Summer in the Forest

Showings

Mary D. Fisher Theatre Thu, Jul 5, 2018 4:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Thu, Jul 5, 2018 7:00 PM
Film Info
Event Type:Documentary Feature
Release Year:2017
Run Time:108 minutes
Production Country:United Kingdom/France
Original Language:English
Trailer:https://youtu.be/wLf1rx2RPrE
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Randall Wright

Description

A life of devotion. A place of peace. A world of difference.

“Summer in the Forest” explores the life and work of Catholic author and philosopher Jean Vanier. It traces Vanier’s activism and faith from wartime to present day and reveals to us the universal need for love, community and companionship.

Like countless others, Philippe, Michel, Andre and Patrick were labeled “idiots”, locked away and forgotten in violent asylums until the 1960’s. The young philosopher Jean Vanier took a stand and secured their release — the first time in history that anyone had beaten the system.

Together they created L’Arche, a community for people with disabilities, a commune at the edge of a beautiful forest near Paris. And with that, a quiet revolution was born.

Now in his 80s and still at L'Arche, Jean has discovered something that most of us have forgotten: what it is to be human, to be foolish, and to be happy.

“Summer in the Forest” invites us to abandon the rat race and forge new friendships. Amid the ancient trees, Philippe, Patrick, Jean and the others welcome us into their lives. If there are rules to break, they will be broken and if there is a truth to be told, they will tell it.

“Joyously uplifting!” — Daily Mail

“A film full of laughter and joy.” — Christina Patterson, Guardian

“An extremely important film,” Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Chief Art Critic, The Times

“Reaches out to one’s sense of what it is to be human.” — Katie Hollier, Mencap

“Revolutionary… a tender-hearted documentary.” — Daily Express

“Above all, a peaceful vision.” — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian