The Whitehead International Film Festival at Claremont (can you say Process Theology?) is set for Jan. 12-15. Films booked so far:
Recycle, Close, Walking Catfish Blues, Corona Station, Maria Full of Grace, Goodbye Lenin, Winged Migration, My Own Private Idaho.

The Schedule is finalized. (I really like their selections.)

Also available is a .pdf file for the Faith and Film Class taught by Marjorie Suchocki and James Wall with participation by John Cobb.

Report from Claremont:

This was a great experience! There were about 2 dozen of us in the class, led by Marjorie Suchocki, prof. emerita of Claremont School of Theology, and Jim Wall, Sr. Contributing Editor (former editor) of The Christian Century. Both of them are veterans (Wall for nearly a quater century) of ecumenical juries at Montreal and Berlin Film Festivals.

Our challenge was to serve as the jury for the festival and decide which of the films best fit the selection criteria: Seeing ten features and ten shorts in 3.5 days was pretty hectic when you consider there were discussions of features in the theater after the screenings and then we'd head back to our jury room to further discuss the films. (We're talking 12 hour days, plus commute time for me.) The discussions were marvelous - as good as some of our discussions here, except they had the advantage of immediateness. I'm hoping one or two of them may be joining us here at some point.

The process was not so much which was our favorite, but which best exemplified the criteria. We also took a straw poll for our favorites regardless of the criteria.

The schedule was such that on Saturday afternoon, we had to settle on a tentative winner, and then after the evening screening, we went out to the lobby to see if the final film would displace our choice -- and it did.

The winner of the Whitehead Prize for 2005:
Barbarian Invasions
(Runner-up: In America)
Special mention to Winged Migration

Best Short: And the Redman Turned Green
Honerable Mention: Little Terrorist

2006 dates are Jan. 11-14. website

Films booked so far:

• Syrian Bride
• Rana's Wedding
• The Sea Inside
• Three Dollars
• Howl's Moving Castle
• Story of the Weeping Camel
• Marathon

It's possible to just go to whatever films you want to see. But a great thing if you are able to do it, is to pay for the course that is run along side this and serve as the jury for the festival. Discussions lead by Marge Suchocki and Jim Wall who serve on ecumenical juries at festivals such as Berlin and Montreal. The group dealing with the films digs deeply. These are full days of watching and discussing films. It was a great experience last year. If you're in the area or have time to come out, consider it.

the schedule

If anyone is in the area, I plan on being in Claremont to catch 2 films on Thursday (Rana's Wedding and Marathon). $5 movies with discussion following are hard to beat.

A sneak peek at the 2007 schedule. Marking my calendar. Unsure if I'll plan on doing the faith and film class (the CEUs would cover my requirement for the year.)

Sneak peek at the '08 edition. Jan. 18-21

For those in the area who might want to take in one or two films, the schedule is up. Tickets for individual films is only $5. $100 for pass. $300 for pass and class.

The jury's pick for the 2008 festival is Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles with a Special Mention for Mother of Mine. (These were two of my top three, my top was Witnesses.)