Film and Faith

An International conference at Rome’s Pontifical Lateranense University this week looks at the relationship between film and faith and what role films can play in influencing the conscience and morality of those who watch them. Organised jointly by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and for Social Communications, the two-day seminar is being attended by film makers and scholars from around the world. Among the participants is the Ugandan religious, Sister Dominica Diplo, a university professor of literature and film who has made several feature and documentary films.

Sister Dipio told Susy Hodges about some of her recent projects including a film about the sexual abuse of children in her native Uganda and another that deals with the issue of child sacrifice where a poverty-stricken father feels compelled to kill his two young sons.

She says Ugandan children “are so unprotected nowadays” and through her films she seeks “to expose these kind of realities” and the social injustices that exist in her homeland. Asked whether she believes films are effective as an evangelising tool, Sister Dipio says she is firmly convinced of this effectiveness, saying a good film “can lead people to grow in faith” and make us “want to be better persons.”

Listen to the full interview by Susy Hodges with Sister Domenica Dipio: