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Lucas de Pádua Mendes
Gonçalves (photo),
from Goiânia, the
capital of Brazil’s
central Goiás state, is
a broadcaster and
journalist in charge of
the Communications
Department of the
state’s Spiritist
Federation. Born in a
Spiritist family, he has
been involved in a
number of events,
including video
festivals in Brasília
and Fortaleza. That is
the main subject
discussed in this
interview:
How did the idea of a
festival of Spiritist
cinema and video begin?
It all began in 2009,
when we held an event of
Spiritist broadcasters
in the state of Goiás.
After watching the film
Bezerra de Menezes,
about the great
Spiritist
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benefactor, we
got involved in
a debate on
whether
“Spiritist
cinema” is a
gender or a
theme. That was
the first of a
series of
blockbusters in
Brazilian
cinemas based on
Spiritist
themes. The year
after, we
invited
well-known film
directors and
producers,
including Oceano
Vieira, to join
us for the
exhibition of
films and
debates. We also
discussed the
potential
offered by the
Internet to help
in the
dissemination of
Spiritism. |
How often do you hold
the event? Does it
always take place in
Goiânia?
Yes, always in Goiânia,
in a public space as we
have noticed that many
people still feel
awkward to go through
the doors of a Spiritist
Centre. The event is
held annually at Cine
Ouro, a well-know arts
centre. The aim is to
get the event into the
arts calendar of the
city. We try to get
video and sound pieces
with a Spiritist theme
into the public eye. We
noticed that many
artists produced short
films, documentaries,
animations and video
clips but lacked an
event where they could
show them and talk about
them with other
producers. In events
like that, people learn,
share experiences and
form new partnerships.
Is there a way of
accessing the material
through the Internet?
Many of those videos are
on the Internet. A good
place to look is our
YouTube channel,
www.youtube.com/user/TvNAVE.
We show about 20 videos
during the festival.
They are selected
according to technical
criteria, taking also
into account the content
of their Spiritist
message. We are also
engaged in projects in
other cities of Goiás as
well as other Brazilian
states.
Do you get sponsorship
for the festival?
Some companies are
beginning to support us
– mainly some
restaurants and hotels.
But the event is
basically paid for by
the Spiritist Federation
of the State of Goiás.
It is not an expensive
event, as we make use of
public areas and get in
partnership with other
organisations to
minimise costs. The
festival always takes
place during a weekend.
The fourth edition of
the festival will be
held on August 25th
and 26th. On
Saturday night, we will
show a high profile
film, the documentary
As cartas psicografadas
por Chico Xavier,
by
director Cristiana
Grumbach (http://www.crisisprodutivas.com/ascartaspsicografadasporchicoxavier/).
On Sunday, we will have
workshops, debates and
several meetings. The
day will close with a
Festival of Videos from
various parts of the
country. The quality of
the material being
produced with a
Spiritist theme in
Brazil is amazing. It is
interesting to mention
that a tradition has
been created and groups
are now producing
original material for
the festival, even
though it doesn’t award
prizes.
What is your website and
your contacts?
Our website is
http://nave.audiovisualespirita.org/
and we are developing a
portal (http://portal.audiovisualespirita.org/)
aimed at hosting sites
of groups dedicated to
the production of
Spiritist films and
videos. We need to join
our efforts and find the
best ways of different
groups to cooperate with
one another, in terms of
joint production and
distribution. The
potential for using
audio and video to help
the dissemination is
huge. Those resources
allow us to reach many
people simultaneously in
different locations.
That is a powerful tool
to disseminate our
Christian message.
What are the main
challenges you face in
the festival?
The festival relies on
the work of volunteers.
I believe the main
challenge is to
conciliate our efforts
to carry out all the
other activities we have
with the festival, which
becomes bigger every
year. And we must make
sure we keep the same
standards of quality. It
is with great joy anyway
that we serve Christ and
help disseminate this
message of light! The
effort is paid off every
year when we feel we
have fulfilled our
duty!
What has been the impact
of the event?
We are gradually getting
the support from the
media and the increasing
participation of non-Spiritists,
which for us is very
satisfying, as the event
provides an opportunity
to disseminate the
teachings. There are
more and more videos
available and the
quality of the material
has been improving every
year. We have learned at
every edition of the
festival and hope to be
able to carry on
bringing interesting
themes to be discussed
in productive debates
that can have a real
impact for those
involved in the
production of Spiritist
material.
Would you like to add
anything to what you
have said?
Just to say that the
event is organised by
the Spiritist Federation
of Goiás, FEEGO (http://feego.org.br)
and NAVE, Núcleo de
Audiovisual Espírita
(Centre of Spiritist
Audio and Video). NAVE
is a group of people who
work mostly in the
media. We have a common
interest and goal, which
is the dissemination of
Spiritism through the
TV, the cinema and the
Internet. Another NAVE
group was set up in the
Brazilian capital,
Brasília, and we have
encouraged people in
other parts of the
country to begin their
own NAVE.
