Summer in the Forest Summer is a beautiful and moving study of this extraordinary man and the organisation he founded.

Vanier founded L'Arche, a community based outside of Paris for individuals with developmental disabilities, in the 1960s.

His goal for L'Arche was to create an inclusive community where anyone could live a meaningful life.

He single-handedly revolutionised the way in which people with an intellectual disability are seen and cared for, by the simple act of inviting them out of institutions and into his home.

The film poses a challenge to the critical spectator: how to evaluate a work that's so inspiring in content but so uninspired in its form?

One of the many highlights of Summer in the Forest is ‘Meeting' some of the current residents of that home in Trosly-Breuil.

The film also presents Vanier, in his late 80s, as he reflects on his long, productive life.

He comes across as compassionate, wise, and heroically patient, having devoted decades to helping people.

Vanier also seems to have preserved a childlike sense of joy—he claims that play is an important part of his work—and his ability to derive pleasure from everyday moments conveys an enlightened perspective.

The first New Zealand L'Arche Community was founded in Paraparaumu twenty-five years ago.

A second community, L'Arche Mt Tabor, joined the Federation in 2017 after having operated for a number of years as an independent community based on the same principles as L'Arche.

Faith & Light which was co-founded by Vanier also has had a strong presence in New Zealand, having been founded in 1986.

Watch the Trailer for Summer in the Forest

Film screenings:

Auckland: Newmarket Rialto, 31 July 6:00 pm
Palmerston North: Events Cinema, 7 August 6:00 pm
Wellington: Roxy Cinema, 24 July 6:30 pm
Christchurch: Hoyts Northlands, 31 July 6:30 pm

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• movementonline.org.nz
• chicagoreader.com
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"We wanted to be able to go to where people are, not just expect them to come into the four walls of our church," creative director Josh Campbell told Eternity News.

"We all love a good story, and we all love being entertained. Everybody goes to a cinema, and we thought we could try and give people a message where they go."

Gisborne hosted the New Zealand premiere of Broken on January 25.

It opened at number one across New Zealand's cinemas, and the reception from mainstream critics was surprisingly warm.

This month it has opened in Australian cinemas.

To call Broken an old story is an understatement.

The plot is based on the 1830s true story of a Ngati Hau chieftain and his daughter.

That tale was the basis of Joy Cowley's Tarore and Her Book.

Writer/Director Tarry Mortlock, who is also a youth pastor, has adapted and re-imagined the story for the present day.

"I wanted to make a film that the guy at the gym could go to, or the guy next door could go to," Mortlock says.

"When I read that story, I was just struck by the power of forgiveness and what can come out of it. I thought that would make a great movie.

"But making a period film is tricky; it can be very expensive.

"So our idea was to take the heart of that story and make a modern-day version of it," says Mortlock.

"You know, unchurched people could go and watch it but come away with a message, come away with some hope - but without it being preached at them or rammed down their throat."

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He says he has a deep affection for New Zealand.

"I've got the time to enjoy the process of releasing this movie, so I'm going to enjoy being able to talk to actors, the public and guilds there.

"I wouldn't mind having an extra day to drive around the North Island though, it's an area I haven't explored yet."

Davis says he has been helped immensely by the support of the movie's acting coach - New Zealander Miranda Harcourt.

And Harcourt isn't his only connection to New Zealand.

He has a New Zealand-born wife, and Jane Campion helped give him his big break as a commercial director.

She asked if he would be interested in doing the TV series Top of the Lake.

"I read it and loved it, I just really related to it. Then we spoke about the project as a family and decided it could be really great, plus we'd get to move to New Zealand, which we love".

Mary Magdalene stars Rooney Mara as Magdalene and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus.

This movie might help clear the name of one of the most misrepresented figures in history.

A lot of people think Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.

But there is no reference anywhere in the Bible to Mary Magdalene ever being a prostitute.

There is no reference to her even being a sinner.

The only suggestion that Mary Magdalene was anything other than wholly virtuous is in the Gospels of Luke and Mark where Jesus is referred to as ridding her of "seven demons".

And many scholars believe the latter wasn't even in the original text but was added sometime in the second century.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• express.co.uk
• Image: ew.com

To reach audiences beyond the Christian churchgoers that generally propel the genre, some producers of faith-based films are ramping up the star power and tamping down the evangelical messages.

The latest example is "Miracles From Heaven," starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah, which tells the true story of a 9-year-old Texas girl who inexplicably recovers from an incurable condition after surviving a 30-foot fall.

Among the film's producers are pastor T.D. Jakes and preacher DeVon Franklin — the team behind 2014's $100 million hit "Heaven is for Real" — who say they aim to make movies for all audiences, not just religious ones.

"I think sometimes when people hear 'faith-based,' to them that is code for preachy, that is code for more medicine, and it's also sometimes code for lower quality, lower budgeted," Franklin said in a recent interview.

"It's the way people think when you use labels that is the barrier," Jakes said. "It's not necessarily the film, but the image that comes up in people's minds … It suggests a discrimination that was not intended. We didn't do this film just for people of faith. We did this film for everybody."

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