An animated movie is first to be nominated for best short film at the eight annual Catholic Film Festival, Mirabile Dictu.
Message of the Animals is a nine-minute film which uses Christian symbols to send a strong message about saving the environment. Created by Elke Markopoulos with the technical skills of Rainer Ludwigs, the animation encourages the audience to realize how their actions affect Mother Earth.
Message of the Animals is a collaboration among people belonging to different denominations. He is a Protestant, Markopoulos is a Greek Orthodox, and Tetyana Chernyavska is a Russian Orthodox.
There are no dialogues nor lively music in the short film. Markopoulos wanted viewers to pay attention to the animation and analyze “the poetical and associative impressions and symbols.”
“I wanted to bring forward the urgent need of all creation, in this case especially the one of the Animals,” wrote Markopoulos in an email to Crux.
The World Wildlife Fund revealed that more than 10,000 animals are extinct every year because of human’s ill-treatment of nature.
Markopoulos said Earth is God’s greatest gift to mankind. In turn, people must do its share in caring for and protecting nature.
Message of the Animals uses references from the Bible, including Noah’s Ark and the Annunciation. The end of the film encourages the viewers to connect all the messages behind the pictures shown and derive the lesson on taking steps in saving the environment.
One of the film’s creators, Rainer Ludwigs, said animation is a great medium for communication. It transcends faiths and beliefs.
He added that Message of the Animals is a collaboration among people belonging to different denominations. He is a Protestant, Markopoulos is a Greek Orthodox, and Tetyana Chernyavska is a Russian Orthodox.
The film lets the audience think about the outcome if everybody, regardless of culture, come together and save the planet.
Mirabile Dictu is an annual Catholic film festival that promotes positive values and lifestyles. For this year, more than 1,000 entries were submitted from all over the world.
The president of the festival, Liana Marabini, wants movies as a vehicle for teaching about God. “If a movie transforms even one soul, it means we have reached our goal.”
Sources:
Crux
Rome Reports
