Most Significant Exploration of Spiritual Themes
Winner: Silent Light"Cycling image by image through the idea of things being revealed and unveiled, the time-lapse Genesis imagery that sets the film in motion culminates in a theologically rich network of visual and thematic allusions – as if Regygada’s natural cinematography needs an additional shove towards the transcendental." (M. Leary, Think-Film)
Runner-up: Doubt
Also nominated: The Dark Knight, In Bruges, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Narrative Film
Winner: Slumdog Millionaire"The story explores the deepest themes of life, from loyalty and love to betrayal and despair. The redemptive nature of the film is seen in the title itself as Jamal travels an unexpected road which prepares him for the questions he will be asked on the television show. That love is possible in even a 'slumdog’s' life is a message of hope that speaks to a world where the majority of humanity lives in poverty." (Hal Conklin and Denny Wayman, Cinema in Focus)
Runner-up: Silent Light
Also nominated: Happy-Go-Lucky, Paranoid Park, WALL-E
Best Documentary
Winner: At the Death House Door"Pickett's odyssey makes for an incredible story. One of the executions he had to preside over was of a man who killed a popular parishioner during a prison riot. Watching Pickett negotiate, even in memory, the complex of emotions that his job has forced him to reconcile, I was struck by how the film begins with the political and moves to the spiritual. Like Plato's Republic, which cannot answer the question "What is Justice?" without describing the perfect society, At the Death House Door begins with a seemingly simple, direct question and shows how hopelessly complicated the simplest questions can be." (Kenneth R. Morefield, from his 2008 top 10 list)
Runner-up: Man on Wire
Also nominated: Encounters at the End of the World, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, Young@Heart
Best Film for the Whole Family
Winner: WALL-E"While the film’s themes of consumerism and environmental carelessness are unmistakable, unduly political spin on the film is probably more related to election-year hypersensitivity than the film itself. WALL‑E is not about left or right, liberal or conservative. Rather, it is about living thoughtfully, about what traditional Christian language calls good stewardship of resources and the environment." (Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films)
Runner-up: More Than a Game
Also nominated: City of Ember, Horton Hears a Who, Kung Fu Panda, The Spiderwick Chronicles
Faith & Film Critics Circle Members
Steven D. Greydanus
Ron Reed
Peter T. Chattaway
Frederica Mathewes-Green
Mike Hertenstein
Josh Hurst
Josh Larsen
Darrel Manson
Brett McCracken
Ken Morefield
Jeffrey Overstreet
Matt Page
J. Robert Parks
Robert Johnston
Catherine Barsotti
Denny Wayman
Jared Wheeler
Visit the FFCC site for links to all FFCC members
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