The 2015 Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury Film Awards had a decidedly international flavor. Six of ten films recognized by the (at the time) Image-sponsored discussion forum were foreign-language films, including the top three entrants.
The jury expanded from twelve to fifteen members this year. Jury members represented a variety of evangelical press outlets including Christianity Today, Crosswalk, Sojourners, and Image. The panel nominated and seconded seventy-eight films that had first-time festival, theatrical, or DVD releases in the last calendar year. Jury awards were then given to the ten eligible films with the highest average score from voting members.
In addition to promoting the Arts & Faith discussion forum, the Ecumenical Jury’s mission is to challenge, expand, or explore what it means to specifically recommend a film for Christian audiences. Here are the films (ranked) the jury thought did just that:
- The Assassin
- Stations of the Cross
- Timbuktu
- Spotlight
- Love & Mercy
- The Look of Silence
- Gett: The Trial of Vivian Ansalem
- Brooklyn
- Inside Out
- About Elly
Jury members are each given the opportunity to recognize one film that did not make the final awards list but that he or she strongly recommends. The honorable mentions (unranked) are as follows:
- Clouds of Sils Maria—Olivier Assayas; Recognized by Anders Bergstrom
- 45 Years—Andrew Haigh; Recognized by Peter T. Chattaway
- Phoenix—Christian Petzold; Recognized by Evan Cogswell
- Ex Machina—Alex Garland; Recognized by Steven D. Greydanus
- Mustang—Deniz Gamze Ergüven; Recognized by Christian Hamaker
- Kaili Blues—Gan Bi; Recognized by Josh Hamm
- Youth—Paulo Sorrentino; Recognized by Gareth Higgins
- Experimenter—Michael Almereyda; Recognized by M. Leary
- Infinitely Polar Bear—Maya Forbes; Recognized by Noel T. Manning II
- World of Tomorrow—Don Hertzfeldt; Recognized by Joel Mayward
- Something, Anything—Paul Harrill; Recognized by Jeffrey Overstreet
- (Dis)honesty: The Truth About Lies—Yael Melamede; Recognized by Kenneth R. Morefield
- In Jackson Heights—Frederick Wiseman; Recognized by Colin Stacy
- 14) The Wolfpack—Crystal Moselle; Recognized by Lauren Wilford
- 15) OUT 1 (Out 1, Noli Me Tangere)—Jacques Rivette and Suzanne Schiffman; Recognized by Alissa Wilkinson