St John’s Film Club presents two new short films on Love, Hope, Death and Eternity. The first of these, Complete Surrender (dir. Louise Nelstrop) will be of particular interest to Medievalists.
When: Wednesday 26th October, 5pm-6.30pm
Where: St John’s College, the Mark Bedingham Room (located in St John’s Library)
- Both films have won numerous awards in recent film festivals and are not currently on general release.
- There will be an opportunity to discuss the films with the directors after the screening.
Film Synopsis
Complete Surrender 2020 (29 mins), directed by Louise Nelstrop (UK) and Pol Herrmann (Belgium), is a short documentary that explores what love is through the eyes of five celebrated Belgian artists and three religious sisters as they engage with the erotic mysticism of the female medieval mystics Hadewijch and Marguerite Porete.
Official Trailer: https://bit.ly/3ywk4Bm
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3epZYSk
Bizzarro e Fantastico 2020 (26 mins), directed Kris Krainock (USA), by is a dark comedy that explores the meaning of life and morality. A Roman everyman discovered a violently ill intruder on his sofa after returning from the market, who he must to health. He discovers his mysterious guest has otherworldly intentions — a reminder that life is for the living.
Official Trailer: https://imdb.to/3Mrs1gB
Facebook: https://bit.ly/3Crmylx
Review: https://filmthreat.com/reviews/bizzarro-e-fantastico/
About the Directors
Louise Nelstrop is a member of the Department of Theology and a non-stipendiary lecturer in theology at John’s College, where she teaches papers on Mysticism, Medieval Religions and Jesus through the Centuries. This is her first short film made in collaboration with Belgian filmmakers, including cinematographer Pol Herrmann, who co-directed and shot the film.
Kris Krainock is an American filmmaker and playwright, who began his professional career with the publication of poetry and short stories in local and national literary journals. Krainock’s major upcoming projects include the feature motion picture ‘Madame X,’ where he’s been able to collaborate with legends in the field such as Stanley Kubrick’s director of photography Douglas Milsome and Stanley’s widow, the artist Christiane Kubrick. Krainock is also developing the television series ‘The Idiot’ and the darkly comedic web series ‘It’s All Downhill From Here.'” (https://www.kriskrainock.com/)
The screening is open to anyone interested. Please email Louise Nelstrop if you have any questions: louise.nelstrop@theology.ox.ac.uk