Filmmaker journeys down narrow path in latest documentary

By Ambria Hammel, The Catholic Sun
March 1, 2007

Gerry Straub believes American culture is largely about distractions, with marketers creating desires that consumers don’t have.

He once created such distractions as a producer for soap operas such as “The Doctors” and “General Hospital” in the ’80s. Now a secular Franciscan, Straub makes documentaries on social justice issues.

“The Church needs to use images to communicate Gospel values,” Straub said, noting the leading role of images over straight text in pop culture.

Straub screened an unfinished version of his latest work, “The Narrow Path,” Feb. 17 at the Diocesan Pastoral Center.

Catholic audiences are no longer foreign to the filmmaker. Straub regularly debuts his work at parishes and Catholic universities.

Although Catholic himself, Straub didn’t always believe his faith impacted daily living and became an atheist.

He turned away from soap operas when the work became unfulfilling.

Straub found himself researching the relationship between creativity and spirituality. He studied the life of St. Francis of Assisi, which led him to a friary in Rome. That’s where he realized he should be using his gifts behind the camera to advance the Gospel.

The filmmaker founded the San Damiano Foundation five years ago. It’s named after the church where St. Francis heard Christ speak to him.

“The Narrow Path” marks the foundation’s first attempt to raise awareness about the need to end violence and promote peace. Straub’s work generally focuses on global poverty.

Both topics remain close to the secular Franciscan’s heart. St. Francis of Assisi showed great love for the poor and prayed to be God’s channel of peace.

“We make these films to educate people on the plight of the poor, to connect it to their faith, why they should be doing something to help,” Straub told Phoenix Catholics.

Audiences everywhere are responding.

Straub recently received an e-mail from an American doctor featured in “The Patients of a Saint,” a documentary he filmed in Peru. The doctor talked about a New Yorker who volunteered to work with him for three months after seeing the documentary at a Jesuit school.

“So there have been five kids so far in less than two years who have seen ‘The Patients of a Saint’ and have gone to work with Dr. Tony,” Straub said.

Other films expose the slums of Kenya, India and the Philippines. Another takes viewers on a more than three-hour tour of the poor and homeless conditions in downtown Los Angeles. It also profiles an outreach mission that works with the city’s poor.

‘The Narrow Path’

“The Narrow Path” journeys into another aspect of social justice: nonviolence. Straub expects the film to be controversial because he believes the message of peace and nonviolence is an unspoken one and viewers may call it impractical.

Phoenix Catholics briefly discussed the documentary after the screening. Jesuit Father John Dear, who narrated and was the subject of the piece, captivated viewers with his storytelling about biblical-based nonviolence and his own encounters with the issue.

The Jesuit gently preaches nonviolence through a mixed series of clips. Some are from recent lectures filmed around the country — including one at Xavier College Preparatory in January — while others feature Fr. Dear at what Straub calls the priest’s New Mexico “hermitage.”

“The desert is a good place to learn the wisdom of peace,” the Jesuit tells viewers in the documentary, as he strolls around his property in jeans and a long-sleeved dress shirt.

Fr. Dear says it begins in the silence of prayer. This creates the strength to practice nonviolence such as Jesus’ clearing out of the temple of false idols or His command for Peter to “put down the sword” in the garden of Gethsemane.

Straub’s camera work also enhances the film’s message of peace. Most of its scenes featuring his Jesuit friend are in black and white, which minimizes distractions and forces the audience to focus on the message.

John Zemblidge, a member of Pax Christi in Phoenix — a Catholic peace movement committed to nonviolence — praised the documentary.

“It just grabs our culture immediately,” he said of the series of “Blessed are those…” statements, adapted from the Beatitudes into the “anti-Beatitudes.” A bold voiceover recites them while historical images of violent acts such as Pearl Harbor and newspaper headlines display on screen.

Straub splashed musical montages of short, colored images throughout the piece to break up the discussion. These segments include photos and clips of historical acts of violence and its effects.

“If we see the reality of pain and suffering, we’ll be moved to do something about it,” Straub said.

He continues to see true suffering when filming each documentary. That serves as his way of putting the power of film at the service of the weak.

“You do what you can and you let God’s grace do the rest,” he said.

For more information about the documentary or the foundation, visit www.sandamianofoundation.org.