For many, these momentous events are marked through religious rituals. Birth can be celebrated with a baptism or a bris. An Indian marriage ceremony is as solemn and beautiful as one held in Spain. And a funeral in New Orleans is as celebratory as an Irish wake.

Sacred, a new feature-length film, explores these religious rituals around the globe from birth to death. It is a rare documentary in that there are no narrators. The lives of the subjects tell the story alone.

The film will premiere at DocNYC Film Festival on Nov. 12, and Nov. 14 at IFC Center. It will have additional premieres at festivals in Amsterdam and Tokyo in the next month.

“It’s a beautiful film and truly profound,” said the film’s producer William Baker, Ph.D., Fordham’s Claudio Acquaviva Chair and director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy, and Education at the Graduate School of Education.

Baker said that the center was intricately involved in making the film for New York’s Public Broadcasting Station (WNET/THIRTEEN). The center also commissioned Juilliard composer Edward Bilous to write and score the music and recommended Academy Award winner Thomas Lennon as director. Patrick Ryan, S.J., Fordham’s Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, served as a consultant on the film.

“We want to show how people of all faiths use their beliefs to go through life—from birth through our death,” Baker said. “There are great similarities; in a sense we’re all doing the same things.”

Lennon’s process in making the film was as diverse as its subject matter, Baker said. Lennon sourced contributions from more than 40 filmmakers and asked them to record intimate scenes from more than 25 countries. The storyline follows life’s journey from birth to death in a linear fashion, but it diverges to explore the many ways that people around the globe experience faith.

With a $3 million budget, the film was a costly project for public television, said Baker. It was largely possible because of a $1 million gift from WNET board member George O’Neal and close friend and supporter Janet Carrus.

With seven Emmy awards behind him, Baker said he knew he had to create “something special.” The film will make the festival circuit and will likely be shown in art house cinemas before being aired on PBS next year. Baker is also hoping the film can be shown on campus as well.

While Baker said the project was “gestating” for about six years, it took only two years to complete. He said the process has confirmed his belief that faith—no matter the religion—is critical to human survival.

“We know now that religion has been blamed for a lot of the problems that exist in the world, but it should be praised for helping people get though life,” he said.

The Media:
Journalism in Crisis
Sunday, April 4 | 11 p.m.
WNET Channel 13

(check local listings for other
public television stations.)

The documentary examines some of the major issues that have led to the near demise of print news–and offers possible strategies for its survival in the digital age. It contrasts the days when the nation relied on three network newscasts and a small group of correspondents, led by Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, to the modern advent of cable TV, talk radio, and blogs, which provide seemingly unlimited platforms for voices and opinions. A preview is available on thirteen.org.

William F. Baker, Ph.D., is the Claudio Aquaviva Chair and Journalist in Residence at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. In the documentary, he provides critical analysis of how instant access demands a continuous stream of new content, and as a consequence the line between “news” and “entertainment” has been blurred. The program includes interviews with on-air personalities Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and many more.

The Media: Journalism in Crisis uses footage from actual news broadcasts and features interviews with journalists and academics. The film concludes with a sobering look at the current state of print news, with unique perspectives from those working on the frontlines, including Tom Curley, president of Associated Press; Bill Keller, managing editor of The New York Times; and Andrew Meagher, content development director at Reuters. The Media: Journalism in Crisis explores how the industry has struggled to adapt for a new generation and raises the question: “if nothing in life is free, then why should news be?”

“During this time of transition, we can’t act quickly enough to preserve America’s tradition of an independent news media,” Baker says. “Newspapers and web journalism need new business models and, more important, new ways in thinking about the value of information.”

The Media: Journalism in Crisis is the centerpiece of a multifaceted project that will include a companion book, written by Neal Cortell, as well as an e-Book, audio book and DVD.