Holy Cross Film Series, Lecture to Examine Cinematic Portrayals of Jesus

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross presents a series of film screenings and a lecture by Rev. Lloyd Baugh, S.J., International Visiting Jesuit Scholar, on “The Faces of Jesus in Film: Italy, Canada, Congo and South Africa,” Jan. 27-Feb. 5, 2009. The screenings and lecture are free and open to the public.

Film Screenings:

Tuesday, Jan. 27; 7 p.m., Rehm Library Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) — The much-acclaimed religious masterpiece by a self-proclaimed Marxist-atheist is the only modern Jesus film that appears on the Vatican’s list of top religious films.

Thursday, Jan. 29; 7 p.m., Rehm Library Denys Arcand’s Jesus of Montreal (1989) — This provocative Canadian film proposes both a complex and controversial portrait of Jesus of Nazareth and a fascinating and convincing example of a Christ-figure.

Monday, Feb. 2;7 p.m., Hogan 519 Valerio Zurlini’s Black Jesus (1968) — A little-known actualization of the Jesus story is told in the context of the struggle of the Congo for independence from Belgium.

Wednesday, Feb. 4; 7 p.m., Rehm Library Mark Dornford-May’s Son of Man (2006) — Nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, this film is set in post-apartheid South Africa. A charismatic and popular leader, preaching morality and justice for the poor and marginalized, is opposed and persecuted by the authorities, who eventually put him to death.

Lecture:

Thursday, Feb. 5; 4 p.m., Rehm Library “The African Face of Jesus in Film” — As a culmination of the four film screenings, Fr. Baugh will focus on two Jesus films that are set in Africa and use African cultural and political realities as their setting. The talk will be followed by a public welcome reception for Fr. Baugh.

A native of Quebec, Fr. Baugh is a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He has taught numerous courses including theological reflection on cinema, theology and communication, and history of cinema. The author of Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ Figures in Film (1997) and Imaging Jesus in Film: Sources and Influences, Limits and Possibilities (2007), he has also written numerous articles in English and Italian.

Fr. Baugh was educated at Loyola College, University of Montreal; Southern Illinois University; University of Detroit; Concordia University, Montreal; and Regis College, University of Toronto. He received his doctorate in fundamental theology at the Gregorian and completed his tertianship in the Philippines.

During his fellowship at Holy Cross this semester, Fr. Baugh will be teaching a course in religious studies titled “Jesus in Film: Images and Metaphors.”

To learn more about this program and other Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture events, visit www.holycross.edu/crec. About The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College's commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.