The Golden Rule to be screened at Scarboro Missions

Movie examines values of the global community
By GEORGE KAGAME
February 10, 2009 3:21 PM
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Tina Petrova's new movie Animating the Golden Rule: An Introduction is a journey through the world's different religions and faiths and "understanding how the world would look like if we were truly one global community," said the filmmaker.
Animating the Golden Rule is a movie about the most famous verse in the Christian Bible New Testament from the book of Matthew 7:12 where disciples, amazed by the high moral and ethical standards set by Jesus, ask him how they can be good followers.

He answers, "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets."

This statement has since been considered by many people across the world as the golden rule and embodies all of God's law for mankind.

Petrova, a Canadian filmmaker, has gone one step further and adopted the rule as a theme for her movie, which will be screened for the first time on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 1:30 p.m. at the Scarboro Missions, 2685 Kingston Rd.

Petrova said her movie was inspired by her prior work with the Scaboro Missions where she facilitated a youth retreat program last year.

The program brought together youths ages 16 and 17 to study different religions and the golden rule. Petrova was inspired by the activities of the youth.

"My own journey - having been inspired by Mevlana Jelalludin Rumi, a 13th Century mystic and poet - and my background as a filmmaker inspired me along with Renate Simkus to make the movie," she said. "After watching the youth perform their different sets, the youth really posed very interesting themes in their acts like how it feels to be in someone else's culture and religion. Or what would the world look like if we were one global community."

She added that during the retreats, the youth dropped all ideas of separation based on religion and exchanged ideas on how the golden rule can be used to solve conflict in different religions.

"They learned a lot from the various interactions of different religions so I proposed to have a movie based on this experience," Petrova said.

The movie is important, she noted, because the youth today are consumed by a variety of multimedia such as video games, films and television so they need to learn the deep hidden meaning of symbols. "The golden rule underscores the similar values of the global community," Petrova said.

Alex Moszczynski, who likes to compose music and sing, was one of the students that took part in the retreats. He said he benefitted from participating in the skits because the movie adopted one of his original songs, "The Golden Rule Song."

He said while at the Mission Centre and waiting for the instructors, he composed a song and added tunes from his guitar which he played in the lobby of the hall.

"I never knew that this song would be of any importance and I kept it in my guitar case," he said.

But last summer, Moszczynski received a call from the movie makers and was asked to record the song.

"I am excited about this and I hope it has some impact. It is very flattering," he said.

The golden rule is considered by 13 of the world's greatest religions as the most consistent moral teaching throughout history.

Petrova has, in the past, been involved in music and filmmaking. In 2006 she released the movie Rumi-Turning Ecstatic. It tells the story of her own encounter with Rumi's spirit.

She said the two movies she has made were created to address issues that concern interfaith aspects and do not focus on a particular religious group.