Jesus, You Know

More immediately recognisable as a documentary than some of his earlier work, Seidl employs one of the most intimate of human experiences – prayer – as an entry point into revealing the everyday complaints and deepest secrets of his subjects. Set up in Viennese Catholic churches, the camera observes six figures as they beseech Jesus as a best friend, therapist and fortune teller, offering intimate details that range from the mundane to the shocking. As always, Seidl’s gaze keeps a clinical distance, letting his subjects speak for themselves and making the audience interrogate our own reaction to these people who, upon reflection, are perhaps more familiar than we’d like to admit.

* Please note that there is an extra screening of this film on Friday 19 September at 1pm.