Grand Inquisitor to Screen at Studio 207
October 8, 2008 8:00 p.m Studio 207 will be screening the Chicago premiere of The Grand Inquisitor 23 min (USA, 2007) a cubist, satirical update of Dostoevsky’s famous fable featuring a right-wing webnews pundit who confronts the Second Coming in an election year. Music by Paul Miller, aka 'DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid.' Tony Torn and Ruth Margraff will attend the screening with special guests TBA. There will be a discussion following the film and a post screening party featuring music by Bullnettle: Call 773.292.9261 for more info.
The Grand Inquisitor is inspired by the famous fable from Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, which has been cited by Laura Bush as her favorite work of literature. This updated version features a visionary African-American leader known as "The One" who is pilloried by a state-controlled media as a false prophet and an Antichrist. It was featured at the Chashama Film Festival May 29-Jun 1, 2008 and the Barramundi Café Feb 5, 2007 in New York City.
Tony Torn (son of famous actor Rip Torn) conceived the miniseries along with screenwriter Ruth Margraff in response to the presidential election of 2004, which was widely thought to have been decided by an unprecedented turnout from right wing, evangelical Christians. Torn states “At no time during the film's long gestation period did we have a possible Obama candidacy in mind, although he makes a cameo appearance in a opening sequence (created late in post-production). We simply wanted to explore the spectacle of a hypocritical religious power, forced to accept a messiah in a form abhorrent to its racist hegemony.”
At the time the series was released in late 2007, the Grand Inquisitor was admired for its dark humor and kaleidoscopic / cubist visual style. As political commentary, artists on the left felt the film came too late to the table. "No one cares about the evangelicals any more" Torn was told by a politico-blog junkie pal. "They can't even agree on a candidate. They are no longer a factor." Torn used to claim that any connection between "The One" from The Grand Inquisitor and Barack Obama was at first simply coincidence, or at best a fascinating example of synchronicity at work. But looking at McCain's recent ad and Oprah’s citing of Obama as “the One” though the lens of The Grand Inquisitor, you might see something far more troubling, and dangerous, than mere satire at the expense of Barack Obama'svanity.
Tony Torn Directors Notes:
THE GRAND INQUISITOR is a five-part film updating Dostoevsky's mystical fable to a future, Fox network style reality. The second coming has arrived in the form of a radical African-American messiah, and the Network/Church/Government is seen in the teaser looking through auditions for a more acceptable replacement Jesus that they can rush into the marketplace to offset the disruptive influence of the 'false prophet'.
In the original story, from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Christ returns at the height of the Inquisition, to great celebration, but when The Grand Inquisitor orders the people to throw Christ into jail, such is the authority of the Inquisitor that the people instantly turn on Jesus.
The Inquisitor visits Jesus in the cell and in a nutshell, he tells him he recognizes him as the true Christ, but will nonetheless burn him as a heretic, to protect a Church which has vastly improved on his original, “flawed” message. In response, Jesus kisses the Grand Inquisitor on the lips, and the GI lets him go. ‘The kiss burned in his heart’ writes Dostoevsky, ‘but he held onto his opinion’.
In our updated version, “Christ” is a visionary African American political figure, and The Grand Inquisitor is a Fox-Style Cable News Pundit, who excoriates “The One” on air.
I conceived the miniseries along with screenwriter Ruth Margraff in response to the presidential election of 2004, which was widely thought to have been decided by unprecedented turnout among right wing, evangelical Christians. We wanted to explore the spectacle of hypocritical religious power, forced to accept a messiah in a form abhorrent to its racist hegemony. And also to examine our own beliefs as viewed in the distorting mirror of the American media.
The Grand Inquisitor was created with a team of invaluable collaborators, including acclaimed filmmaker and media artist Julie Talen, who helped design and execute the visually stunning multiple screen edit; renowned performer and writer Carl Hancock Rux, who embodies The One with power and charisma; and DJ Spooky, who wrote a exciting score, featuring Thurston Moore on guitar.
Directed by and featuring TONY TORN (http://www.myspace.com/tonytorn)
Written by RUTH MARGRAFF ( http://www.ruthmargraff.com) Multi Image
Design by JULIE TALEN ( http://www.glimpseculture.com) Music by DJ
SPOOKY (www.djspooky.com) THURSTON MOORE on guitar (http://www.ecstaticpeace.com) "Bottom of The Pile" Written and Performed by NIKOS
BRISCO Director of Photography NILS KENASTON (www.nilskenaston.com)
Edited by JULIE TALEN and TONY TORN Produced by LEE ANN BROWN and GEORGE NORFLEET
Executive Producers NATHAN FREITAS, MICHAEL MCCARTNEY, JON OAKES (cruxy.com,
www.michaelmccartney.org).
To view segments of the video go to http://newsdate2011.com Contact Mark Siska at Studio 207 for any additional info