Speaks (AKA Local Democracy Week). I'm looking forward not just to seeing this movie, but also giving it extensive coverage here on the blog.

There's a mounting sense of anticipation and excitement as we walk toward Phoenix Square; the place is probably busier than I've ever seen it. There are certainly more priests here than I've ever seen turn out for a movie before (including Father John Lally, long standing member of Leicester Council of Faiths). We make our way through the small throng to the box office. I am already relishing this communal experience, looking forward to the collective spellbinding dance of colour and form before our eyes in the darkness of Screen 1. Which of us will request entrance to what is bound to be a united spritiaul experience in this forlorn and forsaken day and age of individuated isolated atomism?

"Two for Of Gods and Men please" I ask. "Sorry sir; sold out."

Lourdes

To the Glasgow Film Theatre this evening (GFT) to see "Lourdes", a French-language film directed by the Austrian film-maker Jessica Hausner and starring Sylvie Testud. this is a film which deals with faith, desire and our capacity to believe in miracles in an age more skeptical than ever. Christine (Testud) is a young woman virtually paralslysed by multiple sclerosis and confined to a wheelchair who, though not terribly religious, makes a pilgrimage to Lourdes. She goes on these visits not out of piety or belief in miracles, but simply because "It's the only way I get out".

Without wishing to give away too much about this thoughtful, observant, surprising and delightful film, a miracle may or may not happen to one of the group of pilgrims, which may or may not prove lasting - or may or may not be undone or overturned by the end of the film. The comedy and the pathos comes naturally out of the ways in which the other pilgrims and figures who represent different institutional arms of the pilgrimage site react to what has befallen "our miracle girl".

The strapline on the film's poster reads, "Nothing test faith like a miracle". Indeed ...

It's a very human story, set in an oveertly divine context. Beautifully judged, it's balanced on a knkife edge between appeaing to be the strongest, most biting satire and a loving portrait of something myseterious yet mundane at the heart of European Catholic life. Lourdes has won prizes both at Christian and more mainstream film festivals. It's tone and meaning are entirely dependent on what the viewer brings to it. Our party of three had mixed responses and opinions. I loved it.

Having been brough up as a Protestant in Glasgow in the 1960s and 70s, I can't vouch for the authenticiy of the Roman Catholic dimension of the film. I was born on the wrong side of the tracks for that. What I will say, however, is that it shows how different are the place and the times since then. In those days, a film such as this couldn't have been shown in Glasgow without howls of protest from Protestant spokesemen. Placards would have been waved outside the GFT and all those going in to see the movie would have had anti-Catholic pamphlets thrust into their hands. A few kicks and punches might have ensued which would have ensured that the controversy found its way into the newspapers or onto the television news. Thank goodness we live in more liberal times. Glasgow's all the better for it.

Read an interesting review and discussion of the movie ("Bressonian 'Lourdes' A Meditation on Faith"):
http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/5497/