Nativity!

Nativity! with Martin Freeman and Marc Wootton. Image courtesy E1 Enterntainment

Damaris has been asked by E1 Entertainment to create official resources to help churches, schools and community groups make the most of Nativity! (UK release: 27th November, certificate U), a wonderful family film containing a clear presentation of an important part of the Bible story.

These resources will all appear over the next few weeks, completely free of charge, together with downloadable clips from the film. In the meantime, why not get a taste for the film by watching the trailer?

To help you to make the most of this film we shall provide:

• A full service outline of an all-age service, using footage from Nativity!
• Full notes for a primary school assembly using footage from Nativity!
• A specially created short video for use in or before church services, telling your congregation about the film
• A specially created short video for focusing your congregation in advance of your Advent Sunday service
• A specially created short video for use in a children’s slot in a Sunday service
• Open access Tools For Talks resources with downloadable clips from the film and suggestions for use in your meetings

Trailer: Nativity!

For anyone in the Southampton area, the Odeon has a charity screening at 2.00 pm on Sunday 22 November. 25% of ticket sales will go to The Variety Club, 25% will go to the NSPC and 50% to Children In Need.

Nev Pierce has written a piece about Creation in the LA Times.

. . .

Darwin’s continuing relevance is one reason why “Creation” has been selected to open Toronto, which usually kicks off with a home-grown picture. “It’s a bit of a tradition for us to open with a Canadian film, yes,” said festival co-director Cameron Bailey. “But we haven’t always done it. We just thought ‘Creation’ was a film that spoke to our times. That tension between faith and reason was something we began to see in a number of different films, and it crystallized beautifully here, especially in that debate between a husband and wife who happen to see the world in completely different ways. It’s still pressing.”

. . .

Good article in LA Times on ‘Creation’ movie by Nev Pierce, Editor-at-large for Empire magazine (and a friend of mine from some years ago). Read it here.

Charles Darwin: eminent scientist, loving husband, grieving father. The film Creation explores the different sides to the man who some believe had ‘the biggest single idea in the history of thought’. Even today, Darwin’s legacy is at the centre of contemporary debate about our understanding of who we are and what it means to be human. This film explores the implications of Darwin’s theories, and the way that tragic events in his family life influenced his doubts about God.

Starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly as Charles and Emma Darwin, Creation is based on the book Annie’s Box by Randall Keynes (Charles Darwin’s great-great-grandson). It is an emotional journey into the grief that shaped one of the great scientific minds of the last 200 years. See the official film website.

In association with Icon, Damaris are also providing the following resources to help churches, schools and community groups make the most of this movie when it is released on September 25th.

Damaris’s Creation resources will include:

• A special episode of Pollard on Film on the theme of why should we believe anything at all? (available 4th Sept)
• A special episode of Culturewatch TV on the real Charles Darwin (available 4th Sept)
• Church service outline featuring footage from the film (available 28th Aug.)
• Café-style Church meeting outline featuring footage from the film (available 4th Sept)
• Three sets of notes for House Group meetings on different themes (first two available on 11th Sept.)
• A Film and Focus event, with leader’s guide and full publicity material (available 11th Sept)

Test of Faith (http://u.nu/3zf33) is a resource from the Faraday Institute for small groups to explore issues of science, faith and ethics. It includes a DVD documentary, but now eleven clips from it are now available online (about a third of the total video content).