Therese Movie Needs Your Help

From CNS STORY: THERESE-MOVIE Mar-17-2004 (690 words) xxxn:



"Absent the star power of Mel Gibson, who directed, produced and co-wrote 'The Passion of the Christ,' other privately funded Christian films are struggling to get into theaters. One such movie is 'Therese,' the story of St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower, who lived a short life in a French Carmelite monastery doing little things with great love.



'Therese' had been scheduled for release last autumn, but it's been postponed until October to drum up public and monetary support.



''Therese' is a different kind of film, filled with the innocence of simplicity and reveals the incredibly rich interior life of the human soul,' said director Leonardo Defilippis, whose nonprofit firm, St. Luke's Production Co., produced the film.



Although the 19th-century period production garnered a standing ovation from Catholic dignitaries associated with mission work at a private Vatican screening last May, it has not yet created a stir among the public.



'There have been difficulties,' said Defilippis. He estimates the company still needs $2 million to open in select theaters. 'This movie is a total work of charity. It has been done the 'Little Way' with all these little people scattered all over the world, trusting in this project.'



'Therese' is relying heavily on publicity from a Web site called www.theresemovie.com and efforts from grass-roots religious volunteers to push the film into theaters."