Fuller Seminary’s Brehm Center to Host International Conference on Religion and Film in Hollywood

Pasadena’s Fuller Seminary, through its Brehm Center, will host the International Conference on Religion & Film in Hollywood, California from June 26-28, 2024. The conference, which fosters intellectual stimulation and advances scholarship related to religion and film studies, has invited papers that take into account Hollywood’s rich history and how emerging technologies will influence the future of filmmaking.

The Brehm Center has organized a full-day pre-conference tour on June 26 to explore historic Hollywood, with visits to the Academy Museum, Hollywood Forever Cemetery, and the Walk of Fame. The following two days will feature academic presentations, panels, and screenings on topics such as religion in early Hollywood films, depictions of religious minorities and women in cinema, horror franchises, and the use of artificial intelligence in film pedagogy.

Special guests include Nick Vallelonga, the Academy Award-winning co-writer and producer of “Green Book,” who will participate in a conversation along with producer Ralph Winter. Vallelonga’s upcoming projects include the romantic comedy “That’s Amore!” starring John Travolta and Katherine Heigl, and “Reunion,” based on a Christian novel about Vietnam veterans.

The conference will conclude with a Founder’s Banquet on June 28, honoring William Blizek and Robert Johnston for their contributions to the field of religion and film studies, followed by a wine reception. A film screening is also scheduled for the evening of June 27. 

“The International Conference on Religion & Film fosters intellectual stimulation, builds networks, and advances scholarship,” the organizers from the Brehm Center said in a statement.