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About 186 - Production Archive
Introducing Religion
Open University (1 x 150')
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"I am an Indian, a Hindu – but it is here that I learnt that there are no Hindus or Muslims, Sikhs or Christians – you are simply a human being. All differences end here."
Hari Babu, a regular worshipper at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi.
This DVD introduces students to six major world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. The brief from the OU was clear, the students should have a ‘field trip experience’, to see and feel religion as it is lived.
To that end we filmed in India and Sri Lanka capturing, among many other things, unique footage on the banks of the sacred River Ganges and an atmospheric moonlit ceremony at a Buddhist monastery in Colombo. We also revisited the village of Soyepur, first filmed by the Open University 25 years ago to see how the caste system and religious practice has changed over time.
Combining archive film and original footage the student is given a world tour of the six religions: Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia, Sikhs in Amritsar and London, Buddhists in Bodhgaya and Sri Lanka, are just a few examples. Each film is distinct, but some common aspects of religion are explored across the six traditions, such as ritual, pilgrimage, sacred places and religious identity. We see Muslims performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia and Christians celebrating Easter at Lalibella in Ethiopia; Jews praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and British Hindus at prayer in Preston.
Credits:
Executive Producer:Michael Burke
Producer/Director: Maggie Sutcliffe
Assistant Producer: Miriam Joseph
Researcher: Declan Healy
Production Manager: Anna Whitehead
Camera: Paul Bulley
Editor: Dave Woodyer
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