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WOMEN CHURCH WORLD

The Ideas

The role of women

 Il ruolo delle donne  DCM-007
06 July 2024

This issue of Women Church World is dedicated to cinema (and a little theatre too). This month we explore how the seventh art has witnessed a significant evolution in the way religious or spiritual themes are portrayed since women have taken on more prominence in society, culture and the Church.  What happens when the sacred is brought to the big screen, faith becomes cinema and the miracle an image? Not to mention, and especially, when this happens from -and with- a female perspective?  Female directors’ and actors’ ways of seeing, which in some cases is openly feminist, has contributed to redefining the relationship between women and faith in cinema through powerful and innovative narratives. In turn, this has paved the way for a deep and critical reflection on the role of women in narrating the sphere of the sacred, not least on the part of men too.

Let us look at the figure of Mary. On the big screen, in the not so distant past, Jesus’ mother broke through devotional clichés with directors such as Roberto Rossellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini.  Today, this continues, where the cinematic image of the Virgin Mary challenges traditional conventions in a way that cannot be separated from theologians’ biblical reinterpretations and the new ideas of the feminine that are changing the world.

It is not just a question of the figura Mariae. It is how saints, the faithful, and religious women are represented that has become more multifaceted and authentic, while breaking out of old stereotypes.  For example, films such as Agnes of God or The Magdalene Sisters are testimonies of a female reality that is often ignored, sometimes hidden, which fearlessly and crudely recount women’s’ suffering and resilience in a repressive religious context.

In short, the way women have pushed has expanded the concept of the sacred in cinema, de-constructing it when necessary, while including elements of secular and everyday spirituality. As did Liliana Cavani, whose career is characterised by a continuous exploration of the sacred and the profane. As does Alice Rohrwacher, a director who plumbs the themes of spirituality and sacredness with sensitivity, while often placing complex and deeply human female characters at the centre of her stories.

This issue is produced in collaboration with Rivista del Cinematografo, which is an Italian cinema periodical founded in 1928. This is one of the first Italian publications in the sector, and the oldest still active today. The monthly magazine is published by the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo, which promotes film in Italy on behalf of the Italian Episcopal Conference.