Venerdì Santo - Bronte(2021)

Esther and the King(en)

When a modern-day girl named Amelia (Lauren Faber) faces a big challenge in her life, her mother (Lori Broadhead) teaches her about the power of fasting by sharing the story of a heroine from the Bible. Esther (Summer Naomi Smart), an orphan raised by a relative named Mordecai (Marvin Payne), is chosen from all the maidens in the land to become queen. While becoming a queen is where most fairy tales end, this is just the beginning of the true story of this courageous woman who must risk her life to save her people from a treacherous plan of the charmingly wicked prince Haman (Jeff Stevens). Through reliving the story of Esther, Amelia gains an understanding of the power of fasting and how it can help her learn courage.

Mary of Nazareth(en)

The film begins with the Annunciation: Mary, a young Galilean, virginal conceived the Messiah, the Son of God. Her husband Joseph, a humble carpenter, decided to stay by his side throughout. When Caesar Augustus ordered the Jews to register people, the couple embarks on a journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Meanwhile, Maria Magdalena, a young woman from the same town that Mary, turns away from God and placed in the palace of King Herod, Herodias where convinces her to lose her innocence in the arms of the king's son.

Celso: a portrait, a place(pt)

"Celso: a portrait, a place" is a documentary that emerges from a year of sporadic visits by the documentary filmmaker (until then a convinced agnostic) to the Capuchin complex, a block that is, among other things, a place to preserve the memory of the Capuchin friars in the Serra Gaúcha, southern Brazil. The daily life of the space and the ramblings of the charismatic friar and artist Celso Bordignon are interspersed in an attempt to contemplate aspects of religious life, art, and the awareness of the nuances of the action of time on matter, body and spirit.

Jean-Sébastien Bach : "Jésus demeure ma joie"(fr)

Gates to Paradise(en)

In 1212, a Children's Crusade is launched after a young shepherd, Jacques de Cloyes, claims to have had a vision in which it is said that the innocence of children would be able to liberate Jerusalem. A monk, returning from Holy Land, joins the crusade and hears the children's confessions, gradually realizing that most of them are taking part not for religious, but for more worldly reasons, like rejected love and hopes for freedom, the true nature of their enthusiasm is homosexual. In fact, if the children follow Jacques, it is more for romantic than religious reasons. They take literally the famous phrase: “Love one another”.

Master of Zen(cn)

Set in the first century in India, a prince is troubled by visions and a desire to master the ways of Buddha. After his father dies, he forsakes the throne to become a monk and, after studying Buddhism for sixty years, travels to China to preach Zen and teaches the Shaolin monks the exercises that become the foundation of

Pontius Pilate(it)

The events that culminated with the Passion of Christ seen from the perspective of Pontius Pilate, the Procurator of Judea who unwillingly condemned Christ to death. Based on the biblical Gospel of John.

Purple State of Mind(en)

A conversation between college roommates Craig Detweiler and John Marks discussing questions of life, death, politics, and religion.

Blossom(ja)

Angels watch over an old farmer as he works to bring a tsunami-ravaged land back to life.

Untitled Muhammad Abed Baryal film (Whitney Wright)(en)

Muhammad Abed Baryal has a deep interest in creating a film based on the life and travels of Whitney Wright, a pornographic actress who has traveled to countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. I have reached out to her for the role, and while she appreciated my interest, she kindly declined, stating that she doesn’t see a connection between her career in adult films and the topics of her travels. Despite this, I am still passionate about bringing this unique narrative to life. I believe her story, intertwined with her travels in some of the most complex regions of the world, can provide a compelling and thought-provoking film. While this particular collaboration did not come to fruition, I remain committed to pursuing this project and believe that it holds significant artistic potential.

Saint Patrick, esclave et protecteur de l'Irlande(fr)

Lumière des hommes(fr)

Following the example of an entomologist watching the behavior of insects Edmond Bernhard scrutinizes the doings and the words of a priest - assisted by his choirboys - in the process of saying his mass.

An Introduction to Scientology(en)

Filmed in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), An Introduction to Scientology is the only televised interview given by L. Ron Hubbard. In this interview, LRH explains the history of Scientology, its status as a religion and its benefits on human society.

The Martyr of Calvary(es)

The life of Jesus from the beginning of his ministry, his miracles, the Sermon on the Mount and his death on the cross.

A Pioneer Miracle: In The Arms of Angels(en)

“A Pioneer Miracle” tells the story of 8-year-old Belle Richards, who, after disobeying her father’s counsel, finds herself and her brother in serious danger. With divine intervention, the pair survive a terrible rockslide, imprinting on Belle a lifelong lesson of faith, prayer, and the importance of obedience.

The Fourth Dimension(en)

This is an elegant meditation on time, travel, and ceremony in the form of a journey. In her first foray into digital video, Trinh T. Minh-ha deconstructs the role of ritual in mediating between the past and the present.

The Jupiter Menace(en)

George Kennedy narrates this documentary that examines the theory that the world is doomed due to the influence the planet Jupiter has on the Earth.

Miracle(da)

What do you do if you're twelve years old, your mum is a neurotic babbler, your best friend is hitting on the girl you love, and you're the only guy in your class who doesn't yet sport pubes ...? For Dennis P. there's only one way out - pray. In this musical adventure the miracle comes in the shape of an angel clone looking suspiciously like Dennis P.'s late father. The angel issues Dennis P. with a license to perform medium grade miracles, but there's a string attached - Dennis P. must stop using swearwords. Dennis P. throws himself into readjusting his existence. But one miracle leads to another, and the 'adjustments' lead to grotesque consequences.

Ars(fr)

With ghostly eyes looking through the winter landscapes of the plains and villages of Ain, where the sanctified priest the Curé of Ars once lived, Jacques Demy tried to understand this fighter for communal spirituality and his daily torments of mysticism.

Natpwe: The Feast of the Spirits(fr)

In Natpwe, the feast of the spirits, co-directors Tiane Doan na Champassak and Jean Dubrel have produced an immersive, seemingly timeless document of an annual Burmese trance ritual that dates back to the eleventh century. Shot in Super 8 and 16mm in sooty black and white, the film conveys the astonishing sense of liberation of tens of thousands of bodies and minds — a mass expression of faith, but also a rapturous respite from societal intolerance.