Deliver us is filmed in Palermo and follows two priests who daily tasks are basically dealing with people who believe that in some form or other are possessed and yes it is as crazy as it sounds. From the opening scene of a lady on a chair filmed from behind and sprinkled with holy water, Shes then touched by the priests religious cloth and she goes bat shit crazy!And non of this is staged, no actors involved, all full on belief and its really quite unsettling in places.
As a non religious person myself i struggled to get my head around how people can do/believe in all this but they certainly do, big time and it's equally as fascinating as it is disturbing.
The people travel from hundreds of miles around to meet the special priests and are mostly distraught, You do get to to see and learn of the stories of the people desperate for some form of exorcism and forgiveness, for some sadly it is their last hope, But for others is it just attention seeking? I was really glad when about halfway through even the priests admitted that even they thought that some of the people are just pure attention seekers, The priests themselves are proper hardcore and take no prisoners, I was surprised at how hard-faced and very straight to the point they were with most people but to be honest it must do your head in no matter how committed you say you are to the cause dealing with that everyday!
So, Are they possessed? Is there a Satan and a God to save those who he is trying to posses? Well probably not but to these people the whole thing is more than real and it must be a shit scary world to live in. That for me made is what made it so fascinating and indeed jaw dropping in places.
A documentary you really should see and a very high recommendation from me ,
8/10,
Jonny T.
DELIVER US (LIBERAMI) IS OUT NOW AND AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON.
A Documentary by Federica Di Giacomo
Venice Film Festival, 2016, Horizons Award, Best Film Winner
Nominated, Best Documentary at the 30th European Film Awards 2017
(Cert 15/ 89mins)
DELIVER US (Liberami) is available on DVD 30th October #DELIVERUSFILM
SYNOPSIS
Exorcism is still a fact of contemporary life. Every year, more and more people claim that their illnesses are caused by demonic possession. Father Cataldo is a veteran, one of the most sought-after exorcists in Sicily. Every Tuesday, many believers follow his mass of liberation, searching for a cure for some adversity for which there does not seem to be a label or a remedy.
The Catholic Church reacts to this crisis by nominating priests as exorcists in increasing numbers and by organizing training courses for them. In order to respond to the rising number of requests for deliverance from evil, all French dioceses have installed at least one exorcist. In Spain, the archdiocese of Madrid is desperately trying to fill seven additional positions.
In Rome and Milan alone, the number of exorcists has grown from six to 12, and the Church has set up an emergency call center. In the US, the number of exorcists has increased tenfold over the last few years.
DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY
2009 Housing |documentary feature script by Federica Di Giacomo and Antonella Gaeta directed by Federica Di Giacomo
Produced by B&B Film and RaiCinema, broadcast on RaiUno and Rai5 Locarno Film Festival, Torino Film Festival, CHP Rotterdam, HotDocs Toronto, Marfici Argentina, Thessaloniki Film Festival, DoxBox Siria
2006 Il lato grottesco della vita (The cave side of life) |documentary feature written and directed by Federica Di Giacomo produced by Federica Di Giacomo, broadcast on Rai3 and Cult Torino Film Festival 2006 (Cipputi Award, Avanti Award), Etno Film Fest 2007 (best documentary), Libero Bizzarri Award, Uruguay Film Festival, San Paulo Film Festival
2003 Suicidio perfetto (The perfect suicide)|short film written and directed by Federica Di Giacomo produced by Tiburtina Studios
2001 Close Up |short film written and directed by Federica Di Giacomo produced by Teatro della Limonaia, Firenze
Sa Luna
script by Federica Di Giacomo
2000 Los colores de la trance |documentary feature
written and directed by Federica Di Giacomo produced by Federica Di Giacomo, broadcast on BTV Spain
