I realized, recently, that I hadn't actually posted the idea of a Jesus Film Festival. I thought that I should lay out some details of how, at least in my perception, this might happen.
Years ago, Gloria and I watched all the "Jesus" movies I could find, deciding which ones were worth seeing again. (Most weren't :-) We created a list which we watched every year in the lead up to Easter, and added to it as we found more. Eventually we bought DVD copies of all of them. (I'd actually like to start the project in November, to include some of the nativity movies.) In the last several years before Gloria died, I tried to interest churches in various places in the idea of a Jesus Film Festival that the churches could use to get people who won't come to a church service to come to a movie :-) Unfortunately, it turned out to be a hard sell.
So, I have at least six movies that I think would form the basis of the film festival. I am not married (if you will pardon the expression, since it was Gloria and I who chose them) to this particular list, and some people have suggested other titles such as "The Last Temptation of Christ," and "The Gospel of Matthew." (If someone were to suggest, for example, Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," I think we should precede that particular one with a bit of a warning.) If someone wishes to add to, or objects strenuously to the inclusion of some of the titles on this list, I think the basic idea is more important than the specific collection of titles.
(For those who can't get over the idea of "The Chosen," I think that it is a very entertaining series of Biblically-based fiction. But, so far, it is not, primarily about the life of Jesus.)
I do like this collection, and I believe that it portrays a variety of presentations of Jesus, and his humanity and divinity. I think these are aspects that could be discussed in discussion times either preceding or following the showing of the movies.
The specific titles on in my collection are "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "Godspell," Jesus of Nazareth," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "The Miracle Maker" (an animated children's feature), and a film just entitled "Jesus," which was originally broadcast as a television miniseries, although not quite as long as "Jesus of Nazareth." This collection contains a variety of portrayals of Jesus.
I would suggest a general plan of a two-hour viewing. With a discussion, either following the film, or, possibly more workably, preceding the showing of this week's movie, and discussing the previous week's movie. This could encourage people to attend for the entire run of the series, rather than cherry picking individual showings. I would like to see some introduction to each of the movies, giving brief background of the film, some of the specific characteristics of the movie, and the portrayal of Jesus in the movie.
Some additional functions should probably be considered. My understanding is that a number of churches are interested in the project, and may wish to have a showing, although possibly not all showings, at their church. Therefore, the showings of the movies may be at different churches throughout the run of the film festival. In that case, the format of the discussions and showings should be as consistent as possible: the same day of the week, the same start and end time, and the same structure of discussion first and then movie, or movie first and then discussion.
Following the showings, there may be discussion of the film itself. The churches may also wish to have prayer partners, or exegetes, available for those who either wish to know more about Christianity, following a film showing, or wish to have prayer requests addressed.
In terms of the target "market," I see at least two markets, and possibly more. One is, of course, non-christians, or at least non-church attenders. You can get people to come to a film festival, where you can't necessarily get them to come to a church service.
However, there is a secondary target market that is possible for the project. That is Christians, and, indeed, those attending church on a regular basis, who aren't really thinking that much about their Christian Life in the broader world. One of the things that I have noticed with the different Jesus films is the difference in the portrayal of Jesus, and the different emphasis on his divinity and/or humanity. The presentation in dramatic form may prompt some people who are comfortable in their church attendance to view their own Christian Life in a different way.
In terms of the church audience, I assume that the churches would be posting on their websites, announcing with regular announcements from the pulpit during services, and various email contacts and distributions.
My suggestion is that it be a midweek evening session, held either at one consistent church, or in rotation among the churches involved with the project. The sessions would be approximately three hours in length, roughly two hours for the movie introduction and presentation, and an hour of discussion following. Of course, there are various options to vary this proposal. It may be that the project would work better on weekends, or that, given an aging population in Port Alberni, afternoon sessions might be an option. I do not think that the sessions should run longer than three hours, and I believe that the discussions should be affiliated with the viewing sessions, but, again, there may be different opinions on these matters.
There are some additional factors. Licensing is possible, but the cost needs to be covered. I do have DVD copies of all the movies that I have proposed. Again, as noted in other discussions, I have proposed a list of movies, but do not consider that these are the only possibilities, and I feel that the project itself is more important than any specific list of titles. In addition, there are additional possibilities for related activities for the project: there would be the possibilities for the churches to present an altar call type of evangelistic situation, or providing for prayer and discussion one-on-one with those who may have been moved by the video presentations. There are a number of additional possible adjunct activities, which could be undertaken by the project as a whole, or by the individual churches who may wish to be involved in the project.
No comments:
Post a Comment