Film as Parable: the Value of Film

for Theology, Church and Education

SymposiumOctober 6, 2016

Followed by afilm screening of ‘Stranger than Fiction’ with introduction and discussion by Prof. Dr. Sylvain De Bleeckere

Register through www.etf.edu/en/event/film until September 29, 2016

Film as Parable: the Value of Film

for Theology, Church and Education

SymposiumOctober 6, 2016

Organized by ETF Leuven and VU University Amsterdam in light of the successful public defense of the PhD dissertation by Rinke van Hell “Widening the Screen: Orthodox Protestant Film Viewers in the Netherlands and the Appropriation of Meaning in Relation to their Religious Identity”

Dr. Jack Barentsen is Associate Professor and Department Chair of Practical Theology at ETF Leuven and senior researcher at the Institute for Leadership and Social Ethics. His main areas of interest are church and religious leadership, social identity and spiritual formation.

Dr. Rinke van Hell is lecturer and researcher at the Department of Theology at Ede Christian University of Applied Sciences and freelance film critic. In June 2016 she successfully defended her PhD research on film and practical theology at ETF Leuven and VU University Amsterdam.

Dr. Johan Roeland is lecturer in Media, Religion and Culture at VU University Amsterdam. One of his research interests is the relation between (social) media, popular culture and religion and conservative Christianity.

Prof. Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort is Professor of Practical Theology at VU University Amsterdam. His main areas of interest are pastoral theology and psychology, psychology of religion, narrative approaches, trauma, and popular culture.

Dr. René Erwich is Associate Professor of Practical Theology at ETF Leuven and Associate Professor Faith in Context at Ede Christian University of Applied Sciences. His main expertise is in pastoral theology and various contexts of faith practices in churches and religious education.

Prof. Dr. Sylvain De Bleeckere is Emeritus Professor at Hasselt University (department of Architecture and Art). His expertise is in philosophy, theology and cultural studies. He will address Stranger than Fiction as parable and explore the relation between Word and Image in this film.

Biographies

Registration Participation fees Normall tariff Student tariffFull program € 42,50 € 22,50Symposium only € 37,50 € 20,00Film screening only € 7,50 € 5,00

Register for this symposium through www.etf.edu/en/event/film until September 29, 2016

Evangelische Theologische FaculteitSint-Jansbergsesteenweg 95-97, 3001 Leuven t +32 16 20 08 95 m info@etf.eduw www.etf.edu

Film as Parable: the Value of Film

for Theology, Church and Education

Following the promotion of Rinke van Hell (June 2016),

the Department of Practical Theology of the ETF Leuven and the Amsterdam Center for the Study of Lived Religion

of the VU University Amsterdam are happy to invite you to a symposium.

In her empirical research, Van Hell explores the function of film-as-parable

for orthodox Protestant film viewers. She concludes that film can be

a powerful instrument for religious identity construction of Christian

viewers.

During the symposium the implications of film-as-parable for practical

theology, religious education and churches in a plural society will be

explored from various angles.

United States 2006, 113 min., English spoken, Comedy/Romancedir.: Marc Forster / cast: Will Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson

Will Ferrell stars as Harold Crick, a lonely IRS agent whose mundane existence is trans-formed when he hears a mysterious voice narrating his life. With the help of Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman), Harold discovers he’s the main character in a novel-in-progress and that the voice belongs to Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), an eccentric author famous for kill-ing her main characters in creative ways. Harold must quickly track down Eiffel and stop her before she conjures up a way to finish him off.

Program Symposium11.30 Registration and sandwiches

12.30 Welcome and introduction by Dr. Jack Barentsen

12.45 Dr. Rinke van Hell Film-as-Parable: the Implications for Theology, Church and Religious Education

13.30 Dr. Johan Roeland Gagaism and its Paradoxes: Towards a Critical Practical Theology of Popular Culture

14.00 Break

14.30 Prof. Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort Film and Pastoral Care: Making Worlds

15.15 Dr. René Erwich Vikings: a Practical-Theological Account of the Clash of Religions and its Meaning in Theological Training

16.00 Break

16.15 Expert panel on the value of film and popular culture in Evangelical or Orthodox Protestant Churches

17.00 Conclusions by Dr. Jack Barentsen

17.30 Dinner

You can attend both symposium and film screening or choose one of both activities.

Program Film Screening19.00 Film screening

‘Stranger than Fiction’ with introduction and discussion (in Dutch*) by Prof. Dr. Sylvain De Bleeckere (Emeritus Professor UHasselt)

from21.45 Drinks in student lounge

(not incl. in price) * translation to English available