25 Oct 2008 – 26 Oct 2008
More immediately recognisable as a documentary than some of his earlier work, Seidl employs the intimacy of prayer as an entry point into revealing the everyday complaints and deepest secrets of his subjects. A camera set up in Viennese Catholic churches observes six figures as they beseech Jesus as a best friend, therapist and fortune-teller, offering intimate details that range from the mundane to the shocking. As usual, Seidl's gaze keeps a clinical distance, allowing the audience to interrogate its own reactions to the people and prayers here.
Dir Ulrich Seidl, Austria 2003, 87 mins, subtitles