summary
Ridiculous and Sublime: Life in an Inner-City Franciscan Monastery is a feature-length still-image film that explores the lives of the Little Brothers of Saint Francis, a small Catholic monastery in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood. A still-image film puts photographs into motion instead of using moving pictures. This film is an artful integration of black and white photographs, scanned from negatives, and audio recordings of interviews, chanting, prayer, and daily life in the monastery—all weaved together with original music.
the Brothers
Ridiculous and Sublime will be an intimate portrait of a community that is impressive in its authentic living of the Christian Gospel and endearing in its ordinariness and humility. The Brothers' lives are filled with dynamic dualities as they live out the virtues of the medieval Saint Francis of Assisi within a modern and urban landscape. They have no personal money, rise at 4:30 a.m. for the first communal prayer, and wear a rope with three knots that represent their vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience. But they also order pizza, ride the subway, and sometimes have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. One could hear a pin drop during their hour-long silent Eucharistic meditation, if not for the Roxbury Crossing subway train that rolls by and rattles the chapel windows.
Above all, the Brothers seek to serve God through a balance of direct religious contemplation and service to their fellow man. Their twofold purpose shapes the varied activities of daily life in the monastery. Each day the Brothers visit with their friends and neighbors, including the poor and homeless, offering what assistance they can; meanwhile, they reserve significant time for contemplation through mass, communal prayer, personal prayer, and meditation.
photographs and interviews
Over the past three years, the Brothers have allowed the full spectrum of their community to be photographed for this documentary. Photographs range from washing dishes to light spilling onto their chapel alter as they bow to the Eucharist, from perusing the cereal aisle at Stop and Shop to embracing a homeless friend on the street.
In the audio interviews, the Brothers reflect on all the facets of their lives, "everything from the sublime to the ridiculous," as Brother Anthony says. Each candidly recounts how he found the Brotherhood, the joys and struggles of consecrated life, and a personal vision for the future. Brother James, the eldest and the founder, speaks about his increasing complications with Parkinson's disease and diabetes, framing the obstacles as a spiritual opportunity. Twenty-eight-year-old Brother Giles expresses his desire to establish a monastery in Jerusalem, so the he may live amongst diverse religious communities. Moreover, the Brothers voice experiences, opinions, and interpretations of holy scripture that illuminate fundamental concepts of Catholic religious life, including the Eucharist, poverty, prayer, and miracles.
the medium
Still-image films are not common for contemporary subjects; however, in the case of the Brothers, the integration of black and white photographs and voiceover is fitting, as it embodies qualities of their way of life. Because the film's audio is primarily individual Brothers speaking about their lives, instead of active dialogue synced with action, the experience of the film is largely contemplative. A viewer is brought into a single moment of a scene and can explore multiple aspects of one moment over many moments, while being directed by the reflections offered in the voiceover.
The black and white still-image film also embodies an anachronistic aspect of the Brothers' community. The use of black and white negatives is traditional; yet, setting them to motion with integrated audio is uncommon and employs recent technology. This mirrors the Brothers way of life, in which they live by Biblical principles, and adapt them practically for modern urban life.
what's next
With an archive of over 2,500 photographs and 30 hours of audio, the production stage of the documentary is now complete. The post-production process has been limited by funding. To move forward funds are required for a producer and editor fee, an original score, audio technicians and editing equipment.
You can help! Every donation contributes to the project's progress.
This button will open a new page for the Center for Independent Documentary. Under "Purpose of your donation" select "Ridiculous and Sublime" from the drop down menu.
