A Call to fill Footprints
I am a storyteller, and I want to tell great stories on the screen - stories of redemption, conversion, of the human condition for better or worse, and of hope. I want to follow in the giant footsteps of Jesus, who was a mesmerizing storyteller.
Stories are the most powerful way of communicating with people, and, as is the case in great stories, communing with them.
Our Master of the Order, Timothy Radcliffe, in his book,
Sing a New Song: The Christian Vocation, says:
"Every culture lives by stories, narratives that shape our perception of the world and of ourselves, which tell us what it means to be human."And, of all the mediums of storytelling, movies are the most powerful.
Yet, not many of us Dominicans have been involved in movie-making.
As an Order of Preachers, it seems to me that we should have been in the forefront of the movie-making business, along with the Paulists, Jesuits, and Holy cross Brothers to mention a few. For whatever reason, we haven't. Actually, the Church as a whole has not been very involved in the most powerful communications industry - an industry that impacts the lives of millions of people.I strongly believe that we - the Church and the Order - need to be present in the movie-making industry, especially to the men and women involved in the film and television industry. Our task should not be to "convert" people to Catholicism or even to Christianity. Our call, however, should be one of life-giving conversion, such as conversion from intolerance to tolerance, from violence to non-violence, from self-centeredness to caring for others, and from hopelessness to hope.
Of course, there are many ways for us to be present to those in the "industry." My way is simply to be a storyteller, a filmmaker, who tfies to make the best movies possible. I know I will fail with some attempts and succeed with others. But, most important of all, I will be living out what I know in my heart God has called me to be - a storyteller.
My challenge is to be unafraid and to take the necessary risks of such a call. Like a child on the beach, I must place my tiny feet on the gigantic footsteps of one who has gone before me. The key is to invite others to walk with me. I can't do it alone; the footprints are too large for one person to fill.
Armando P. Ibáñez
