THE FAITHFUL: The King, The Pope, The Princess by Annie Berman

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What you get

90 mins. HD. 5.1. Color.

WINNER: Best Essay Prize | 41st Edition Le FIFA, International Festival of Art Films

"Ruminative, haunting, and strange" raves The Boston Globe

"⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 4 Stars!" -Video Librarian

"Poignant, honest and moving" - Henry Jenkins

"My favorite film we've screened!" - Associate Film Programmer, Matthew Meier, USC Cinematic Arts

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LOGLINE

A lollipop officially licensed by the Vatican sparks filmmaker Annie Berman’s 20-year exploration of fandom, memorabilia, memory, and legacy within the orbits of three of the biggest cultural icons of our time: Pope John Paul II, Elvis Presley, and Diana, Princess of Wales. 

SYNOPSIS

A Pope John Paul II lollipop. An Elvis Presley shower curtain. A Princess Diana teacup. These are just some of the countless pieces of memorabilia that these pop culture icons’ most devoted fans collect and cherish – but why? The Faithful‘s director, Annie Berman, explores the deep veneration and legacies of the Pope, the Princess, and the King. Over the course of 20 years, Berman profiles these figures’ biggest fans and makes numerous pilgrimages to Vatican City, Graceland, and Kensington Palace. As the years go by, the film itself becomes increasingly entwined with Berman’s daily life and identity, much like how these officially-licensed knick-knacks define the fans she filmed. 

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

ANNIE BERMAN, THE FAITHFUL’s Producer, Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Narrator, Co-Editor is a media artist living and working in New York City, Annie Berman was named one of Independent Magazine’s 10 Filmmakers to Watch, her films, videos, performances, and installations have shown internationally in galleries, festivals, universities, and conferences, including the MoMA Documentary Fortnight, Rooftop Films, Galerie Patrick Ebensperger Berlin, Kassel Hauptbahnhof, Spring / Break Art Show, Flux Factory, Babycastles Gallery, and the Rome Independent Film Festival where she was awarded the Best Experimental Film Prize. Her work has received support from the Puffin Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, Wave Farm, Grant for the Web, the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts, the Center for Independent Documentary, Signal Culture, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and UnionDocs. She holds an MFA in Integrated Media Art from Hunter College, and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective.

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A Fish in the Hand Production | Produced in association with The Center for Independent Documentary and The Brooklyn Filmmakers Collectivec 2021 The Faithful, LLC. Annie Berman. 175 Claremont Avenue, Suite 63. NY, NY 10027. 917-436-6601