Film Festival to Mark Mother Teresa's Beatification

Will Open on Nov. 1 in Calcutta

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CALCUTTA, India, JULY 16, 2003 (ZENIT.orgFides).- An international film festival dedicated to Mother Teresa will be held here to mark her forthcoming beatification.

No saint or blessed in the Church’s history has been honored with an international film festival, said the president of Signis India, Salesian Father C.M. Paul.

“Mother Teresa, the ‘saint of the gutters,’ who captivated the world in her blue-bordered white sari and her dogged zeal, deserves this feature and documentary film festival,” said Father Paul, the archdiocesan festival coordinator. The beatification will be in Rome on Oct. 19.

The film festival opens Nov. 1, in anticipation of two days of celebrations planned by the Diocese of Calcutta on Nov. 8 and 9.

Films to be shown include biographies on the life of Mother Teresa: “Something Beautiful for God” (BBC, 1969) and “Mother Teresa, Her Legacy,” a film in two parts produced by Anne Petris; two other films: “Mother Teresa and Her World” and “Mother Teresa First Love” (1997); and “Total Surrender,” a documentary produced by the U.S.-based Eternal World Television Network.

One of the films chosen for the festival caused a stir when it was produced in 1994. “Hell’s Angel: Mother Teresa of Calcutta,” produced by the British private TV company Channel 4, is based on a book by Christopher Hitchens.

“The idea behind including this film is to show people the various aspects of Mother Teresa and to be objective in our festival presentation,” said Father Paul. “Mother has served humanity like nobody has and her virtues outweigh her alleged weaknesses by far.” For more information, contact .

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