What is sacred? Christian artistic pursuits, for almost 2000 years, have been an attempt to articulate our “quest for the sacred”.
In fact, we see artistic questing for the sacred expressed throughout human history. In the caves of Altamira Spain, dated over 35,000 years ago, we see charcoal and ochre images of human hands and animals. The Paleolithic people documented their experience with each other and nature. We humans have always tried to express our search for existential meaning and identity.
This desire has evolved into many forms of art and discourse. For some, this “quest for the sacred” has been an intellectual or philosophical exercise, questioning the divine through metaphysics and thought experiments. But for most, it is explored via an “encounter”––an interaction that asks us to look beyond the current or static understanding of our human condition––to move toward a new or reaffirmed truth. It could manifest as an epiphany on themes of love, faith, conscience, evil, death, redemption, grace, morality, identity and relationships.
For the last 2 millennia in the West, the Church has often been the creator of these encounter narratives. It has often couched the subject matter within Biblical storytelling. But today, this has changed dramatically as church influence and attendance dwindles. Simply put, the Church is no longer the dominant cultural voice. The sermon is not our guardrail or aspiration for the week.
Film and TV are now driving the common and social touchstones. In an interview, John Updike confessed, “The cinema has done more for my spiritual life than the church. My ideas of fame, success and beauty all originate from the big screen. Whereas Christian religion is retreating everywhere and losing more and more influence; film has filled this vacuum and supports us with myths and action-controlling images. During a certain phase in my life, film was a substitute for religion.”
This shift in dominant cultural storytellers also changes the subject matter discussed, some of which were taboo, avoided or ignored by the traditional Church. It is in the recognition of these changes that our “Faith and Film Series” continues to examine this potent and relevant medium as an exploration of the Sacred, existential meaning, and identity.
This series has a premise––that through certain films, we may re-explore the notion of revelation; that there might be an “encounter” with the ineffable and invisible; that there may be interaction with a “wholly Other” and relationships with “wholly other human beings”. We hope that as we share these films, and although the world may still look the same at the end of the day, that the “Sacred” is revealed as fresh and new.
Four films were selected for the series in August––each unique, compelling and demanding, reflecting our current times. They are curated by people who love film and the mission of the “Faith and Film Series.”
Consider watching these on your own, in these times that invite reflection and questioning. We hope to reopen the series in Spring 2021 and continue our “quest for the Sacred” together. We will keep you informed.
13th - Selected by Tom Elson, PhD, Associate Pastor First Presbyterian Church Berkeley.
This is a concise, thought-provoking documentary. Scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of Black Americans and the U.S. prison boom. It unpacks the systematic construction of modern-day enslavement.
The Plague (La Peste) - Selected by Marilyn McEntyre, PhD, Professor and Author.
This film is loosely based on Albert Camus’ groundbreaking novel. It’s an exploration of human fear, selfishness, and the range of moral responses in a pandemic.
A Man Called Ove - Selected by Mitali Perkins, lecturer and author.
This deeply moving film is about a grumpy but lovable curmudgeon who finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door. It’s a charming exploration of the impact one life has on countless others.
Shoplifters - Selected by Sam Choi, MD, former film curator.
Who constitutes a family? A marginalized band of thieves in the poverty-stricken fringes of Japan steals the show in this drama by Hirokazu Kore-eda. This is a personal yet complex examination of society and relationships. Grand prize winner at Cannes.
We are grateful to Sharon Gallagher for her faithful and passionate development of the Faith & Film Series for New College Berkeley, the roots of which extend back to film seminars New College hosted in the early 1980s.
Sam Choi will now curate the Faith & Film Series. He is a practicing Neuroradiologist in the Bay Area. In his earlier life he was Assistant Curator for Film & Video at the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art in PA, and at the Museum of Modern Art In Paris (Centre Pompidou).