Theme
In our December research seminar, Catherine O’Brien (The Centre for Marian Studies) will explore the transposition of the Christmas story to the screen, drawing on examples from the silent era through to the present day and paying articular attention to Mary’s role in the diegesis. The presentation will examine a range of productions, including The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (Dirs. Ferdinand Zecca and Lucien Nonguet, France, 1902 - 1907), The Gospel according to St Matthew (Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy/France, 1964), and the multi-media series called The Chosen (Dir. Dallas Jenkins, US 2017). The discussion will focus on the ways in which filmmakers celebrate, counter or confuse certain aspects of Marian theology as they visualise the biblical events for succeeding generations.
Guest speaker
Dr Catherine O’Brien taught French and Film Studies at Kingston University from 1989 – 2017. Since 2018 she has been the Director of the Centre for Marian Studies, which now has its home at St Mary’s University. Her research has focused on intersections between film and theology, including the monographs entitled The Celluloid Madonna: from Scripture to Screen (Wallflower Press/Columbia University Press, 2011) and Martin Scorsese’s Divine Comedy: Movies and Religion (Bloomsbury, 2018). She is a member of the Mariological Society of America, the Société française d’Études mariales, and the Pontifical International Marian Academy (PAMI).
Register
To receive the free Zoom link, please send an email to: info@marianstudies.ac.uk
