By Joseph C. D’Alessandro
Slow fade up from black. We hear the shuffling of feet and hushed whispers interrupted by the voice of a lecturer discussing the frescoes on the wall depicting the life and death of John the Baptist. The camera pulls back to reveal a group of exchange students looking up at the image of John”s head on a platter. The sight is familiar, yet also wonderful, dramatic, inspirational, and mysterious.
This was the scene when I began my journey toward God. Much like the illiterate masses of the 15th century, I was ushered into a relationship with the living God by the visual arts.
The frescoes lined the walls of the Florentine chapel like Sunday comics; they precisely captured pivotal pieces of time, sculpted out of God”s story with power, beauty, and truth.
RENAISSANCE OF FAITH
As the American son of Italian immigrants, I often felt like a stranger in a strange land. There, in Italy for the first time, I found something strangely familiar, and I finally felt as though I was home.
I was studying the art and history of the Italian Renaissance at the University de Siena during my sophomore year. I thought adding international studies would be a good way to round out my plans for a business degree. I wanted to widen my perspective, broaden my horizons, and””in the land of my people””perhaps discover who I was. I found much more than I expected.
The paintings, frescoes, and sculptures of Bible stories sparked a renaissance of faith in me. The 15th-century emphasis on the visual narratives opened my mind and heart to the Word of God and the power of the visual arts. Day after day I was surprised by the images that introduced me to the wonder of God”s story. The Bible characters and events were familiar, yet altogether different, now that I was seeing them anew.
My semester of study in Siena was immediately followed by a difficult period of wrestling and realization. Who was this God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Who were David, John the Baptist, and Saul of Tarsus? Was Jesus who he said he was? This majestic drama aroused my heart. I wanted to go deeper into God”s story. I immersed myself in the Bible, and my life changed forever.
Upon returning from Siena I had a new faith and also a desire for a new vocation. It occurred to me if Renaissance artists like DaVinci, Michaelangelo, Giotto, Raphael, and Tintoretto were alive today they likely would be filmmakers. I decided to drop out of business studies to pursue a career in film.
I started out by interning, working for free on any film project that would let me hang around. Slowly I worked my way up through various crafts, thanks to the help of many generous craftsmen who mentored me along the way. Eventually I learned how to tell a story through the art of cinematography. Since 1984 I have participated in nearly 80 films and numerous television projects. I have worked with some very gifted storytellers, actors, directors, producers, and visual artists.
ALMOST MIRACULOUS
The filmmaking community has learned how to do something that seems almost miraculous. Through film they stir in their audience all the same emotional responses that a powerful painting or sculpture evokes. But filmmakers also add the elements of music, drama, dance, architecture, painting, and literature. They provide a new and even more powerful way to bring one”s focus on the glory of God”s creation, sometimes without even realizing it!
Christ”s story is often whole or in part, consciously or unconsciously, part of these filmed stories. Whenever we see and hear a story of redemption, we are experiencing the never-ending story of God revealing himself to us. These come with several themes: selfless love, the innocent slain, forgiveness undeserved, victory over the giants, obedience in the midst of great temptation, the return of the king, or even the rescues of the princess bride.
Many within the church are beginning to answer the call of Christ to work with this amazing art form. Through the use of film in small groups or a sermon, Christians can have a significant impact. For instance, if a church did a small group study on The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieslowski”s award-winning 10-part film series on the Ten Commandments, a new generation of wanderers like me, who are far from home, could be ushered into a relationship with the living God.
One church has taken things a step further. Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, has created three feature films, including Facing the Giants and Fireproof. Those two films used church volunteers and were made for very low budgets, yet were quite successful in theaters across America.
Imagine if churches decided to use film the way the 15th-century church used painting. What untapped resources of power, beauty, and truth could be carved out of the Word of God?
If the church would again take a lead in the arts, this time by producing great films, we might create something fearful, wonderful, dramatic, inspirational, mysterious, and familiar. Yes, familiar, yet altogether different.
Joe D”Alessandro has freelanced in the film industry since 1982, primarily working on long form, narrative, dramatic projects for the cinema and television. He works now primarily as a camera operator and occasionally as a director of photography. The Blind Side was one of his recent projects. In addition, Joe has taught cinematography workshops and courses for Eastman Kodak and at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
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