» Home page » About us » Programme » Regulations » Application » Winners and Prizes » Press Releases » News » Archives and schools » Organization » Thoughts » Sponsors » Association "Friends of Religion Today"	The history of Religion Today On the road The Religion Today Film Festival was born in Trento in 1997 as the first event of its kind dedicated to dialogue between religions. The festival has always fostered the idea of a literal and figurative journey at its heart: the itinerant aspect expresses the will to take its awareness and experiences out into the world, not forgetting its origins but to build new homes in different cultures. Over the years Religion Today has travelled to many Italian and world destinations, such as Ravenna, Bologna, Assisi, Nomadelfia (GR), Rome, London, Jerusalem, San Paolo Brasil, Tehran, Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Zamosc in Poland. Every edition confirms and reinforces this migrant characteristic of the festivl with a rich programme distributed among various Italian towns and a range of international collaborations. This is the expression of a developing identity which has its roots in a specific history, but it is precisely thanks to this history that it feels itself pushed towards the road of change under the sign of discovery and a plural society such as we have today. The cinematic competition Religion Today above all is a cinematic competition open to feature films, documentaries and short films which explore the various points of view on the existence of the divine according to different religions. Each year dozens of films from all over the world are entered into the competition, which represents an important international occasion for discussing and sharing techniques, talking about the theory and poetry of current cinematography. After the work of the selection committee, an international and multi-faith jury decide on the four main prizes: In the Spirit of the Faith, to the best feature film, to the best documentary and the best short film. Other special prizes are awarded by sponsors and promoters of the festival. Highlighting those productions which are rarely represented in wider circles, Religion Today has often contributed to the discovery of the unknown works of filmmakers under censorship, or without a market or distributor, and has shed new light on well-known high profile films (such as "The Passion" by Mel Gibson or "The Great Silence" by Philip Groening). At the basis of the festival is the conviction that cinema can offer a good workshop for reciprocal learning between different cultures and their unique imaginations. The undoubted efficacy of the image, does, in fact, enable a vast public to go beyond the barriers of elitist knowledge and understand the thoughts and main figures of different religions. This is the premise necessary in order to begin to put flight to preconceptions and ignorance due to lack of information which often cause prejudice regarding religions as the cause of war and social conflict. Never before has this path of reciprocal knowledge been so urgent and so current. The living workshop Alongside the cinematographic competition Religion Today introduced the "living workshop" involving people working in cinema and cinematographic experts of different faiths and nationalities, offering an ideal opportunity for bringing people together, enhancing the wealth of differences between them which no "easy" dialogue can ignore or knowingly suppress. Every year around 60 invited guests including the filmmakers in competition, actors and those working in the field of cinema are welcomed to a specific house where they spend the days of the festival including moments of reflection, time for prayer (according to the various religious groups) and mealtimes, in order to go "from a culture of tolerance to one of celebrating our differences" (don Tonino Bello). Guidelines The 2002-2003 editions, "Under the same heaven", tried to trace common elements within different religious faiths; from 2004 the choice was one of "Exploring the differences", in order to underline the will to delve deeper and not treat the festival's contents in an artificial or banal way. We received welcome positive feedback on this choice aimed at challenging our pseudo-certainties about religions: in order to explore our beliefs and present them without fear, so as to get to know our "neighbour" in a non-standardized way nor to try and standardize our "neighbour", however neglected or misinterpreted, and to build bridges of dialogue between men and women of different religions. A yearly theme As part of "Exploring the differences", each year the festival identifies an overall theme to be used a point of reference which should facilitate exploring the different approaches to belief and culture. To mark the tenth edition we chose the great theme of "Compassion - Conflict and compassion along paths of faith", while for 2008 filmmakers are invited to tackle the theme of "The face of the Other". Guests In its ten-year life, the festival has hosted men and women of faith and exponents of cinema and culture of international fame. Religion Today has enabled people of significant religious importance such as padre Nazareno Taddei and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari to talk to filmmakers and actors like Krszystof Zanussi, Charles Nauman, Paolo Benvenuti, Alessandro D'Alatri, Turi Vasile and Claudia Koll. Workers in the field of cinema and critics of the calibre of Pierre Sorlin, Jerry Kuhel, Carlo Tagliabue, Gilli Mendel and Rabbi Mordechai Vardi have met musicians such as Lucio Dalla, Claudio Chieffo and Anthony Mazzella and intellectuals such as the Bible expert Pietro Stefani and the RAI Uno Vatican correspondent Giuseppe De Carli. Fringe events As part of the festival study seminars at international level are organized in accordance with the most important Italian universities, art exhibitions, events and shows: for exaple we recall the exhibition of 30 "Crucifixions" by the Trentino artist Carlo Sartori in 2003 along the sides of a Roman street in the underground Archaeological Area Sass in Trento and the charity performance in 2006 by the Group of Gamelan players and Indonesian dances Gong Wisnu Wara of the Indonesian Ambassador in the Holy See so as to remember the Aceh region destroyed by the tsunami in December 2004. Moments of dialogue » For the last seven years Religion Today has collaborated with the Jewish Film Festival, dedicated to the themes of identity, faith, history and Jewish traditions which is held very December at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. The sodality began in 2000, right at the beginning of the second Intifada, Religion Today contributed to the organization of an inter-religious meeting at the Cinematheque which also involved the Neve Shalom community. » In 2002 Religion Today promoted a moment of reflection and inter-religious dialogue at the Peace Bell for the Fallen in War in Rovereto. » In 2003 the collaboration with Nomadelfia, the Tuscan community founded by don Zeno Santini (1900-1981) on the "law of fraternity": it is upon this law that a new society lives, comprising 300 people, 50 families - following the words of the Gospel in a small town near Grosseto. Through the screenings and study sessions organized with Religion Today the community intends to spread the ideals and brotherhood and peace which characterize Nomadelfia. » During the 2004 edition of the festival, Rabbi Mordechai Vardi, director of the Department of Screenwriting and Religious Studies of the Orthodox Jewish Cinema School the "Ma'ale Film School" of Jerusalem, in an atmospheric private ceremony revoked the interdict banishing the Jews from the city of Trento enacted following the Simonino affair. » Since February 2005 Religion Today has taken part in the Fajr Film Festival in Teheran, the main festival for the fertile Iranian cinematographic production and the most important event of its kind in Middle Eastern cinema; the collaboration is aimed at contributing towards building bridges between the many diverse international cinematographical communities. » In October 2005 the festival set foot for the first time in the Italian capital, taking a preview of certain films from the eighth edition to the Aula Magna of the Istituto Patristico Augustinianum in St. Peter's square. » In December 2005 Religion Today renewed its collaboration with the Jerusalem Cinematheque organizing an evening of screenings at which an exceptionally large group of Muslims and Dervish were present under the guidance of Sheik Abdul Aziz Bukhari, head of the Uzbek community of Jerusalem, the following year member of the festival's international jury in Trento. » In January 2006 the partnership between Religion Today and the Polish festival "Sacrofilm" in the city of Zamosc began. The collaboration, which afforded an opening for the festival into Eastern Europe, creating further opportunities for dialogue with the Orthodox world, was brought about thanks to the direct interest of the great Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi, who has been among the protagonists of recent editions of Religion Today. » In the autumn of 2006, during the ninth edition of the festival, the idea came about of a project of an international circuit of film festivals on a religious theme which could become an ideal port of departure through Europe and beyond for all those works of high quality which, due to "obvious" commercial reasons, are not easily accepted within the wider circuits of international cinema and television. » Throughout 2007 Religion Today has signed a new agreement of cooperation with the Mostra de Cinema e Religião of San Paolo, Brazil and the Dhaka International Film Festival of Bangladesh. These are the most recent chapters of a journey which emphasises the will to find an alliance between those who deal with films of a religious nature, and is also a signal of a focus on the value of dialogue which through cinema can contribute to generating new hopes for peace.
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