Jubilee of the World of Communications (1)

 The period 24-26 January has been identified as a particular celebration of the Jubilee 2025 for the World of Communications.

One organisation in the field of communication that I have followed is the World Catholic Association for Communication: SIGNIS, taking particular notice of their work in the field of cinema. Their mission is described on their own website and is indicated in the Directory of Associations on the website of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. It is a world wide association made up of member associations in the different nations and regions of the world. The two predecessor organisations that merged in 2001 to form SIGNIS had their origins as far back as 1928, one being an organisation dedicated to cinema and the other an organsation dedicated to radio.

Bringing together Catholics already working as professionals in the media was the objective that kept together those organisations. The interest of Catholics in the new media was understandable. They saw the opportunities offered by them to present their views and opinions on life and the world and so they naturally became involved in promoting education and values.

The aspect of the work of SIGNIS that I find most interesting is their organising of SIGNIS, Ecumenical and inter-faith juries at film festivals. This includes juries at well known film festivals such as that held in Cannes each year, as well as juries at more specialised festivals. This participation at the major events of the world of cinema by Catholic film professionals strikes me as being a particularly good expression of a specifically lay engagement. It involves an encounter between religious faith and a professional context which can only really be achieved by the action of those who are themselves professionals in the relevant context. In return, it also indicates a respect given by the wider world of cinema to those of religious faith who are able to engage with them in way that is professionally competent.

At the most recent Cannes film festival, the Ecumenical Jury gave its award to the film The Seed of the Sacred Fig. The film, and the background to its production, are described at a Wikipedia page here. If you read down the page you will find an explanation of the film's title and of the two photographs that the director displayed on the red carpet and at other photo calls during the Cannes festival. 

Following a special prize to Wim Wenders on the 50th anniversary of the Ecumenical Jury, the 6 international members of this year’s jury gave their prize to the Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, with this motivation : “When religion is associated with political power and patriarchy, it can destroy the most intimate relationships and the dignity of individuals, as this Iranian family drama embodies. The jury was impressed by the film’s rich symbolism, its generous and hopeful ending, its touches of humour and its heartbreaking tension. The subtlety and sobriety of its writing, both dramatic and filmic, makes it a metaphor for any authoritarian theocracy”.