Miasto Movie in April/Urban Spirituality
Starting in March and continuing in April we will be looking for any manifestation of spirituality in the city
With the advent of spring, as part of the “Miasto Movie” screenings, we have launched a new thematic cycle. We will try to portray or rather capture, if only fleetingly, the ever ethereal and always elusive nature of urban spirituality.
Each city has its own secrets, its own facets, upon which the civic identity is founded. So far we have showcased among others the city’s scary and seedy side, full of dark mysteries and dangers; we have visited sad and lonesome cities as well as fantastical fairy-tale like and imaginary ones. Now, our goal is to reach beneath the surface, to go deeper than before so as to see the more metaphysical aspects of the city. We construe (and construct) urban spirituality in a number of ways. On the one hand, each city is typified by its own aura, its own unprecedented climate and unrepeatable character. Paying each city a visit, we experience a range of different moods or emotional states. On the other hand, it is the people that make the city complete. If there are people – and there are people indeed – be they residents, tourists, travellers or casual visitors, there are beliefs, customs, assertions, etc. Each person has a set of convictions that are dear to him or her. Each person relies on some form of judgment or belief while making life-changing decisions. These axioms may be of religious or scientific nature. They may be also traditional or private – possibilities are virtually countless. All of them form particles constituting the spiritual tissue of the city and its community.
What we are about to experience is a unique, film journey in search of different manifestations of urban spirituality..
Original audio with Polish subtitles.
„Habemus papam”, directed by Nanni Moretti, running time: 102’, 2011. - Nanni Moretti, Italian master filmmaker, once again invites his favourite thespians, among others Michel Piccoli and Jerzy Stuhr, to collaborate together on a movie set. As a result, all the artists involved have created an amusing story about mission, destiny, and the roles imposed on us by the society at large. It is Conclave time in the Vatican and cardinals from all over the world are about to select the new pope, the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church. At the same time, thousands of expectant people are waiting day and night in St Peter’s Square, wishing to greet the newly elected pope. The plot thickens as the new pope (Michel Piccoli) undergoes a nervous breakdown. The stress of a new position, the responsibility of the job, spiritual dilemmas and doubts – all of these issues contribute to his burnout, causing him to literally flee the Vatican incognito onto the streets of Rome. To avoid international scandal as well as to cure the pope, Rajski (Jerzy Stuhr), the Vatican’s spokesperson, and a master psychiatrist (Nanni Moretti) are called in. “Habemus Papam” is an intelligent and warm story about the burden of responsibility and life’s vocation.