THE BIG QUESTION International Documentary Competition

On the set of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, two Italian men are asking THE BIG QUESTION, and, luckily for us, they decided to film it, posing direct questions to people regarding their own intimate perception of the divine.

THE BIG QUESTION comes from an idea that is very simple. What were the existential and absolute idea that many of us have questioned since childhood, asking teachers, parents, priests or older brothers. The crux of the documentary is the variety of those interviewed: extras, Gibson himself, chance visitors, the cast and the crew. While many of the interviewees are in their characters’ costumes, the two directors move with a spirit completely detached from the Mel Gibson film, which is not mentioned even once within the documentary. The answers are sometimes unexpected and often thought provoking.

With sweeping directorial vision and a powerfully poetic narrative, the filmmakers symbolically continue returning to a white dog traveling alone through valleys, mountains and ghost towns of the Lucania region of Italy. Weaving these images seamlessly with the interviews, THE BIG QUESTION achieves a rich visual and spiritual sensibility unparalleled today.