An evening to remember at theHorcynus Festival of Cape Peloro which hosted a link with director Martin Scorsese on the occasion of the presentation of the book “Dialogues on Faith”.
In this volume, the Oscar-winning filmmaker engages with the Jesuit Antonio Spadaro, retracing his career and also focusing on the role of faith in his private and professional life.
The event, organized in collaboration with La Feltrinelli of Messina, saw the participation of Spadaro, theologian, essayist, literary critic, former director of the magazine “La Civiltà Cattolica” and currently undersecretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture.
The meeting was also attended by Gaetano Giunta of the MeSSInA Foundation, Franco Jannuzzi, artistic director of the HF and Scilli Piraino, head of the training and educational area of the MeSSInA Foundation, who asked a series of questions to Scorsese and Spadaro.
The American director, who has Italian origins, in his intense speech spoke about his relationship with faith since he was a child, with his childhood spent in Little Italy in a particularly difficult area, stating that “the only place where I could find a sense of protection and peace was the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Outside those walls everything was very different, as much as my parents tried to make me live a healthy and protective childhood. I felt, however, that faith could not find space only within the walls of the Church, but also had to shape everyday life. Evangelical love had to be re-proposed in every context of everyday life, even if it was difficult”.
“In my own life journey,” Scorsese continued, “I had moments in which I questioned faith, which I then regained by talking about it in my films. After years, I understood that the fundamental aspect is to have faith, because there can be moments of doubt and difficulty, but it is a journey of continuous research in which you have to be able to keep this faith alive.”
Messina native Spadaro, who in his speech highlighted that this with the Horcynus Festival was the only connection Scorsese has taken part in since the book was published, said: “I tried in my conversations with Martin to understand how his view of reality was formed both from a human point of view and as a director. In these 8 years of knowing him he has deeply impressed me and changed me with his incredible vision of faith and life. Priests and gangsters have formed Scorsese, who is an artist who has a lot to say to our time, as he is capable of saying a word of grace within dynamics of violence that he illustrates very well and that have roots in his childhood”.
“In his films I have always been struck by the constant ambiguity of the characters, because he does not paint a world in black and white, but the conscience enters into conflict with itself, a continuous tension between good and evil and it is a real gymnastics of the spirit. He is a great director pursued by the tenderness and compassion of Christ”, concluded Spadaro.
Martin Scorsese also spoke about the theme of violence present in his films, highlighting how “it has been a constant element in my life, which has led me to think about the nature of the human being. I believe that it is important to show violence, since it is part of our nature. I also represent it to think about how we can evolve and improve ourselves through compassionate and loving behaviors. In my life I have had the gift of being able to do something that is art and creation. My work, which is a true spiritual act, is a prayer and a grace”.
Final standing ovation for the great director, particularly moved, who at the end of his speech declared that he feels a bond with Sicily given his origins: “I would like to live long enough to be able to tour it all and be part of this territory. I consider this land an integral part of my identity”.
At the end of the meeting, the film “Silence” (2016) by Martin Scorsese was screened, which tells the story of two Portuguese missionaries who in the 17th century undertake a dangerous journey to Japan to search for their missing mentor and spread the Christian gospel.