A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
A cinematic story of drama after the drama and war that rages on in people's hearts even after the war. The hero, an Orthodox Christian monk, finds himself on a road to spiritual healing through circumstances he could never have dreamed of. The story follows the path to spiritual uplifting, metaphorically introduced at the very beginning in the hero's walk to the secluded hermitage. The leitmotif of watering a dry, dead tree, repeated throughout the film, illustrates the absurdity of the monk's faith. The permanent paralysis of the characters after the torment of war invokes forgiveness as the only means to ultimate healing.
On 25th December 2011 the Georgian Patriarch Ilia II described his 34 year-long leadership as head of the Georgian Orthodox Church as a ‘sunny night’. Beginning in 1989, and going up to the present, the film essay Sunny Night tells of political and social events since Georgian Independence. A variety of formats and sources, disparate images and voices report on protests, recommencements, uproars and wars, and religious identity that centres around the dominant religion of the nation. In the midst of the ongoing shifts and the various state of affairs, the patriarch stands out as the only constant figure. Meanwhile the sermonised religion begins to take on radical forms, going as far as priests forming front row human-chains, leading protests of several thousand orthodox believers chasing a handful of LGBT activist throughout the streets of Tbilisi in May 2013.
In a world where the inexplicable becomes reality, this documentary immerses us in the impactful experiences of people from different countries, unknown to each other but united by a common destiny. Their testimonies, filled with mystery and wonder, converge in an alarming revelation: an event of unimaginable proportions is about to occur and will change the course of humanity forever.
Simon, a deeply religious man living in the 4th century, wants to be nearer to God so he climbs a column. The Devil wants him come down to Earth and is trying to seduce him.
Sebastian, a novice in a post-apocalyptic Brazilian monastery, prepares to be ordained while struggling with intense doubts. Before priesthood, he must confess his greatest secrets: his rape as a child and the passion he has for another monk. He turns to penance and martyrdom to relieve his guilt.
Saint Street is a classic American Christmas tale for the entire family. The story follows Percy who is a good man, but has found himself caught up in the riches of the world and is neglecting his most prized possession – his family. Christmas Eve has arrived and Percy is still hard at work late into the night, once again breaking his promises to his wife and kids that he would leave early so that they could drive to their traditional family Christmas party. After being warned time and again to change his ways from a heavenly being from beyond, Percy is about to experience some grave consequences for his actions. In a series of tragic events, Percy faces humble circumstances after losing everything in a car accident – his family, job and home. Paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair, he is forced to be homeless and live in the gritty world of misfits on Saint Street.
Augustine is a two-part, Italian-made mini-series about the influential theologian and church father St. Augustine of Hippo. The piece tells the story of his life from a teenager to his death at the age of 69. Much of the content for the scenes of him as a young and middle-aged man come from his Confessions, which is probably the earliest extant autobiography.
Evocation of the life of Bernadette Soubirous, the eldest of four children, who, at the age of fifteen, experiences a religious vision at the Massabielle grotto near Lourdes.
A story of spiritual resistance to physical political persecution. Set after the Russian revolution, when communist zealots hunt down everyone who will not forswear their Orthodox Catholic ways.
Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life.While researching the life of Josemaria Escriva, the controversial founder of Opus Dei, the young journalist Robert uncovers hidden stories of his estranged father Manolo, and is taken on a journey through the dark, terrible secrets of his family’s past.
Traditions during Easter holidays in the remote village of Grešnica. The film was a research project of the newly opened Ethnological Museum to preserve the disappearing customs at least on film for future generations.
In this film the last living witnesses of the events from Second World War are telling their stories and thus transferring silenced victim’s voices to present times.
Hildegard von Bingen was truly a woman ahead of her time. A visionary in every sense of the word, this famed 12th-century Benedictine nun was a Christian mystic, composer, philosopher, playwright, poet, naturalist, scientist, physician, herbalist and ecological activist.
Part one of this two-part epic follows the life and deeds of Boris I – a strong historic personality, which completes his mission to the full and at the end of his life receives holy orders.
Somewhere in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives an unusual man whose bizarre conduct confuses his fellow monks, while others who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future.
The life of the virgin and martyr Santa Maria Goretti
The first of four installments in the groundbreaking Heartbeat of the World anthology film series. Comprised of several short films by some of the world's most exciting directors, Words with Gods follows the theme of religion - specifically as it relates to an individual's relationship with his/her god or gods...or the lack thereof. In Words with Gods, each director recounts a narrative centered around human fragility, as well as environmental and cultural crises involving specific religions with which each has a personal relationship; including early Aboriginal Spirituality, Umbanda, Buddhism, the Abrahamic faiths, Hinduism, and Atheism. An animated sequence by Mexican animator Maribel Martinez is woven through each of the film segments, with each segment narratively connected as a feature-length film.
An exploration of America’s cultural divide ignited by the 2020 controversy surrounding the forcible toppling of Father Junipero Serra’s statues. Best-selling author Arthur Brooks examines the toxic polarization gripping the nation. Can we bridge this divide, or are we destined to repeat history?
The plot of the film unfolds in the ancient monastery of Dokhiar on the west coast of Mount Athos, on the Aegean peninsula. This peninsula is given to the exclusive use of the monks of Eastern Christianity. Images of nature are woven into a virtually uninterrupted series of work and prayer, lining up in the rhythmic interrelation of man and nature. The central figure of the film was the monastery’s elder, Hegumen Gregory, whose long-term experience of spiritual nourishment rewarded him with a deep understanding of the human soul and her desire to return to the state characteristic of Adam’s human nature before the fall.