Date: Friday, July 4 – Sunday, July 6, 2008 (The deadline for registration is June 28, 2008) Location: Pauline Center for Media Studies 3908 Sepulveda Blvd Culver City , CA 90230 [email protected] Web site: www.NationalFilmRetreat.org “No motion picture subgenre has had so perplexing a success as the food movie. Generally defined as an arty romance centered around elegant cuisine, the food movie jumped to success with 1987’s Babette’s Feast, and kept its audience through such acclaimed sleepers as Like Water... Read more

  Beliefnet 2008 Film Awards Check out the results! Congratulations to the winners! http://www.beliefnet.com/bfa/ Best Spiritual Film Amazing Grace Best Spiritual Performance Emile Hirsch Best Spiritual Documentary Into Great Silence (Notice that all the winning films are about men? Interesting….) Read more

For anyone attending the Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, please consider attending the second annual film festival:           ANAHIEM HILTON PACIFIC BALLROOM ~ FRIDAY, FEB. 29th, 8PM  & SATURDAY, MAR 1st, 8PM New Films and Documentaries will be screened and clips shown from established producers as well as new and emerging Film Makers.  Don’t miss this entertaining event!   Admittance Free . . . Join Us!   FRIDAY NIGHT ~  8PM THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE – Grassroots Films IN SPITE OF DARKNESS:... Read more

This new film from Paulist Productions (www.PaulistProductions.org) will be screening at the DC Independent Film Festival on Sunday, March 9th at 1:30 p.m at Georgetown University. I find this film inspiring, moving, informative and filled with powerful stories (the screening we had at a theater in Westwood a couple of months ago was filled to capacity and people were impressed and touched.) If you live in the DC area, or know someone who does, I hope you will make a pilgrimage... Read more

Check out the trailer for Paulist Productions newest initiative: WEBISODES. These will go live in March. “Tyler’s Ride,” The Trailer:   http://www.tylersride.com Tags: Webisode; webisodes; Catholic webisodes aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_1 Read more

     The Diving Bell and the Butterfly          I think 2007 will go down as the all-round best year for cinema in decades – though I think the main Academy Award categories could have had several more films added to them if rules and practicality would have allowed. On the other hand, Academy voters got the nominations right; they chose the best. The films, acting, and filmmaking are so good that it is extremely hard to predict who or... Read more

Here are links to four articles that I wrote and were published this month on film, a book review, and media literacy. Feel free to click! 1) Cinema Divina for Teachers:                                                                                                                                                                                 Spiritual Development through Contemporary Film Today’s Catholic Teacher  January/February 2008 http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/mediastudies/mediacatechesis/cinemadivinafeature.pdf 2) Meeting Jesus at the Movies The Bible Today, Liturgical Press, Jan/Feb 2008 http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/mediastudies/mediacatechesis/meetingjesusatthemovie.pdf   3) Faith guidance from Hollywood? Book Review HORIZON Jan/Feb 2008 http://www.daughtersofstpaul.com/mediastudies/reviews/gospelaccordingtohollywood.pdf   4) The Media Smart Family Life&Soul, Winter 2008, Pauline Books & Media... Read more

I didn’t write this review but want to share this information with you; I know Dr. Gaye Ortiz very well and admire her work in theology and film. I ordered my copy already… R ___ Book ReviewOrtiz co-authors textbook Gaye Ortiz, communications and professional writing, has co-authored a textbook Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide, which discusses the conflict between theology and contemporary culture by examining such movies as Unforgiven, The Passion of the Christ, Something’s Gotta Give, Vanilla... Read more

Click and vote for the Best Spiritual Film Best Spiritual Performance Best Spiritual Documentary http://www.beliefnet.com/bfa (I wrote the “pro” piece nominating Ellen Page in Juno for best “Spiritual Performance”)   Tags: Best spiritual film 2008; spirituality and film aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_1 Read more

Technology Tools for Your Ministry: No Mousing Around! by Tim Welch 23rd Publications 2008 114 pages ISBN 9781585956760 $16.95       This small handbook is brilliant – beginning with the size of the book, font style and size, white space on the pages, the cover (and the quality of the cover paper and the colors). Add these to the content that runs from attitudes toward technology (and attitudes toward those with whom we share faith about the use of... Read more