Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Monks at Cannes

As many of you know, Whetstone Productions, the boutique production and consulting firm based on the third floor of my Maplewood home, has been working on a documentary film about the inspiring lives of the Trappist monks who lived in Algeria until 1996.

Now, hot off the press, Xavier Beauvois, a French actor and director, has made a feature film on the same subject. His film, “Of Gods and Men,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival yesterday (18 May 2010).

Just looking at this photo of the actors in their monastic robes I recognize Father Christian and Brother Paul.

You can see their real photos on my website.

Whetstone Productions filmed in Algeria in 2004 and in France in 2006. We raised production support from the United States Institute of Peace, from the William and Mary Greve Foundation, and from a generous gift of Cornelius B. Prior, Jr. Beyond his business acumen, Neil Prior is a former Fulbright Scholar and he and his wife Trudie are generous supporters of the Hartford Seminary. All of these sponsors, like the monks, are about interfaithfulness.

In an interview at Cannes Beauvois says: “I went to look at the lives of these monks and I was taken over by it. Everyone fell in love with these brothers whether we were believers or not. This example of tolerance and curiosity for others … the opposite of what we see going on now. So Christians in a Muslim territory live in perfect harmony. They pray with other people who pray. They’re into being. Their message is a universal message. We shouldn’t be afraid of others. We shouldn’t be afraid of peace.”

The experience of Beauvois’ film crew in Morocco was like ours in Algeria and France: a uniting of souls around a transcendent story that calls forth the best from each of us. The team on my documentary is multi-faith, multi-cultural, and multi-talented. We are keen to ride the wave of interest in this tragic and passionate story to raise the funds we need to complete our work.

Whetstone Productions’ preview of our film will be available soon on YouTube.

Meantime, check out John W. Kiser’s soulful and thorough account of the story of these men in The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love, and Terror in Algeria.

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