Zinzendorf Documentary Series Wins National Awards!
Click Here To Read About the Aurora, Aegis, Videographer, and Telly Awards!
The Zinzendorf documentaries have received very positive reviews and accolades. Following the initial preview of the first program, held at the close of the Zinzendorf @300 Conference at Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA, the program was hailed by scholars and contributors alike. “It’s amazing to see a church-related program of this quality,” said the Rev. John Giesler, a retired Moravian pastor who has recently led several tours to Herrnhut.
Click HERE to learn more about the work “behind the scenes.”
Dr. Libby O’Connell, Vice President of The History Channel, wrote:
“The research and writing are high quality, and the varied interviews add insight. The pacing moves along nicely. I personally was impressed by the richness and variety of the contemporary stills that were used, and the way they were shot. Congratulations on an excellent production.”
John Railey, reviewing the program in The Winston-Salem Journal, wrote “The film is the next best thing to a visit with the Count.”
“The photography is wonderful,” said Dr. Arthur Freeman, an authority on Zinzendorf’s theology who served as script consultant on the project. “An excellent program — and a wonderful church document,” said Dr. C. Daniel Crews, Southern Province archivist. “Visually stunning,” wrote art historian Carolyn Mesrobian Hickmann.
Special attention has been paid to both the academic and visual accuracy of the program, while also preserving a level of interest for the average viewer. Paintings and other art are woven together with period music to illustrate interviews. “This isn’t just a program for scholars,” said Brian Faulkner, former Executive Director of Comenius Foundation. “We want it to be interesting and accessible to everyone, whether or not they have any previous knowledge of the Count.”
Zinzendorf: Prophet of the Heart is a 25-minute program that follows the early life of the young Count as he becomes involved with a group of refugee Moravians. The program detailes the early days of Herrnhut, the dissension that nearly tore the community apart, and Zinzendorf’s role in bringing about a profound spiritual renewal on August 13, 1727. The development of the faith community after that is profiled, leading up to the creation of renewal societies across Germany and into other nations of Europe.
The second program, Zinzendorf: Count Without Borders will follow the Count and the Moravians as they begin one of the earliest Protestant mission movements. Within a few short years, they had mission stations from Greenland near the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tip of Africa.
The third program, Zinzendorf: New Heart, New World. Follows Zinzendorf to the American colonies, where he tries to bring together the various denominations in an ecumenical movement. He and the Moravians founded Bethlehem, PA as a central hub for mission work among the native Americans and the many German emigrants of the area.
The fourth program, Zinzendorf: The Pilgrim Comes Home, explores the controversial “Sifting Period” and the recognition of the Moravian movement by the British Parliament. As war breaks out in America and Saxony, the aging Count returns home to Herrnhut for his final days. Scholars and individuals in countries touched by Moravian mission work assess the impact of his controversial life and thought.
Extensive interviews with scholars in Germany and America are augmented with interviews from ministers and church members in South Africa, the Caribbean, Surinam, and Labrador. An interview with the historian of the Turtle Clan of the Delaware nation, a small remnant of the large native American population that the Moravian missionaries work with, is also included.
The video series is distributed in the US and Canada by Vision Video of Worcester, PA. The programs have been broadcast on The Hallmark Channel and PBS stations the US, and on numerous cable/satellite networks in the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Germany, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, Surinam, Australia, and South Africa.
Click HERE to find out how to watch the documentary.
Click HERE to learn more about the work “behind the scenes.”
Click HERE to learn about the awards the program has received.
Click HERE to learn about the 25th Anniversary re-release in HD widescreen.
For more information, contact Comenuius Foundation at (336) 946-2080..
Few Moravians have ever seen the actual Ecce Homo painting by Domenico Feti which so inspired the young Zinzendorf. Click HERE to see a larger version.