Since its debut in 2010, the RE:IMAGE Film Festival has grown substantially in popularity and impact, but there are still lots of folks across the Diocese who haven’t heard about it.  There are also some who have heard of it, but don’t know what it’s all about.  I am happy to have the opportunity to explain this unique diocesan initiative, now in its fourth year.

We have heard from Pope Francis and many others in recent years that a critical part of the new evangelization is learning how to communicate in different ways about the faith. We know this is necessary because we see the contemporary focus on self and a cultural resistance to religion or the idea of belonging to anything that would require us to change.  We have only to look around to understand that if we are going to be successful in spreading the Good News of God’s saving grace, we need to engage people on a personal and emotional level.  We need to invite them to immerse themselves in the stories of God’s love for us, and embrace the truth that comes out of that encounter.

While the challenge to communicate differently seems only to have emerged in the past few years, it has, in truth, long been a focus for the Church.  More than 50 years ago the fathers of the Second Vatican Council issued Inter Mirifica, the landmark decree calling the Church to use media and communications to preach the Gospel and spread the message of salvation.  While media and technology have changed dramatically in the five decades that followed, the call to the Church to use these resources has only grown stronger. 

The RE:IMAGE Film Festival is one way in which the Diocese of Trenton has responded to that challenge.  One of the newest additions to our network of communications programs, the festival was built on the need to reach out to people who are not necessarily reading Catholic newspapers, visiting Catholic websites and viewing Catholic television programming. It offers the potential to communicate in a different way through the use of film and storytelling. 

In a nutshell, the festival is based on two major goals:

• Encourage filmmakers, especially young people who aspire toward filmmaking, to use the medium in ways that reflect God’s presence in the world and serve the common good;

• Provide a showcase for this form of filmmaking, building public awareness about the need for this content and cultivating the public’s support for filmmakers whose work reflects the RE:IMAGE mission.

There are two groups of people who are needed to meet these goals:  1) empowered filmmakers, and 2) supportive audiences. It is the aim of the RE:IMAGE Film Festival to catalyze these two groups, building awareness about the importance of both making positive, message-driven films and having audiences asking to see them in their local theaters and through their digital movie providers. 

We are happy to see that our efforts to encourage our local students to make films in keeping with the RE:IMAGE mission have yielded real results this year.  Of the 24 films that will be screened, one-third come from local filmmakers, and most of them are in the High School/Youth category.  Some locally-submitted films were not selected for screening due to quality or technical issues, but we were delighted to see them entered, nonetheless.

Enhancing the festival experience and advancing the mission are the panel discussions that will be held throughout the day. These forums will give the filmmakers in attendance an opportunity to explain their process and their feelings about their work, as well as offer the audience an opportunity to meet many of the filmmakers and ask questions.  This networking has the potential for inspiring more people to get involved, either as filmmakers or empowered consumers.

This year, the four non-competitive films scheduled to be screened will truly enrich the audience experience. These are films that cannot compete for one reason or another, but they are inspiring pieces of work that deserve the audience’s attention and support. 

Serving as the capstone of the festival is the feature film “Gimme Shelter,” and the presentation by Kathy DiFiore, whose work in providing a safe place for homeless pregnant teens was the inspiration for the film.  “Gimme Shelter” is the epitome of a RE:IMAGE film – a compelling, faith-based message told in the context of a heart-wrenching, real-life story.  Despite its limited budget and the struggles in bringing it to the screen, the film was well-received in its limited run, due in no small part to its talented cast and the unwavering commitment to it by DiFiore and  producer, director and screenwriter Ron Krauss.

From the beginning to the end, from every aspect of this multi-faceted initiative, there is a way for everyone to get involved.  If only for the entertainment value of the RE:IMAGE Film Festival, I encourage you to set aside Sunday, April 6 – knowing that your attendance makes an important statement about the value of film as a means to bring us all closer to Christ. 

Bennett also serves as the Diocese’s executive director of communications.