wfn.org | 'Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace' to Air on PBS Stations June 14

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 24, 2000

'BONHOEFFER: AGENT OF GRACE' TO AIR ON PBS STATIONS JUNE 14
00-144-JB

     NEW YORK (ELCA)   Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor
and author who resisted the Nazi regime and was executed near the end of
World War II, is the subject of a 90-minute dramatic film that will air
in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) June 14 at
9:30 p.m. EDT.  Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL), a fraternal
benefits organization based in Appleton, Wis., helped initiate and fund
the film, "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace."
     The U.S. premiere of the film was May 17 here at The German House,
near the United Nations.  The film, shot in the Czech Republic, Germany
and Canada, has already been honored.  It won "Best Film" at the Monte
Carlo TV Festival 2000 in February.  Ulrich Tukur, a German actor and
musician, stars as Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
     Bonhoeffer was educated in Germany and the United States.  He
returned to Germany in the late 1930s during the rise of the Nazi
regime.  Bonhoeffer was forbidden to teach, preach or publish and was
required to report regularly to the police.  He joined the German
resistance for the Allies.  Bonhoeffer was later arrested after a failed
plot to kill Adolf Hitler and was executed in 1945.
     His writings include two manuscripts, "The Cost of Discipleship"
and  "Letters and Papers from Prison." That collection included his
poem, "Who Am I?"
     The May 17 showing was preceded by comments from people involved
in making the film and by a panel of journalists and Lutheran pastors
who discussed Bonhoeffer and his impact on contemporary society.  The
invited audience of about 150 people included clergy, historians,
people involved in the film's production and journalists.  AAL, the
German Information Center and the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod
sponsored the event.
     Augsburg College, Minneapolis, provided a Bonhoeffer photo
exhibit.  Augsburg is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities.
     "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" should encourage people to learn more
about the man and explore his "complex thinking," said Eric Till,
director and co-writer of the film, in opening the program.  Till said
it was "an enormous privilege' to make the film.
     Panelists included the Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA
Metropolitan New York Synod; David Gergen, editor-at-large, U.S. News
and World Report, Washington, D.C.; the Rev. Martin E. Marty, ELCA
pastor and professor emeritus, University of Chicago; and Gustav
Niebuhr, religion editor, New York Times.  Mary Alice Williams,
journalist, The Odyssey Network, was panel moderator.
     Bonhoeffer was a man who practiced "radical compassion," Bouman
said. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed the community called the church was
accountable."
     "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" begins with scenes of Bonhoeffer in
the New York borough of Harlem, Bouman noted.  His solidarity with
Harlem is an inspiration to Lutherans, he said, adding that in New York
today, Lutheran worship is conducted in as many as 18 languages.
     "The basis of this movie is incarnation," Bouman said. "God became
human and God walked in our lives."
     The film shows how Bonhoeffer was challenged by themes such as
authority, freedom and truth, all of which "are important struggles in
the new millennium," Marty said.  Bonhoeffer is being rediscovered by a
new generation, he said.  Marty said he would like to see the film in
the company of high-school-age people and discuss what they learned from
it.
     "What I like about him is that he lived most of his life in
comfort, and he constantly tries to separate himself from that," Marty
added.
     The film not only helps new audiences become acquainted with
Bonhoeffer, but it also  brings back memories of other 20th century
heroes, such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King
Jr., Gergen said.  Each was a victim of oppression, but Bonhoeffer was
different, he said.
      "He chose to serve others who became victims and himself became a
victim," Gergen said.  Bonhoeffer confronted evil with "moral rigor," he
added.
     Niebuhr, the grand nephew of Reinhold Niebuhr, one of Bonhoeffer's
professors here at Union Theological Seminary, said the film will
provoke a wider curiosity about Bonhoeffer.  He cited several ways
people might remember Bonhoeffer today.  They include physical
remembrances, such as a special room dedicated to him at Union Seminary;
through photographs; through his writings which some people may use as a
guide for their own lives; and through his vision for the future of
Christianity, he said.
     Oregon Public Broadcasting and Wisconsin Public Television worked
with AAL to present "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" in the United States.
     AAL will distribute copies of the film to its 10,000 local
volunteer groups, known as "branches," as part of a branch educational
program, said Dennis Clauss, AAL church relations, Appleton.
     A second showing of "Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" was held May 17
for New York-area clergy and other guests at the Interchurch Center. The
event was hosted by AAL and Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of
the ELCA, Minneapolis.  Augsburg Fortress has exclusive U.S.
distribution rights for the film after it airs on PBS June 14.
     On June 6 in Washington, D.C., there will be a private showing of
"Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace," for members of Congress.  Sponsors include
AAL, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, The Luther
Institute, PBS and its local affiliate, WETA-TV, and The Trinity Forum.
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     Photographic images from the film are available at
www.wpt.org/presspics.   Premiering in June is a Web site for
"Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace" at www.pbs.org/opb/bonhoeffer.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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