The Monastery

The story of Muhammad Iqbal, a turn of the century poet/philosopher from South Asia. Through Iqbal's work we open a dialog between the East and West, refute the notion of a class of civilizations and discover our shared humanity.

1962. A crystalline voice becomes a planetary tube. A Belgian nun jostles Elvis and the Beatles on the world charts. Her name: Sister Smile. A popstar with the trajectory of a comet who understands her success no more than the double meaning of her words… The harder the fall will be. Even God does not protect sharks' appetites or pretenses of success! Who killed the little voice of God? Here is the tragic story of an innocent voice, of an extraordinary fate, almost of a curse ...

King of the Jews is a film about anti-Semitism and transcendence. Utilizing Hollywood movies, 1950's educational films, personal home movies and religious films, the filmmaker depicts his childhood fear of Jesus Christ. These childhood recollections are a point of departure for larger issues such as the roots of Christian anti-Semitism.

Documentary about three men from Kentucky who claim to have discovered an Old Testament relic for 69-cents at a Madison, Tennessee Goodwill superstore. The men believe that they have found the mysterious Urim and Thummim in the form of a stone cup that allows its users to communicate with God and see visions.

Raymond Roy is a 64-year-old idealist, an energetic social activist ready to give everything he has to those living on the edge: the alienated, impoverished and exploited members of society. Raymond is also a priest, doing what he has wanted to do ever since he was a teenager. Filmmaker Serge Giguère paints an intimate portrait of a man who has spent 30 years fighting for an alternative vision of life in his community. The film is a blend of cinema vérité and social history that provides a view of the man and his work from without and within, from the poetry of his personal diary laced with doubts and self-criticism, to the many achievements of the community groups he helped. Filming over several years, Giguère gives us a sense of the changes in values and attitudes of those who run our society, along with the role of the community groups who provide solutions, inspiration and a sense of renewal.

"Målle Lindberg - clown or prophet?" - About the evangelist and singer Målle Lindberg, a.k.a. the Gypsy Preacher. The film depicts parts of his life with archive footage from the 1950's and 1960's.

In the week when Hindus celebrate the holy festival of Diwali, this documentary tells the story of one of their faith's most sacred symbols - the swastika. For many, the swastika has become a symbol synonymous with the Nazis and fascism. But this film reveals the fascinating and complex history of an emblem that is, in fact, a religious symbol, with a sacred past. For the almost one billion Hindus around the world, the swastika lies at the heart of religious practices and beliefs, as an emblem of benevolence, luck and good fortune.

Through concerts and interviews, folk-progressive group Harmonium takes Quebec culture to California. This documentary full of colour and sound, filmed in California in 1978, recounts the ups and downs of the journey of the Quebec musical group Harmonium, who came to feel the pulse of Americans and see if culture, their culture, can succeed in crossing borders.

Three decades after the shuttering of the mining town of Schefferville, the Innu people, who moved in after the non-natives abandoned the town, are facing a new challenge: the iron mines are about to be reopened. Land, identity and legitimacy are central to the dialogue between peoples locked in parallel struggles, the Québécois and the First Nations.

La ferme et son état

In the summer of 2007, Gan Xiaoer led an independent film projection team, using projectors and self-made screens, to tour villages in Henan province to show his feature film "Raised from dust" for 8 times, and recorded the process. The 81-minute version of Church Cinema records only one stop, the Qiliying Church, where "Raised from dust" was shot.

With a divine answer to a humble prayer at age 14, Joseph Smith began to fulfill his inspired mission. He translated the ancient Book of Mormon and restored the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. Many flocked to the American frontier to worship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lead by the Prophet Joseph's dynamic and courageous example. Unstopped by his martyrdom at age 38, Joseph's legacy continues today in the dedicated lives of Saints throughout the world who still sing "praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!"

On Valentine's Day, 1993, Caveh Zahedi decided to ingest 5 grams (a very large dose) of hallucinogenic mushrooms. For the first time in his mushroom-taking history, he had an experience of "divine possession," in which he felt that a divine being took possession of his body and spoke through him, in a voice that was not his, and with knowledge that he himself did not possess. He later tried several times to repeat the experience. I WAS POSSESSED BY GOD is the documentary record of one such attempt.

The movie recalls children who suffered mental and physical harm both during the last century, particularly in religious orphanages, and during the time of early modernperiod witch-hunts. It shows that the mindsets and behavioural patterns of both time periods are more alike than one might think.

The filmmaker travels to the mysterious land of the “poor souls.” He visits eyewitnesses in rural areas of Central Switzerland. They offer their account of mystifying experiences in connection with the afterlife, of evil deeds by people who passed away long ago in need of atonement. The film investigates the hidden signs of mountain magic and reminds us of our own myths, ghosts and primal images. It also looks for paths to self-awareness that could be revealed to us within and under layers of centuries-old Catholic cultural sediment.

Indian Time

Una risata ci salverà

In 1845, the first Korean to ascend to priesthood was born. His first name is Andrew Kim Tae Gon. Despite all the persecution and suffering against Catholicism, he wanted to practice equality and philanthropy. Arrested during an expedition, he chooses martyrdom after bitter torture. He was 25 years old. Kim Tae Gon, a young man who took a journey toward hope until the last moment, asks young people in 2021. "Are you a Catholic?"

A documentary based on the book Umbanda no Brasil by the scholar Mata e Silva, who is interviewed by the director. The book studies the Brazilian religion known as spiritism, a syncretism of African beliefs and magical rites, Indian beliefs and images, and Catholic symbols.

La bombe