For my classes in Theology and Film, Theology and Myth, The Contemporary World (through Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability) and Pilgrimage, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have very talented students produce some outstanding work. One of my final assignment options for Theo 238 Theology and Film, for instance, is the option of producing a film trailer for a theological film that doesn’t really exist, or doing a film short.
Here are some examples of this very inspiring student work (they’re all here with the express permission of the students who created them).
From Maya, Dylan and Sam, in the fall of 2018, a VERY fun spoof of 70s detective TV shows but featuring some of the themes talked about in our class. It may not be deep, but it’s fun….
From Emma Biernat, an original stop-action short (a LOT of work) about a proposal of marriage and the recipient’s wondering if he should accept it…
From Jazz Mandour, Louise Ann Monteiro and Maverick Umali, in the fall of 2018, a sad but thoughtful piece on hope and waiting for God to do, say, or be something….
From Joël Brodofsky-Adams and Rachel Kerr-Lapsley, in autumn of 2016, a beautiful, haunting, and very professional, film about growing up Jewish in Montreal.
From Renauld Lessard Ste-Marie, the 2011 film “Is Everything All Right?”. This film in my view, is also about pilgrimage:
And from Claudia Pensa Bowen, a whimsical treatment of pilgrimage and quest:
From Carol Trang the 2011 film “La Citrine”, a trailer about food and spirituality:
From some of my 2012 students:
From Clifford Baker, an imaginative and interesting trailer based in part on the image of Jesus in the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas:
From Arnaud Soly-Letarte, Megane Voghell et Jean-Francois Martin, a somewhat surrealistic “Virtual Worship: Faith in Second Life”:
A humourous take on the film “Priest” spoofed by students Lauren Spear and Gabriel Schultze:
Two sisters Stephanie and Christina Katsoulis submitted this surreal film with a message about gender: “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
From December 2013, the film “Awakening” by Julian Walker
And a meditative piece by young film-maker Matthew Haley:
This film is a bit of theological “film noire” by John Malanos, Dec 2013, titled “In Shadows”:
And this lovely, reflective piece is called “Multa Paucis” by student film-maker Pierre-Luc Junet (Dec 2013). It truly does say a lot in a very few words: