Milo Rau's film will be screened at the "Giornate degli Autori" at Venice IFF.
What would Jesus preach in the 21st century? Who would his apostles be? With "The New Gospel" Milo Rau and his team return to the origins of the gospel and stage it as a passion play for an entire population. Together with Yvan Sagnet, a former farm worker and activist from Cameroon, Milo Rau creates a new gospel for the 21st century: A manifesto of solidarity for the poorest, a cinematic uprising for a fairer, more humane world.
Numerous refugees, activists and citizens of Matera, the European Capital of Culture 2019 have participated in the film, as well as Marcello Fonte (European Film Prize for Best Actor 2018), Enrique Irazoqui (actor of Jesus in Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Il Vangelo secondo Matteo"), Maia Morgenstern (actress of Mary in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ") and the singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela.
Yvan Sagnet, born 1985 in Douala (Cameroon), came to Italy in 2008 to study, where he initially earned his living as a farmhand. In 2011 he was the spokesman for the agricultural workers' strike in Nardò (Puglia), which led to the first trial in Europe for slavery and the conviction of twelve entrepreneurs for "caporalato" (mafia-like structures). Sagnet was knighted by the Italian Republic and is the founder of the international anti-Caporalato association NO-CAP.
Milo Rau, born 1977 in Bern (CH), is a director, author and, since the season of 2018/19, the artistic director of NTGent (Belgium) . Critics call him the "most influential" (Die Zeit), "most awarded" (Le Soir), "most interesting" (De Standaard), "most controversial" (La Repubblica), "most scandalous" (New York Times) or "most ambitious" (The Guardian) artist of our time. Since 2002 he has published over 50 plays, films, books and actions.
In "The New Gospel", Sagnet and Rau together create a biblical story that could hardly be more topical in terms of the background of the refugee crisis in Europe and the worldwide Black Lives Matter movement. With the "Revolt of Dignity", they have created a political campaign that campaigns for decent living and working conditions for refugees and mostly illegal farm workers in Italy.
Director Milo Rau says about the film: "For me, the important thing was not only to adapt the word of the Bible, but its content: the fight of all men for dignity. In that sense, „The New Gospel“ has indeed become a biblical film adaptation for our times with a cast that is diverse in the best sense: Next to international stars and politicians, activists, agricultural workers and normal citizens play the leading roles. Mary Magdalene is a leading figure in our film, some of the apostles are female and - for the most part - the followers of "our" Jesus are of Muslim faith. But what makes me most happy is that our film has made a real effect. As a consequence of the "Revolt of Dignity", as you can see at the end of the film, the first "houses of dignity" were founded around Matera: Houses where the previously homeless protagonists of our film can now live in dignity and self-determination. And this with the support of the Catholic Church!"
His companion and Jesus actor Yvan Sagnet says: "When man loses his dignity, he becomes an animal, an object. So the "Revolt of Dignity" is about man's effort to remain human. Everyone who stands up for his own dignity and well-being fights for the dignity and well-being of all people. Thus the sentence in the gospels can be understood on a religious level. But we can also go a step further and say: We cannot stop condemning the injustices of the world. Because if we lose this ability, we fall into barbarism. We live in times when we can no longer afford to do nothing. We must unite to fight together against the advance of evil - the demon, to use another term from the Bible."
"The New Gospel" is a German-Swiss-Italian co-production and was produced by Fruitmarket, Langfilm and the IIPM - International Institute of Political Murder in co-production with Matera 2019, ZDF in cooperation with Arte, Swiss Television SRF / SRG, Consorzio Teatri Uniti di Basilicata and Teatro di Roma. The film and the associated theatre project were supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the Federal Cultural Foundation, the European Cultural Foundation, the Zurich Film Foundation, the Federal Office of Culture (BAK), the Canton of St. Gallen Cultural Promotion, the Volkart Foundation, the Cultural Fund Suissimage and the German Film Fund.
Producers of the film are Arne Birkenstock, Olivier Zobrist and Sebastian Lemke, Thomas Eirich- Schneider is responsible for the camera, Katja Dringenberg for editing and Marco Teufen and Guido Keller for sound. The set design and costumes are by Anton Lukas and the music by Elia Redinger and the famous Italian singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela.
"The New Gospel" will be premiered as a special event in the framework of the Giornate degli Autori. Director, actors and team will be present and available for interviews. The exact screening dates will be announced soon by the Giornate degli Autori.
