wfn.org | ACNS3458 Ecumenical award given to Afghan film maker at Cannes

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3458     |     EUROPE     |     4 JUNE 2003

Ecumenical award given to Afghan film maker at Cannes

[Diocese in Europe] An international jury of Christian film critics have
given an award to one of the films shown at Cannes this year, and have held
an ecumenical service in an Anglican Church in Cannes to celebrate the
potential contribution of film to human and spiritual values.

It was the first time in the 29 years the service has been held that the
English-language Anglican Church of Holy Trinity, part of the Church of
England's Diocese in Europe, had hosted it. The chaplain, the Revd Peter
Anderson, welcomed the congregation in French and the service itself was
conducted in French.

An ecumenical and international jury of six people is appointed each year by
two agencies (SIGNIS, a Roman Catholic organisation concerned with
communications generally, and INTERFILM, a Protestant organisation concerned
with the cinema). Their task is to award a film for both its artistic merit
and also on the human and spiritual values portrayed by its imagery. This
year the jury consisted of two French, two Swiss, an Egyptian and a
Canadian.

They chose the film "A cinq heures de l'apres midi" made in Afghanistan by
23 year old Samira Makhmalbaf. It tells the story of a young Afghan family
discovering the tension between the traditional and modern worlds in which
they live. It focuses on women and their role in building for the future.

The ecumenical service at Holy Trinity Cannes took place before the end of
the festival and before the award was announced. It was intended to give a
worship opportunity for all involved in the film industry. It was attended
by church leaders from Roman Catholic, Church of England, Lutheran, and
Greek Orthodox churches, as well by as civic leaders from Cannes who
provided a buffet afterwards. The members of the Jury each read a prayer.

Details about the award and film can be accessed at
http://juryoecumenique-cannes.cef.fr/

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