A few weeks ago, the author and Anglican solitary, Maggie Ross pointed out to me that a new documentary was being filmed by Transcendental Media and directed by Patrick Shen. The documentary is about silence and its importance. It promises to be a meditative exploration of the topic and its trailer is subtle yet striking. See the trailer here:
Although the movie is not specifically religious in focus, its exploration of the importance of silence as a fundamental building block for all flourishing is foundational to the mission of The Inner Room. Without recognizing silence’s important role in our lives, much if not most of what The Inner Room teaches would be misunderstood. Deepened prayer, theology and relationships of service and solidarity — the very work of The Inner Room — assumes silence. In fact, The Inner Room has dialoguing with silence as one of its key intentions.
Wanting to support good work discussing this topic, I reached out to friend and author Carl McColman and we both decided to reach out to the makers of the film to see in what way we could help.
We first were in touch with the associate producer of the film, Cassidy Hall. After lovely conversations with her on social media and via phone, she connected us with Patrick Shen the director of the movie. Via email, we conducted an interview. Patrick graciously answered our questions in great detail.
To see the end result of the interview, and how to support this film, see Carl McColman’s write up at his blog at Patheos here. We urge all those interested in The Inner Room to check out the trailer. For those who wish to support the film financially, the kickstarter link can be found here.
Thanks all.
Kevin M Johnson
President of The Inner Room
Patrick Shen, Director of In Pursuit of Silence
