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l ENGLAND
— This month sees the official release of a feature film telling the
story of Jesus in a new way. Released on March 31, The
Miracle Maker is a 90-minute animated film produced by British and
Russian animators. The same collaborators have already brought two successful
series, Testament — the Animated Bible and Shakespeare: the
Animated Tales to BBC television. The script was written by leading Christian
scriptwriter Murray Watts. It is based largely on Luke’s Gospel and tells
the story of Jesus through the eyes of Jairus’s daughter. Extensive research
has ensured the greatest accuracy, say the film’s makers. Ralph Fiennes
provides the voice of Jesus; other voice parts include Richard E Grant, Ian
Holm, Miranda Richardson and Anthony Sher. “The enormous success of Testament
had already convinced us of the power of animation to retell the Bible story,”
said the Rev Dr Martin Robinson, Director of Mission and Theology at the British
and Foreign Bible Society. The Society is encouraging churches to support
the release of the film so that it has a two- or three-week run in national
cinemas. BBC Education is developing teaching materials based around the film
for use in schools. The Welsh-language version of the film has already been
released to great acclaim. (WR 349/IB1 - 03.00)
Kids
Claim Cash on Demandl SOUTH AFRICA — Shoppers were surprised recently to be approached by youngsters and asked to empty their purses for the Bible cause. But this was no adult hold-up, it was children of the Sunday School of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Upington, Northern Cape, (right). They were staging a fake hold-up as part of their fundraising effort for the Bible Society. Of course, they had checked out the plan beforehand with businesses in the town and people soon understood the game. In this way, they raised a total of R2,100 (US $348). Sunday Schools have raised more R50,000 ($8,324) which will help the Bible Society produce 3,500 more Bibles. (WR 349/IB2 - 03.00)
l PARIS — Theatre director Robert Hossein is known to French theatregoers for putting on spectacular productions on a scale better suited to large stadiums than ordinary Paris theatres.The last show he produced took General de Gaulle as its subject, ran for four months and was seen by more than 400,000 people. His latest project, due to open in Paris on April 7, is entitled ‘Jesus – The Resurrection’. Its venue will be the Palais des Sports, located in the Porte de Versailles. Although the original idea was his own, it has been taken to heart by the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Lustiger, and has the “complete moral support” of the French Roman Catholic Church. The casting of the 12 apostles is complete but Mr Hossein is still looking for the actor to play Jesus and rehearsals have yet to begin. Those in the know, however, are confident that it will be a very different production from ‘A Man Called Jesus’, which he produced with great success in 1983, and will by no means be just for a Christian audience. (WR 349/IB3 - 03.00)