Jesuit Communications in the Philippines is planning its most ambitious project – a full-length feature film on the life of St Ignatius, to be titled “Ignacio: The First Jesuit”. A total of US$675,000 is needed for the project.
It is hoping to raise US$140,000 through a worldwide crowdfunding campaign that was launched on the feast of St Ignatius and closes on August 30.
Being able to adapt to new technologies and seize opportunities when they arise are the keys to a successful media organisation, delegates at the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) Social Communications meeting in Taiwan heard last month.
“Media comes from grabbing opportunities,” said Director of Kuangchi Program Service (KPS) Fr Jerry Martinson SJ, in his presentation to delegates on the first day of the meeting, which was hosted by KPS, the Jesuit production centre in Taiwan.
A documentary produced by Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom) in the Philippines was the only Asian finalist out of 74 nominees around the world for Best Documentary Film at the XXIX International Catholic Film and Multimedia Festival in Niempokalanow in Teresin, Poland.
Having made communication one of the Province’s priority missions, the Jesuit Vietnam Province has been sending scholastics to media outlets across the world for the Regency stage of their formation, during which they work for two or more years in a ministry. Stephen Tran Thien Kinh SJ and Anthony Nguyen Van Loi SJ are two of these Vietnamese scholastics. They were assigned to Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), the leading independent Catholic news source in Asia, where they hope to acquire skills in media that will prepare them for ministry in their Province.
With its sprinkling of graffiti and grey, decades-old façade, the head office of Kuangchi Program Service (KPS) looks anything but the home of a pioneer. Yet by religious broadcasting standards, this Jesuit television studio in central Taipei – now 56 years old – remains light years ahead of the pack when it comes to gaining entry to the world’s most populous nation. KPS takes a softly-softly approach with China, and it’s about to do so again.
The British Jesuit Provincial, Fr Dermot Preston SJ, recently delivered a lecture as part of the Faith Matters series in Westminster Cathedral in London.
Eureka Street was awarded the Australasian Catholic Press Association’s top prize at their annual awards ceremony, held in Melbourne in early September.
The online journal, published by Jesuit Communications, was awarded the Bishop Philip Kennedy Memorial Prize for Magazines in recognition of its continuing excellence in the field of religious communications.
The Jesuit Post interviewed Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ during MAGIS 2013 in Brazil. The interview has been divided into five video clips, focussed on Youth Ministry, New & Social Media, Silence, Vocations, and Pope Francis.
On the Youth Ministry
On New & Social Media
Communicators from across the Asia Pacific region had a first-hand look earlier this month at the vital role the Jesuit film production studio, Casa de Produção Audiovisual (CPA), is playing in telling the story of one of the world’s newest nations within the country. Twice a week, CPA produces Tetum language programs that appear on prime time television in the country, each reflecting on East Timorese culture and history.
A year after its maiden full-length film, SOEGIJA, premiered to widespread acclaim in Indonesia. Puskat Pictures is busy with its second film, “Di Tepian Sungai Elo” (At the edge of the River Elo). The new film is about the boarding school run by Franciscan nuns in Mendut, Magelang, Indonesia from 1908 to 1943, and the impact of its alumnae, many of who become prominent figures and played important roles in the Church and nation.