Abstract

The image of Religion was profoundly transformed during the 20st century with the advent of Cinema. The great sacred texts became ‘visible’ through motion pictures and were brought to the screen. Millions of believers of different communities began to 'see' the foundational episodes of their own confessions depicted in movies as they imagined them or according to official doctrinal or dogmatic formats. Images that were at the same time shaped by the cultural 'translation' of directors and screenwriters.

This capacity to influence the visual component of the collective memory of religious communities made Cinema an unavoidable media and a powerful tool for the recognition, the confrontation and the dialogue between religions. Recognition obtained with propaganda, proselytism or just disclosure of faith fundamentals with more or less added intentions. Confrontation, through the open condemnation of historical incompatibilities between peaceful messages and extremist practises. Interfaith dialogue towards common principles and methods based on the respect of differences in order to ensure peace.

At the same time independent directors, through feature and short films, serials or documentaries managed to record different perspectives on faith, religious institutions, popular practises, dogmatic approaches and others considered marginal or heretical.

After the organization of the International Symposia ‘Cinema and Cosmopolitism’ in 2009, ‘Cinema and Cities’ in 2010 and ‘Cinema and Author’ in 2011, the Research Group HUM-870 (University of Granada, Spain) and the CES organize the International Symposium ‘Cinema and Religions’ to be held at CES-Lisbon,  December 6th/7th 2012. The aim is to present and to discuss the research achieved by group members and by other researchers from Portuguese and Spanish universities. As in former symposia we search pluridisciplinary paths and to foster independent works, free from purely cinematographic analysis.

Registration fees
Standard: 15,00€
Degree, Master and PhD students: 10,00€
CES students and research students: free

Certificates of attendance will be delivered at the end of the symposium

Organization: Cities, Cultures, and Architecture (CCArq) and HUM-870 research Group on Cinema and Humanities. Transdiciplinary Studies in the Cinematographic Art (University of Granada)

Coordenation: João Mascarenhas Mateus (CES) and Francisco Salvador Ventura (Universidade de Granada)