“Chosen embodies the power
of the cinematic medium.
It transcends physical and cultural boundaries
in order to bring together worlds apart. ...
[One] can visit this world
through the beautiful trust
Reese has found with the nuns.”
[ 2.5-minute trailer: bit.ly/ChosenthefilmTrailer ]
where to WATCH
upcoming Television broadcast
EWTN will broadcast a 60-minute edited version of Chosen the week of August 18-25, 2019.
The airings will be on each English-language satellite, in the States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Africa, India, and Asia Pacific.
Author and Director Abbie Reese will be interviewed on two programs, Life on the Rock and The Bookmark.
upcoming conference screening
The 107-minute film will be screened (followed by a Q&A with Abbie) at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in San Diego, California (November 23–26, 2019).
“Star” rating — THE highest recommendation — given to chosen by library journal
Oct. 15, 2018 review:
★"Chosen: Custody of the Eyes. 107 min. Abbie Reese, Migrant Artist Prods., www.chosenthefilm.com. 2018. DVD UPC 888295694667. $250. Public performance; home use $25. RELIGION
"Independent writer and filmmaker Reese offers in video a story similar to one she told in her oral history of cloistered nuns (Dedicated to God) and much to the same effect, sensitively entering into the world of the cloistered convent. She enlists the active collaboration of a blogger who joined the Poor Clares and, with the novice mistress, filmed much of the life behind the walls. Viewers see the environment from the perspective of the young nun as she grows in her knowledge of the community and of herself, musing on the meaning of it all. Sometimes the camera is simply attached to her as she goes about her daily tasks. Other times, there are more purposeful shots. Such an intimate portrait would rarely be allowed in a community that cherishes anonymity, but Reese had the confidence of the nuns to such an extent that viewers are allowed full access, including the playfulness, to a group of very dedicated but secluded nuns.
"VERDICT: A rare, intimate look into a life normally hidden and of a young woman who is entering into that future.—Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ"
(This) window into the world of contemplatives ...
is a one-of-a-kind film —
filling a void previously filled by Hollywood
or perceived as so mysterious that stereotypes fill by default.
Carol Coburn, PhD and Professor of Religious Studies
and Women's and Gender Studies at Avila University
Film showcase
Chosen was selected for the Los Angeles
Religious Education Congress Film Showcase
at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Director Abbie Reese was part of the
Filmmakers’ Panel moderated by Sr. Rose Pacatte, F.S.P.
(Also in the Film Showcase was Hesburgh.)
AWARDED
•) BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM BY SYDNEY WORLD FILM FESTIVAL
•) THIRD PLACE FEATURE FILM by MIRABILE DICTU – INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC FILM ASSOCIATION FESTIVAL in warsaw
•) AMBITIOUS FEATURE BY FESTIVAL ANGAELICA
AN OFFICIAL SELECTION at film festivals
ON FOUR CONTINENTS
• RIGA PASAULES FILM FESTIVAL, LATVIA (EUROPEAN PREMIERE, WORLD PREMIERE)
• THE 45TH EDITION OF ATHENS INTERNATIONAL FILM + VIDEO FESTIVAL (USA PREMIERE)
• GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL (UK PREMIERE)
• SYDNEY WORLD FILM FESTIVAL (AUSTRALIA PREMIERE)
• LANUS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ARGENTINA (SOUTH AMERICA PREMIERE)
• THE 31ST ANNUAL PÄRNU INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY AND ANTHROPOLOGY FILM FESTIVAL, ESTONIA
• THE 32ND INTERNATIONAL CATHOLIC FILM AND MULTIMEDIA FESTIVAL, KSF NIEPOKALANA 2017, POLAND
• FESTIVAL ANGAELICA, FORMERLY THE COLUMBIA GORGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, BIG BEAR LAKE, CALIFORNIA
• MEXICO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
THEATRICAL SCREENINGS
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: October 27
Doc Films | Max Palevsky Cinema
Sponsored by The University of Chicago Divinity School Martin Marty Center for the Public Understanding of Religion,
Professor and Medievalist Willemiena Otten moderated an audience discussion with Director Abbie Reese.
IRELAND PREMIERE: July 5
Irish Film Institute – Temple Bar, Dublin
Roger Childs, RTÉ Editor of Religious Programmes, moderated an audience discussion with Director Abbie Reese.
NORTHERN IRELAND THEATRICAL PREMIERE: July 1
Strand Arts Centre, Belfast
U.K. SCREENING: June 28
Queen's University Belfast
Dangerous Oral Histories, a joint conference of the Oral History Society and Oral History Network of Ireland
CHICAGO PREMIERE: May 25-31
Gene Siskel Film Center
Filmmaker Anahita Ghazvinizadeh and UChicago Magazine editor Laura Demanski
moderated audience discussions with Director Abbie Reese.
ROCKFORD, ILL. PREMIERE: March 18 & April 22
The Nordlof Center
(Both screenings in the 286-seat theater were sold out a week in advance.)