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Christian Film Event In Sunny Italy
31 October 2010
Film-making is not something many people would naturally associate with Christianity - which is sad, considering Christianity's impact on the arts over the centuries.
In Italy recently, a group of Christian film and TV people came together from across Europe for an inspiring conference.
The CEVMA group (Christian European Visual Media Association) has held a conference annually for a number of years. At present, the leadership are wanting to move the vision and strategy forward, with a much greater influence among younger creatives across Europe.
With that in mind, this year's event, which was held overlooking the beautiful Lake Maggiore near Milan, featured Mal Fletcher speaking on 'Life Ahead of the Curve: Engaging Europe's Future'.
In a wide-ranging series of lectures, Mal addressed issues central to the creative process and to leadership in society.
'The church of Christ,' he said, 'was never called to be the "sauce of the earth" but the "salt of the earth".'
'Ketchup smothers the flavour of foods, destroying what is naturally attractive about them and covering it with something foreign. Salt, on the other hand, enhances what is good in the food - and redeeming what is "almost good".'
'The church,' he added, 'is meant not to smother the dominant culture around it with something foreign - some cliched Christian culture - but to draw out and enhance the good within the culture itself.'
The response to the sessions was very positive, during and after the event. The content and presentation style were quite unique for this type of event.
The conference also featured an awards ceremony for film production and screenings of new independent movies with a Christian or faith-and-values theme - plus boat tours to local beauty spots.
After his visit, Mal said: 'It was fantastic for Davina and I to be a part of this event. It's such a beautiful part of the world, and I met some wonderful people who're working at many levels of the film and TV industries, both secular and Christian.'
For more on CEVMA and its events, visit cevma.net.
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