Talk on Catholic Filmmaking: Using Visual Media to Spread the Faith

Catholic

Young adults

St Wilfrid's Hall, The Oratory

About This Event

In this talk, Catholic film producer Stefano Mazzeo will speak about his experience making films and documentaries, mainly for EWTN, over the past 14 years. He will discuss the Church’s use of various media over the generations, his own philosophy as a filmmaker, and some of the opportunities and challenges that currently exist in using visual media to bring the Gospel and the teachings of the Church into the public square. The talk will be illustrated with a number of video clips and will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A. All young Catholics are warmly invited to attend, especially those working in creative fields, or with skills in these areas. On the day, the doors to the hall will open at around 10:45am. St Wilfrid's Hall is accessible through the Forecourt of Oratory House. The talk will begin at 11am ad will last around an hour, followed by a chance for Q&A and discussion. Afterwards light refreshments will be available in St Joseph's Hall for those who wish to stay. Speaker Bio: Stefano Edward Mazzeo is an English Catholic filmmaker based in Cornwall. He has worked in various genres of the media all his professional life, starting at the Cornishman Newspaper, Penzance, in the 70s. He attended Plymouth College of Art (print studies) and then Bournemouth College of Art and Design, where he studied Technical Graphics. His degree is in Humanities, with specialisms in TV and Film History and production. He also had a higher national certificate in Theology. For the last fourteen years, he has produced TV movies and miniseries, mainly for EWTN. These have been historical docudramas regarding the history of the Catholic Church. Early on in his work for EWTN, he was commissioned to make miniseries on The Crusades, The Inquisition, and The “Reformation”; these were known as the “Black Legend” Trilogy. He also made other series, one on the history of the Catholic Church in Wales and an eight-episode series called the Message of Fatima to celebrate the centenary of the Apparitions of Our Lady in 2017. His last two productions have moved more towards the one-off TV movies with The Message of Lourdes and The Curé of Ars. He aims to make films about Catholics and the Catholic Church that are either neglected by the mainstream media or not given complete or favorable treatment, such as the Crusades, as in his award-winning Crusades miniseries. The films are used for evangelisation, education, and entertainment. Mazzeo believes that the Church and her history are compelling and entertaining. His films and miniseries have been shown worldwide on EWTN, TV Lux in Slovakia, Croatia, South Korea, South America, Africa, and India.