By Peter T. Chattaway

It’s awards season on the movie beat, and that means it’s the time of year when, among other things, the people who win the little globes and statuettes take a look back at their lives and thank the people who helped them get to this point in their careers.

The closing of this newspaper may not be quite such a happy occasion, but it does give me a chance to look back at the last quarter-century and thank a few of the people who have made writing about film from a faith perspective so much fun.

First, thanks to Lloyd Mackey for starting this paper in the early 1980s, and to Ron Reed for writing an arts column that caught my attention when I was still in junior high. I can remember calling Lloyd in 1986 and asking if he had any interest in film reviews written from a Christian point of view. Following our chat, I think I might have even written a sample review – but I can’t remember whether I ever submitted it.

I did, however, write a letter to the editor in 1988, commenting on the controversy over The Last Temptation of Christ. Debra Fieguth was editing the paper then, and it was she who published my first bona fide article later that year – a review of A Cry in the Dark, an Australian film about a Seventh-Day Adventist accused of killing her baby. So, thank you, Debra.

I started going to the University of British Columbia around that time and got distracted by my homework, so I stopped submitting articles for a while. But in the summer of 1992, I got a call from Flyn Ritchie, who had recently become the editor of this paper – and remembered the work I had done for Debra. He asked if I would be interested in writing some more reviews. So, I did – and I’ve been doing it more or less non-stop ever since.

The nearly two decades that have passed since I got that call have been an adventure, to say the least. Flyn not only encouraged coverage of the arts; he also pushed me, and others, to look for Christian involvement in every aspect of the news – from the World AIDS Conference in 1996, which several Christian groups participated in, to the various political controversies that emerged at the civic, provincial and federal levels.

Along the way, I got to interview filmmakers and philosophers, musicians and historians. The mid to late 1990s were a time of deep soul-searching, for me, and being able to speak to so many people on so many topics had a profound effect on my spiritual growth.

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I wouldn’t be the person (or Christian) that I am, without the opportunities that BC Christian News gave me – or the example that Flyn set for us. So, thank you, Flyn.

My writing, both here and elsewhere, has slowed down in the last few years, as I have become a stay-at-home dad to three very active pre-schoolers. But the one constant, all this time, has been this film column. I had hoped to get back into the swing of things when the kids were all in school – but alas, I will have to do so somewhere else.

* * *

Before I sign off, I want to mention a few things.

First, in my last column, I indicated that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was not doing very well at the box office – and this was certainly true at the time. However, since then, it has shown sturdier legs than I expected; and as of this writing, it has grossed over $358 million worldwide – which is not that far behind Prince Caspian’s $419 million.

Given that Dawn Treader was made on a considerably tighter budget than Caspian, these numbers may bode well for the Narnia franchise’s future. There may yet be an audience big enough to justify another movie – based on, say, The Silver Chair. As always, we shall see.

Second, if you missed Of Gods and Men when it played in a couple of festivals last year, you will get another chance to see it at the end of this month – when it returns to Vancouver for its regular theatrical run. The film, which concerns several French monks who were abducted by an Islamist militia in Algeria in 1996, opens February 25.

Finally, if you’re in the mood to talk about movies on February 28, one day after the Oscars have been broadcast, then come down to the Delta Lion Pub for our regular monthly recording of the Kindlings Muse podcast. As often happens, the panel will consist of host Bill Hogg, filmmaker Kevin Miller, sociologist Allyson Jule and myself.

And if you’re reading this issue of the paper when it’s brand, brand new, then come down to the pub January 31 for a discussion of Brett McCracken’s book, Hipster Christianity.

For more details – or to listen to older podcasts – be sure to visit TheKindlings.ca.

– filmchatblog.blogspot.com

February 2011