‘Almighty’ touch to free film festival

I don’t remember how old I was when I saw my favorite movie. It was sometime between the first and third grades.

(That’s how long I attended the Catholic school in Waynesboro before we moved to Canada.)

I do, however, vividly remember “The Devil at Four O’clock.”

I was 6, 7, maybe 8, and the nuns led us out of the classroom to the church basement, where we watched Spencer Tracy convince three convicts (including Frank Sinatra) to try to help him rescue leper children off an island before a lava belching volcano blew its lid.

That’s when I became a movie fan.

I don’t know if it was because I was young and impressionable. I don’t know if it is because of the action, death, destruction, religious theme, a little smooching. But it left an impression that has lasted, oh, this many years.

That’s why the “Moving Pictures, Moving God: Prayer in the Movies” film festival caught my eye.

The Center for Christian Study is showing four movies this weekend. It costs nothing to go, and there will be a discussion with Drew Trotter after each screening.

“The Bishop’s Wife” will be shown at 3:30 this afternoon, followed by a talk on “Prayer and Living by Faith.” “Bruce Almighty” is next up at 8 tonight with a talk on “Prayer and Our View of God.”

On Saturday, “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be screened at 9 a.m. Trotter will lead a discussion on “Prayer and the American Way.” Then Robert Duvall’s “The Apostle” will close out the screenings at 8 p.m., followed by a discussion on “The Saint.”

“At the Center for Christian Study, we have the theme of prayer going on for the entire year, and one of the elements of prayer is seen in how prayer is depicted in popular culture,” Carl Briggs said. “You can see that people might be familiar with sporting events or other public activities, but also within cinema you can see prayer, the practice of prayer, the belief in prayer in a wide variety of settings.”

Trotter selected four films to illustrate the theme. He was at the University of Virginia’s Center for Christian Studies for more than 20 years before taking over as the national director for the Centers for Christian Study International.

He’s also quite a movie buff.

“He has been a student of film for more than 20 years,” Briggs said. “He has visited a lot of sets, and he was invited to visit the set where ‘Narnia’ was being filmed in New Zealand.”

Trotter also holds monthly screenings in his home — “Apocalypse Now” is scheduled for Feb. 17 — and he holds an annual discussion of the five Oscar nominees at the center. This year it’s Feb. 10. He also is working on a book, “Show and Tell: How to View a Movie Responsibly.”

“Drew had the intention of wanting to start the film festival with ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ to set a tone and to invoke a classic,” Briggs said.

The 1948 Oscar-winning “The Bishop’s Wife” stars David Niven as the bishop who is visited by an angel, Cary Grant.

“The interesting contrast will be on Friday between ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ and ‘Bruce Almighty,’ ” Briggs said. “Although it’s a comedy, it’s a comedy in a different vein.”

Directed by UVa grad Tom Shadyac, “Bruce Almighty” features Jim Carrey as Bruce. Morgan Freeman stars as God.

“Part of the series is looking at how prayer as depicted in Hollywood film over several decades,” Briggs said.

On Saturday, you can see “It’s a Wonderful Life” from 1946, where Jimmy Stewart is visiting by his angel, played by Henry Travers. In the more contemporary “The Apostle,” Duvall stars as a Texas preacher.

It’s another interesting contrast. And it’s free.

“And it’s open to anyone and all ages,” Briggs said.

You never know who might become a real movie fan.

Call 817-1050 for more details. The center is at 128 Chancellor St.