The word made film

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | With 30 movies from 13 nations, the JP2 Inter-Faith Film Festival richly earns its name. The festival, planned for Oct. 8-17, is the most culturally and internationally diverse in its five years, the founders say.

The event still aims at translating the teachings of St. John Paul II. This year, cofounders Laura Alvarado Brennan and Frank Brennan of Miami have added the "Inter-Faith" label.

It's all in keeping with the original mission, said Laura Brennan, executive director of the series: "For Catholic and other artists to shed light on the mysteries of creation and God, and on who men and women are at their core.

"Our films are still mostly Christian, but the series celebrates humanity and creation on an even basis," she continued. "Whether a film is from China or Brazil or the U.S., if it shows man in a search for the ultimate version of himself, we want it."

Heroic characters

The 10-day festival will be set at the Cinepolis theater in Coconut Grove. The films will span the globe, hailing from lands as far flung as France, Iraq, Japan, Australia and Canada.

Opening the series, on Oct. 8, will be "Dar He: The Lynching of Emmett Till," a civil rights drama on the 1955 murder of a Mississippi teen and the trial afterward. Actor Mike Wiley performs all 36 roles of the film.

"The film is the beginning of the civil rights movement," said Laura Brennan.  "In many ways, the movement is still happening right now."

Heroic characters headline at least three films. "Ink180" tells of Chris Baker, a specialist in removing tattoos — a rare and prized skill for gangsters and victims of sex trafficking who wish to escape their former lives.

Another hero film, "Angel of Nanjing," relates the story of Chen Si, who has saved more than 300 people who have attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge in China."

A hero of another sort is profiled in "Jerome Lejeune: To the Least of These My Brothers and Sisters." Lejeune was a genetics researcher who in 1958 found the cause of Down Syndrome. While receiving an award for his work, he caused a stir with a speech defending the dignity of the human embryo.

The Oct. 11 screening will include a Q&A with by Mark Bradford, president of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation. The Brennans hope to raise interest in getting people to donate and perhaps volunteer. Laura said that previous JP2 festivals have inspired some to start "tiny missions" such as pregnancy counseling and ministries to the poor.

"The Descendants," the closing night's film, has a man traveling from his native Iran to Sweden, searching for his son. Said Laura Brennan: "The media have portrayed Iranians as the enemy; but when you see that one man feels the same heartbreak that we feel for our families, it's something we can all relate to."

Short features are divided into age-related programs, both screening on Oct. 10. Program A, with child-appropriate stories — including "Wind," about a boy who was born in a tornado, and "La Voz de Cuba," about refugees who reach Florida — will start at 4:10 p.m. Program B, with more adult themes — such as "God's in the Garage," on faith and music, and "Picking Up the Pieces," about children who survived the Holocaust — will start at 7 p.m.

The films are chosen by a committee ranging from 8 to 12 people, including actors, directors, producers and theologians. The project also gets work from a core team of volunteers including Rafael Anrrich, a mental/behavioral health therapist who was the third cofounder.

"We have a passion for what we're doing," Laura said.

Her passion hasn't been distracted by her motherhood: She was pregnant with Imma during the festival last year. Even with her new motherhood duties, Laura decided to keep working on the film festival.

"One of my greatest fears was that I'd have to give something up, but God has stretched time," she said.

Grassroots campaign

One benefit of longevity is an evolving stable of filmmakers who seek out the JP2 festival to show their work. Some have come back over the years, like David Naglieri, who on Oct. 17 will show his fourth film at the festival: "John Paul II in America: Uniting a Continent."

"I think our mission is more understood," said Frank Brennan, director of film submissions and technology. "We're getting real filmmakers with real stories, telling them in new ways. It becomes alive when we give them an outlet."

As large as the playbill has grown, the committee could have picked 15-20 more movies, Laura said. "There were so many deserving films, but we only had so much funds and screen time."

Then again, the series has always run on a shoestring: The first year, 2009, the budget was zero dollars.

"No grants, everything volunteer, tickets sales were the only revenue," Frank recalled. But little by little, word got out about the festival, he said.

Current budget is a typical $15,000-$20,000, he added. He's trying to boost that sum with a new crowdfunding campaign, based at gofundme.com/jp2filmfestival15. The effort has reaped more than $1,600 as of this writing.

The Brennans have also begun a grassroots campaign, speaking at various parishes around the archdiocese, showing film trailers, selling tickets outside.

"We thought it would be really easy to show people wonderful films," Frank said. "We've learned that no matter how good a film is, you need somebody who knows somebody to tell people to come."

Year by year, the JP2 series has grown and changed, yet it's remained basically the same. Laura explained the seeming paradox. "We've tried harder every year to teach inclusivity. To educate people on faiths and cultures. To erase that divide.

"It's not so much that we've changed our mission. Just that we've grabbed onto it more passionately every year."

If you go

• What: JP2 Inter-Faith Film Festival
• Featuring: 30 movies on human and spiritual themes taught by St. John Paul II
• When: Oct. 8-17
• Where: Cinepolis Coconut Grove, 3015 Grand Ave., Miami
• Tickets: For most films, $12 for adults, $10 for students, $7 for children and seniors; for opening night, $15. Also available: All Access Pass for all 31 films, at $106.
• Info: jp2filmfestival.com, Ticketleap or 305-418-0939.
• Click here to see a list of additional films.