Film for Thought: The Devil and Father Amorth

Showings

Studio Theater Wed, May 30, 2018 6:30 PM
INFORMATION
Run Time:1h 8min
Release Year:2017
Genre:Documentary
Category:Film for Thought
CAST/CREW
Cast:Gabriele Amorth
Robert Barron
William Friedkin
Director:William Friedkin

Description

Years after he changed the landscape of American filmmaking with 1973's THE EXORCIST, director, co-writer and legendary storyteller William Friedkin moves from fiction to fact with his new documentary, THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH. What began as a brief conversation between Friedkin and Father Gabrielle Amorth - the head Exorcist for the Diocese of Rome for over 30 years - as two professionals who knew of each other's work soon transformed into an once-in-a- lifetime opportunity, as Amorth agreed Friedkin could film an exorcism ceremony. It would be the ninth exorcism for a painfully afflicted woman, Cristina (a pseudonym), who had already been under Father Amorth's care - and it would be filmed by Friedkin alone, with no other crew allowed, no light other than the natural light in the room and a small digital camera-and-mic unit that could capture the ritual and its revelations. Combining the startling and singular footage from Cristina's exorcism with interviews from priests and psychologists, neurosurgeons and non-believers, Friedkin guides us on a journey into the twilight world between the boundaries of what we know and what we don't with a singular and startling guide in the form of the urbane, charming and self-deprecatingly funny Father Amorth, a man who laughs in the face of the Devil both figuratively and literally. Combining Friedkin's past memories and present observations with archival footage and new interviews - as well as also presenting what may be the only real exorcism ceremony captured on film - THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH is a startling and surprising story of the religion, the ritual and the real-world victims involved in possession and exorcism.