After enjoying a successful theatrical run in the Philippines, Europe and Latin America, JesCom’s landmark film, Ignacio de Loyola, finally arrived in the highlands of Central Asia.
The biopic based on the legendary Jesuit founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, screened last January 28 at the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia’s Cinema House—the largest theater in the capital city of Yerevan.
Dubbed in Armenian by some of the country’s biggest stars, the premiere of Ignacio was attended not only by the Catholic minority, but by representatives from Evangelical communities as well, marking a resurgence of the Christian faith in a land previously ruled by the communist Soviet Union.
“A few months ago I saw Ignacio in its Italian version. I was so deeply impressed. Of course, the subject of the film, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, is an important and charismatic figure, but the film is also made in a way that touches the hearts,” recounts Fr. Mashtoz V. Kazarian of the Catholic Publishing House, who had communicated with JesCom about the idea of dubbing Ignacio in his native language.
“In many moments, one cannot hold back the tears. The emotion was so strong that I immediately started translating it into Armenian.The translation was completed in a few weeks. I felt in my heart the voice that I had to do it,” he further explains.
Through the trailblazing effort of Fr. Kazarian and the all-out support from JesCom, Ignacio will soon be viewed in parishes, seminaries, schools and youth summer camps across Armenia, igniting the hearts of new audiences to find God in all things.
“I strongly believe that the screening of this film will be very important for the mission of our Catholic presence in the region and for the New Evangelization in the territories of the former Soviet Union,” hopes Fr. Kazarian.
“My will is that this film, and through this instrument he, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, visits a greater number of young Armenians and speaks to their hearts.”
Don’t miss the opportunity to screen Ignacio de Loyola in your country. Contact us today at jcf@affiliate.ateneo.edu.
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