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The Blinking Madonna & Other Miracles
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Release: 1996
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 60 min.
Producer: Beth Harrington
Co-Producer: Lucia Small
Director: Beth Harrington
Writer: Beth Harrington
Camera: Kyle Kibbe
Sound Design: Matthew Weiner
Editor: Jacques Weissgerber
Distributor: to be announced
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Synopsis
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After
recording an Italian-American religious festival in Boston's North End with her
camcorder, filmmaker Beth Harrington's neighbors tell her they see a miracle on
the videotape - a statue of the Virgin Mary blinking its eyes.
To Harrington's
amazement, and in spite of her lapsed religious beliefs, she must admit that
her life has been transformed by the event. And when the press gets a hold of
the story what ensues is a funny and touching look at what it means to believe
and to belong.
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Background
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On the heels of both Ave Maria and The Moveable Feast, I figured it was time
to move on to a new topic. Enough with the feasts already!
But I guess the
Madonna wasn't done with me yet. In the summer of 1991, the events depicted
in The Blinking Madonna & Other Miracles came to pass and I found myself once
again dealing with the topics of ethnicity, community and spirituality...only
this time, it was very personal. The distance I'd enjoyed in the name of
"ethnography" was no longer possible.
Making this film made me realize that
with filmmaking - as with life in general - you can run but you can't hide.
This film is still the most rewarding creative experience I've had.
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Reviews
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"A gem! Hilarious! Remarkably rich...an affecting combination of soul-bearing and
storytelling."
- The Boston Herald
"...[a] sophisticated mosaic of television news clips, real-life videotape and actors
reinventing Boston's North End...worth catching for its mordant sense of how a
child of the 1950s creeps toward an acceptance of her past."
- The New York Times
"...funny, touching and winningly personal..."
- The Chicago Sun-Times
"A crowd-pleasing hit...Federico Fellini meets Sleepless in Seattle."
- Boston Phoenix
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Awards
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New England Film Festival Award for Conceptual Originality
Northampton Film Festival, Best of Fest Critics' Award
Worldfest Houston, Gold Award for Experimental Comedy
Sinking Creek (Nashville) Film Festival, Best Documentary
Southern Circuit Selection
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