Angelus festival winning films screened in Massachusetts and Czech Republic

March 4, 2009

The international Angelus Student Film Festival screened four of its winning films March 3 at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., and it will screen five of its winners in Prague, Czech Republic, March 6-9, during an international four-day cinema workshop called “Cinema: going beyond the barriers.”

The festival was created by Family Theater Productions in 1996 to honor future filmmakers as they explore and create works that respect the dignity of the human person, films that reflect values such as redemption, spirituality, dignity, tolerance, equality, diversity, hope and triumph of the human spirit.

The screenings at Stonehill College were a Merit Point Event co-sponsored by the college’s Martin Institute, The Mission Division, and the Honors Program. The following films were screened and the filmmakers entertained the audience’s questions.

• Deface by John Arlotto, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, 2008 Angelus Production Excellence Award. In his film, a North Korean man is pushed to the edge by his daughter’s senseless death and defaces the communist government’s propaganda.

• As We Forgive by Laura Waters Hinson, American University, Washington, D.C., 2008 Angelus Outstanding Documentary Award. The film focuses on two women, Rwandan genocide survivors, who offer forgiveness to the murderers of their families.

• The Replacement Child Justin Lerner, University of California, Los Angeles, 2008 Angelus Director’s Choice Award. After spending a year in a juvenile center, Todd Turnbull, now repentant and religious,  returns to his backwoods hometown but is soon confronted with a decision to either let his friend die or break his oath of non-violence.

• In the Name of the Son by Harun Mehmedinovic, American Film Institute, Los Angeles, 2008 Angelus Audience Impact Award.  After escaping execution, a Bosnian prisoner of war, immigrates to the United States only years later to have the man who spared his life shows up on his doorstep asking for a favor.

At the cinema workshop in Prague, As We Forgive will screen on March 7, with the filmmaker answering audience questions and on March 9 the following Angelus films will screen and the filmmakers will discuss their films with the audience:

• In Between by José E. Iglesias Vigil, Polish National Film School, 2007 Angelus Production Excellence Award. In his film, Alicia is pregnant and wants to have the child. Her partner, Mateusz, moved by a hidden reason, doesn’t agree with her life-changing decision. Fearing loneliness, Mateusz will have to confront his own inner struggles.

• Small Change by Anna McGrath, Victorian College of the Arts, Australia, 2008 Angelus Triumph of the Spirit Award. A man struggles without his wife, a little girl loses a tooth, and a boy reacts the only way he knows how.

• The Replacement Child

• A Sheep on the Roof by Remy Schaepman, Institute of Saint Genevieve, Paris, 2008 Honorable Mention, Animation.

• In the Name of the Son

• Deface

Earlier on March 9, U.S. film producer Ralph Winter (Star Trek III, IV, V, VI and X-Men movies), will speak to FAMU students.

On March 6, the opening night of the Prague event, HBO award-winning and multiple Emmy-nominated documentary To Die in Jerusalem, made by 2004 Angelus documentary winner Hilla Medalia and produced by the Priddy Brothers, will screen at 8 p.m. at the Svetozor Theater. Ms. Medalia and John and Ed Priddy will discuss the film with the audience.

The theme, “Cinema: going beyond the barriers,” was chosen as an exploration of the United Nations 2009, year-long theme of reconciliation. The event is under the patronage of the United States Embassy, the Department of Culture of the Czech Republic, and the Italian Cultural Institute of Prague, among others.

Attending the Stonehill College event with the student filmmakers were Fr. Willy Raymond, CSC, National Director of Family Theater Productions; Monika Moreno, Director of the Angelus Student Film Festival; and Susan Wallace, External Relations Director, Holy Cross Family Ministries. Ms. Moreno, Ms. Wallace and Lance Spott, Angelus’ Associate Director, are attending the Prague event.