Happy Christmas

 

Wishing One and All a

 

Christendom Christmas

 

Have very happy, holy, and prayerful Christmas

 

Hodie sciétis, quia veniét Dóminus, et salvábit nos

And a peaceful New Year.


In the New Year there will be re-broadcast on EWTN's UK and Ireland's network

In Search of Christendom - The Chartres Pilgrimage
on the 8th and 9th of January- to watch click here: http://www.ewtn.co.uk/media/tv

And Later in the 2016 a brand new 4 part docudrama series: The Inquisition.

In Search of Christendom

For Paris, Russia and the USA

All have been victims of terror attacks recently. Our prayers are with them. Here is a little video about the Paris - Chartres Pilgrimage that was broadcast earlier this year in Slovakia and worldwide by EWTN.

Our Lady of Chartres pray for us.



DVD - Chartres Pilgrimage

In Search of Christendom - The Chartres Pilgrimage

 

Perhaps this would make a good Christmas Present from EWTN UK https://www.ewtn.co.uk/shop/products/dvds/search-christendom-chartres-pilgrimage-dvd

 

 

for the USA http://www.ewtnreligiouscatalogue.com/shop.axd/ProductDetails?edp_no=29762

 



 

Catholic Filmmakers roundtable interview

Interview for Regina Magazine

Latest Issue

Here is a couple of quotes from the interview for Regina Magazine

The Frankfurt School and Critical Theory.

THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL KNEW THAT IN ORDER TO CHANGE SOCIETY THEY NEEDED TO UNDERMINE CHRISTIANITY and they developed what is known as Critical Theory.  Critical Theory drew upon Marxism and used the media to undermine virtually all the building blocks of western society, especially Christianity and the family. The Catholic Church had the Vatican II document Inter Mirifica as a blue print on how to use the latest media; unfortunately many of the hierarchy do not appear to have read Inter Mirifica and many Catholics seem to follow something like a nebulous ‘spirit of Vatican II’ which sometime seems little different from Critical Theory.”

If a script doesn’t have a ‘kickass’ girl as a leading lady then it will not make it off the page.

‘Critical Theory’ has taken over the mind set of Hollywood where traditional marriage is disparaged, plots are contrived to feminise men and masculinise women,  and if a script doesn’t have a ‘kickass’ girl as a leading lady then sometimes it will not make it off the page. It can make men feel that as we are no longer needed or wanted to protect our wives and children. Women can do it all for themselves, so men can just stay home have a beer and watch the football on TV or be patted on the head and sent out to play, and many do just this. However, I firmly believe it is possible that by the use of the Gospel and the traditions of the Church we can turn Critical Theory on its head. Take any plot and put a faithful Catholic in there and see what happens.

For the rest of the Round table interview with other Catholic film-makers please click  here

EWTN's Inquisition docudrama update

 

Final shoot, soundtrack, and editing

production update

 

Setting up a shot - St Irenaeus of Lyons played by Julius Benko

 

 

 

In Slovakia we completed the last day's filming in and near the village of Domanzia in North West Slovakia. Where had great support from the village priest and the locals, and shot the last few scenes of the Inquisition docudrama. We staged the famous debate between Jewish and Christian scholars in 14th centre Spain led by St Vincent Ferrer. Also filmed was St Irenaeus writing his Against Heresies. We finished the day with a trial and simulated witch burning sequence, it is important to note that while the world since the early modern period focuses on the executions of heretics after an Inquisition trial which amounted to 5000, lamentable as this is, however the vast majority of executions during this period where of witches. Almost 150,000 of these so called witches were killed, and most of these took place in the Protestant countries of northern Europe.

St Vincent Ferrer and the debate between Jewish and Christian scholars

While in Slovakia I popped into Lux Communication our production partners to do some sound booth work and to sit with the editor. Also completed during the last month was the choir recording of the specially composed soundtrack by Mária Jašurdová sung by Chorus Salvatoris, conducted by Zuzana Buchova Holickova. We will also have a great orchestral soundtrack by Miroslav Sibik. The Cameraman Editor and myself are very excited with the opening sequence using the De Profundis by the choir and illustrations with images from the series. For the closing credits we will have another newly composed track by Miro called the Black Legend. I feel music is very important to a films overall impact and this is why I have been very specific in my requests to the composers and I am pleased with the results.

Music for the Inquisition

The Soundtrack for EWTN's new Inquisition docudrama and its recording

Filming for the Inquisition, at the court of Count Raymond of Toulouse
with cameramen Paul to the left and Michal on the right

I'm off to Slovakia next week for the last filming session, and to work with the editor Michal Benko at Lux communication the co-producers . I will hopefully also make it to one of the recording secessions for the soundtrack.

The music is very important to any film and like the Crusades before we are very pleased to have the same team. Last February I met with the composers and the conductor, Zuzana Buchová Holičková. The composer of the choral parts will again be Mária Jašurdová  and for the orchestral tracks Miro Šibík. For the Inquisition mini-series I want to create a more mysterious atmosphere and since the Inquisitions were all about repentance, penance and reconciliation, I have asked the composer to write a suite of music on the 7 penitential psalms. I'm not sure it has been attempted before, also there are many others including a hymn to St Michael.

The De Profundis being for the Open and the end credits Miro Šibík will compose a track call the Black Legend. He will be composing and recording all the orchestral tracks and I've eheard some of the tracks in early versions and they sound good already.

Recording the soundtrack for the Crusades last year.

 

Chorus Salvatoris

 

For info on the Crusades soundtrack click here

Inquisition filming update

On Location in the UK and France for EWTN's Inquisition docudrama

During late July and early August 2015 we had an intense few days of filming. Covering many locations and interviews with expert historians.

We finished the UK shoot with 3 days of drama and action sequences, locations  included Leicester Guildhall, Kenilworth Castle and Holy Cross Priory Leicester. Here are some stills:

Cathar Crusade

The Papal Legate

Filming at Kenilworth Castle

And in the South of France - Carcassonne

However all is not as it seems the walls of this famous city were only built about 150 years ago. Today its more like a Cathar Disney Land.

Carcassonne  

The Inquisition Interview

Interview for EWTN's Vaticano

Below is a clip from EWTN's Vaticano on an interview I gave during our Rome filming sequence for the Inquisition mini-series. The other clips shown are of the making of The Inquisition drama sections and are from the English shoot and involve members of the 'Crusade' re-enactment group, also shown are a few clips from our last series The Crusades.

 

Many thanks to EWTN's Rome Bureau and the producer Jan Bentz for making this clip available.

 

German version.

The Chartres Pilgrimage DVD

In Search of Christendom - The Chartres Pilgrimage, DVD

Now just released on DVD in the UK and Europe from St Clare Media - EWTN

 

£9.95 click here:  UK Europe DVD of The Chartres Pilgrimage

Or by post from Holy Cross Bookshop, 4 Brownhill Road, SE6 2EJ. Tel: 0203 4418240

In the USA from EWTN for $10 click here : USA DVD of The Chratres Pilgrimage

EWTN – Global Catholic Network, 5817 Old Leeds Road, Irondale, Al 35210 USA

DVD - The Chartres Pilgrimage

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris draws thousands of young people for a Traditional Latin Mass on the vigil of Pentecost. Spiritually fortified, they set out on a three-day walking pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Chartres Cathedral. If you doubt that Christianity is still alive in Western Europe it is especially among the young. This is a special EWTN Documentary to see - and share.

Major themes in the documentary - young pilgrims talk about tradition, orthodoxy, pro-Life, and pro-natural family values. If you think the young want change you are right, but its back to traditional moral and family values!

Interviews by Michael J Matt, Jamie Bogle, Hervé Rolland and many of the young pilgrims themselves.

Please support this DVD so that we may make more such films.

EWTN's The Inquisition Mini-series

Rome and Italy- on location update

Myself with Cameraman/Editor Michal Benko



As I mentioned in my 12th of April post we are now in the production phase of a new docudrama mini-series on the Inquisition. This will cover all the Inquisitions and not just the Spanish.

 

Last month we were shooting in Rome where I had the honour to interview a prominent Cardinal; more about this closer to the screening date. It was also wonderful to be able to film around Rome and in some of her most famous churches.

 

With second camera/technician Pavol Kadlecik

 

While in Rome we had the good fortune to be looked after by EWTN Rome bureau. This office exists to work on EWTN's Rome programmes and help organise filming for EWTN's broadcasts from Rome. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their help with locations and contacts during our film there last month, in particular Alan Holdren, the Rome bureau's chief, whose Vaticano programmes regularly go out on EWTN.

Alan Holdren of EWTN's Vaticano

 



After Rome we travelled through the Italian countryside northwards to film the beautiful hilltop towns and lakes as we drove through the spectacular Appian mountains to Assisi. I wanted to stress how friars like the Franciscans and Dominicans, although espousing a simpler way of Christian life, were always loyal to the Church.

Filming in Florence

At the weekend we stayed at the Institute of Christ the King’s seminary at Gricigliano near Florence and took the opportunity to film for an afternoon around the city.

 

Renovation work at Gricigliano

After this we travelled to Venice to film around the city on the sea. This included a morning chugging around the canals on their Vaporettos, which are public transport water buses, filming whatever we might be able to use to accompany our Venetian Inquisition sequence.

The next shoot will be in the UK and France starting the end of this month. In the UK shoot we will have three days of filming the drama sequences, and there will be one more drama filming session in Slovakia. Also in the UK we will be filming most of the interviews with the historians as the academic year will have ended and they will have some free time.

 

DVD for In Search of Christendom - The Chartres Pilgrimage

Chartres Pilgrimage Documentary DVD

EWTN have just released the DVD for In Search of Christendom - The Chartres Pilgrimage documentary. This is the USA version and cost $10. The UK/Ireland version will hopefully be realised soon. Please help us make similar documentaries by purchasing this DVD.

To buy this DVD click here: In Search of Christendom - The Chartres Pilgrimage DVD

Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral draws thousands of young people for a Traditional Latin mass on the vigil of Pentecost. Spiritually fortified, they set out on a three-day walking pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Chartres Cathedral. If you doubt that Christianity is still alive in Western Europe, this is a special EWTN Documentary to see - and share. 1 disc / 30 minutes (CC).

Last November on my first post on this documentary I said. "If I have one prayer for this documentary it would be that once the documentary is released on DVD, orthodox and traditional Catholics should buy it and send it to the Pope and the Synod Fathers on the Family, and to anyone who believes that young Catholics want change. For young Catholics want authentic Catholic teachings on the faith and morality."

Maximilian Kolbe award

Maximilian Kolbe award

Very honoured  to receive the Maximilian Kolbe award -  for EWTN and Lux's communication's  The Crusades many thanks to all at EWTN and Lux for making this possible.

Niepokalanow International Catholic Film festival

Broadcast Dates and Times for EWTN’s

In Search of Christendom – The Chartres Pilgrimage

EWTN are to Broadcast In Search of Christendom – The Chartres Pilgrimage on Whit Sunday May 24^th at 3:30 pm in the UK and Ireland. Or watch it on line at: http://www.ewtn.co.uk/

In the USA it will be broadcast on Whit Sunday, May 24^th at 2:30 pm Eastern Time. Or watch it on line at: http://www.ewtn.com/tv/

Notre Dame Cathedral Paris

The documentary tells the story of the three day walking pilgrimage to Notre Dame Cathedral Chartres from Notre Dame Cathedral Paris over the Pentecost weekend. This is the 2013 pilgrimage for which we filmed all three days including the main Masses. 

Young Pilgrims sing hymns around the campfire

Young pilgrims witness to the faith through the
French countryside.

We did a number of interviews with pilgrims from France, England, USA, Middle East, and Ireland. A number of themes emerged, one of the most important being that the young people (who make up the majority of the pilgrims) want orthodoxy. They love the Traditional Latin Mass, they are strongly pro-Life and the natural family, and that marriage can only be between a man and a woman, anything else is just plain wrong.

Filming the Mass at Chartres Cathedral

Perhaps what shone through more than anything else was the sheer joy expressed by the thousands of young pilgrims as they took part in this most arduous of pilgrimages. They sang hymns and prayers all day long as they carried their colourful banners and flags through Paris and the French countryside, witnessing to the faith and proving that Christianity is alive and well in Western Europe – at least among the young!

Chartres Cathedral - The rain could not dampen
the spirits of the young pilgrims as they approached
Notre Dame Cathedral Chartres

To see these straight-talking,  joyful, young pilgrims, tune into EWTN on Pentecost Sunday, unless you are actually taking part in this year’s pilgrimage at the time!

Our Lady of Chartres 

Here are the full dates and times of the Chartres pilgrimage broadcast:

 In the USA ET (Eastern Time) Pentecost Sunday 24 May at 3:30pm, Monday May 25, 3:00am, 6:30 pm, (30mins) or watch on line at:  http://www.ewtn.com/tv/

On the  European satellite signal, GMT:  Sunday, May 24, 15:30; Monday, May 25, 02:00, 08:00, 21:00. (30 mins), or watch on line at: http://www.ewtn.co.uk/

EWTN's The Crusades wins the Grand Prix Niepokalanow Poland

EWTN’s The Crusades wins major award

Map showing the extent of Muslim conquest by 732

EWTN, the global Catholic television network has won the Grand Prix of the 30^th Niepokalanow International Catholic Film Festival Poland. http://www.festiwalniepokalanow.pl/ The competition to win this award was considerable with entries coming from 18 different countries, and included 117 feature films, documentaries and TV programs. 

The production was filmed in seven counties across Europe and the Holy Land and included interviews with four major Crusades historians from Britain and the USA. They were able to bring to the production some of the very latest scholarship regarding the Crusades and have dispelled many of the myths.  

The Crusades was an international co-production between EWTN -Global Catholic Network (USA), St Clare Media – EWTN (UK), Buckfast Abbey (UK) and Lux communication (Slovakia). We hope that people will take a fresh look at the Crusades instead of following the tired old dated theories.

Links to clips

The Opening Sequence

EWTN Wings

Now in Production for EWTN a four part docudrama

The Inquisition

After months of Pre-Production, the production phase of EWTN’s The Inquisition is now underway. There is still of course much planning and research to be done and the scripts need to be finalised.

The first filming sessions have now taken place with an 11 day trip to Spain. We kicked off in Spain mainly because I wanted the film the Semana Santa (Holy Week) penitential processions.

One of the Penitential Brotherhoods
Process in Salamanca 

Just like EWTN’s The Crusades I wanted a binding element as sort of background link to history that I could use in various places in the documentary. For the Crusades, I used the Chartres Pilgrimage, which not only takes place in the heartland of the Franks but also emphasises the pilgrimage element of the Crusades. For the Inquisition I wanted to film during Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the penitential processions in Spain. This gives us a pictorial view of the penitential link between Auto de fe, the inquisition, and today.

The Brothers carry a float depicting
Christ and Roman solider.

Superb workmanship on the figures. 

On 26^th March I flew into Madrid and met the team, Michal Benko Camera/Editor and Paul Kadlecik second Camera/Technician. Michal and Paul picked up hire car and we then started a gruelling eleven day, 1500 mile trip around major inquisition sites and cities of Spain. Not to mention filming the Holy Week processions which are accompanied by massive crowds: there were 300,000 they tell me lining the streets in Seville, which made filming very challenging, however, luckily we already had processions at Avila and Salamanca in the can.

Typically ornate Spanish Church

Like The Crusades for The Inquisition we are attempting to get to the truth of the matter. Why for example has the Inquisition become a byword for terror, cruelty and religious fanaticism? A black legend has been created with most of the fingers pointing at the Catholic Church and in particular, Spain. However, most these myths and Black Legends are false, created by the ancestors of the modern secular media. And just like the today’s Black Legends, they are, and continue to be created by those with an agenda yes they were created for a reason. If you want to find out the full story of the Inquisition we hope to finish the series by the late autumn of this year.

EWTN to show The Crusades again

Crusaders Pray before battle

THE CRUSADES

EWTN are to show the mini-series The Crusades from Tuesday 24^th to Friday 27 February click here http://www.ewtn.co.uk/

Here is the schedule for the UK and Ireland

EWTN Gallery.

Combining epic dramatic sequences with insights from leading historians, this mini-series clears up the many myths and distortions surrounding the Crusades. Filmed in the Holy Land and Europe.

Ep 1 Journeys of Faith

Tuesday 24, 02:00, 10:30, 21:00.

(30 mins)

Ep 2 The Crusader States

Wednesday 25, 02:00, 10:30, 21:00.

(30 mins)

Ep 3 Christendom Responds

Thursday 26, 02:00, 10:30, 21:00.

(30 mins)

Ep 4 Failures and Successes

Friday 27, 02:00, 10:30, 21:00.

(30 mins)

In the USA the times are as follows: 

click here https://www.ewtn.com/tv/index.asp#

EWTN Gallery

THE CRUSADES - JOURNEY’S OF FAITH

A look at the history and reasons for the Crusades, which originally was called an 'armed pilgrimage', aiding safety for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land against Muslim conquerors.

Tuesday 02/24 at 3:00 AM ET, 6:30 PM ET

CC TV-PG

EWTN Gallery

THE CRUSADES - THE CRUSADER STATES

After the miraculous success of the First Crusade, the Crusader hierarchy set up the Crusader States, along with the rise of Saladin and his conquest of Jerusalem.

Wednesday 02/25 at 3:00 AM ET, 6:30 PM ET

CC TV-PG

EWTN Gallery

THE CRUSADES - CHRISTENDOM RESPONDS

King Richard the Lionheart of England, King Philip of France and the German Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa embark on the Third Crusade; the famous meeting between St Francis of Assisi and sultan Al-Kamil.

Thursday 02/26 at 3:00 AM ET, 6:30 PM ET

CC TV-PG

EWTN Gallery

THE CRUSADES - FAILURES AND SUCCESSES

A look at the failures and successes of the Crusades and its legacy.

Friday 02/27 at 3:00 AM ET, 6:30 PM ET

CC TV-PG