Film & photography
Ideas for using film in church, suggestions for using film and TV programmes in discussion groups, and more. Good photography can be as poignant and as powerful as any other art form. You may already use images for meditation of as a focus for prayer. Have you considered hosting a photography exhibition in your church?
Could you capture an image that shows what faith means to people, or why it makes a difference to a community? The Faith through a Lens photo competition has with attractive prizes for the winner and their chosen church or charity.
Entrants must be over 16 and resident in Britain, but there don't seem to be any limits on where or when the photograph was taken.
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Short films can be made by anyone with a camera, imagination and helpful friends - but how best to use this to explore faith?
The Pitch is a competition backed by Bible Society, which offers the opportunity to make a short film with professional production support. To enter is simple: pitch your Bible-based short film concept. The winner's film is made and they get a trip to Hollywood.
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Revd Preb Nick Shutt has an unusual take on some of the old masters. He has photographed modern day settings of religious paintings. This gives us a fresh look at an old story and helps to put into a modern context ... read on for a comment from Nick on his art. A portfolio of his photos can be seen on his website.
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What about starting a film club and opening it to the general public? When was your much-loved local cinema closed down? Cinema multiplexes draw the crowds, but your church could be transformed into a high street cinema, attracting the general public.
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Have you seen The Nativity? – not the one at your local church with children wearing tea-towel head-dresses, but the one on TV?
I urge you to buy this amazing piece of work. Tony Jordan, the writer of The Nativity, admitted to being brought to tears on more than one occasion when researching and putting the work together.
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This list of 50 movies is taken from the Church Times top 50 religious films (dated 5 April 2007). This is inevitably a bit dated now, but we aren't aware of a more recent survey than this. What films released since 2007 would you add to the list? What would be your top 10 today?
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There are many excellent documentary films exploring issues which you could use to inform discussion and worship in your church, for example Black Gold.
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The second film in our top 50 movie list is The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Il Vangelo secondo Matteo), a 1964 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.
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