Directed by Gordon Quinn, Gerald Temaner • Documentary • 1968 • 33 minutes
Two young nuns explore Chicago, from a supermarket to the Art Institute and in front of churches on Sunday, confronting people with the crucial question, "Are you happy?" They meet a lonely girl, a happy mother, another nun, lovers, hippie musicians, a lady sociologist, a professor, and even actor Stepin Fetchit. The answers they get range in sincerity and depth: "Happiness is the absence of fear," "Avoiding people," "Raspberries," "Joy in knowing Christ." The humor and sadness of these honest encounters lift the film beyond its interview format to a serious and moving inquiry into the concerns of contemporary man, and also into the circumstances in which men will actually express their concerns.
Up Next in Beyond Belief
-
The Reverend
Directed by Nick Canfield • Documentary • With Vince Anderson, Questlove, Jaleel Bunton, Kyp Malone • 2022 • 86 minutes
The Reverend is a raucous concert film as well as an intimate portrait of Reverend Vince Anderson's spiritual and musical journey. After coming to New York in the 90's to enter...
-
Final Vows
Directed by Victoria Westover • Documentary • 2024 • 84 minutes
Final Vows chronicles the life of a cloistered order of nuns at Santa Rita Abbey, a Cistercian monastery in the high desert of Arizona. The nuns, who take a vow that binds them to remain in the community they entered for life, candi...
-
No Dinosaurs In Heaven
Directed by Greta Schiller • Documentary • With Dr. Eugene Scott • 2010 • 53 minutes
No Dinosaurs in Heaven is a film essay that examines the hijacking of science education by religious fundamentalists, threatening the separation of church and state and dangerously undermining scientific literacy.
