Calendar – Past Event

Dir.: Ilan Ziv
Icarus Films
After fighting as an Israeli soldier in the 1973 war, and troubled by the nation's obsessive mixing of the Bible with politics, filmmaker Ilan Ziv left for America, which he considered a "safe haven" because of its separation between church and state. Thirty-five years later, alarmed by the prominent role of religion in the 2008 American presidential campaign, Ziv decides to make a road trip, to try and understand the phenomenon.
Jesus Politics explores themes including the social role of the church in the African-American community, the religious rhetoric of the candidates and their sometimes controversial associations with religious leaders, how moral issues such as abortion became political weapons, and how biblical interpretation is used to validate political beliefs.
Filmed across 4,000 miles and 17 states, Jesus Politics weaves an historically informed but thoroughly contemporary cinematic essay, a probing look at how deeply religious faith shapes 21st century American politics.