"Milagros,” movie on mother who prays to John Paul II wins film festival

Madrid, Spain, Nov 8, 2007 / 10:01 am

The short film “Milagros,” produced by Spanish director Juan Garcia del Santo, won the top prize at the international religious film festival, “Religion Today,” held in Rome.  Among the members of the jury that selected the winners were Cristoph Zannussi and Enzo Sisti, producers of Gangs of New York and The Passion of the Christ.

According to the Spanish daily “La Razon,” “Milagros” recounts the experience—based on a true story—of Ana, a paraplegic girl whose father (played by the director) is an atheist university professor.  Her mother is a woman of profound faith who prays to John Paul II for the healing of her daughter, “which leads to a marriage conflict because of the father’s skepticism.”

Speaking about his character, Del Santo explained that he is treated as someone who “wonders about the meaning of life, between the rational and the spiritual.”  The film was financed by Del Santo, who said “Milagros” is a personal initiative in which Spanish director Javier Figuero of the University of San Pablo also collaborated.

The film, he said, seeks to show “the grandeur and beauty of the mystery of faith and of spirituality,” as well as “to explain the inexplicable” through real characters, using the example of Pope John Paul II and the miraculous healing of the French nun Marie Simon Pierre.