PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Milo Rau, director of the film The New Gospel.
A conversation with Milo Rau, director of The New Gospel, a special presentation of the Giornate degli Autori, the independent and parallel strand of the 77th Venice International Film Festival. The film is a hybrid between the filming of a version of the Gospel and the fight for the rights of the migrants exploited in agrarian work in Southern Italy, set in the city and environs of Matera. In this film, Rau talks about his experience of filming there, how he met the political activist Yvan Sagnet who is a central figure of The New Gospel, the influence of Pier Paolo Pasolini (who filmed his classic The Gospel According to Matthew There) and more.
The New Gospel: What would Jesus preach in the 21st century? Who would his disciples be? And how would today’s society respond to the return of the Son of God? With The New Gospel, Milo Rau is staging a “Revolt of Dignity”. Led by political activist Yvan Sagnet, the movement is fighting for the rights of migrants who came to Europe across the Mediterranean to be enslaved on the tomato fields in southern Italy and to live in ghettos under inhumane conditions. The director and his team return to the origins of the gospel and stage it as a passion play of an entire civilization.