August 7, 2009. John Paul II gave up work on stage to respond to his vocation to the priesthood, but he never abandoned his passion for art and artists, to whom he wrote a letter on April 4, 1999.
Ten years after this letter, the first that a Pope addressed specifically to actors, the American production company 7eventhDay Media.inc organized a film festival John Paul II, inspired by the ideals Pope promoted in using art to promote the faith.
For John Paul II, the Church and society need art because it can uniquely express the supernatural. At the same time, he warned that art needs faith because the artist is always looking for the ultimate answer to things.
This first edition of the festival, entitled 'Faith through the storm', will consist of feature films, short films and documentaries from around the world with goal of promoting love, human dignity, respect, forgiveness, compassion and which challenge people in body and spirit.
The festival will be held in Miami October 30 to November 1. In addition to feature films and documentaries, there will be lectures and concerts.
The three founders of the company say in the website on the festival that the box-office success of films such as The Passion of Christ or the film Bella show that society looks for films which transmit values of love, respect for life, or safeguarding the family.
For the organizers of the festival, more than ever, especially with the global crisis, we need art to show the importance of these humanitarian themes.
PVB/TJ
