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“In 2009, the unexpected revelation of the Notre-Dame Basilica and the Massabielle grotto struck me, like a bolt of inner thunder, with the immediate necessity of staging an epic pageant in this truly exceptional site, a human fresco evoking the apparitions seen by Bernadette Soubirous. I imagined the Virgin Mary telling this young girl of fourteen, simple and gentle, about the life of Jesus as she had painfully experienced it” Robert HOSSEIN As time went by, the script and story board took shape: A Woman called Mary tells Bernadette of Jesus' baptism, the choosing of the Apostles, the healing of the sick, the parables, the feeding of the multitude, the story of the adulterous woman, the resurrection of Lazarus, Judas' betrayal, the Last Supper, Christ's arrest on the Mount of Olives, his appearance before Pilate, the flagellation, the Way of the Cross, the crucifixion, the resurrection. I gave the role of Bernadette to a young girl from the area. Local actors joined the Parisian artists. A company of more than 120 people, including large-scale sound, lighting, costumes, artistic and technical crews was set up. The voices of Brigitte Fossey and Jacques Frantz joined my own. All this has enabled an extraordinary epic to unfold under the light of hundreds of projectors and to the sound of hundreds of loudspeakers, all captured by 18 cameras. This unique tribute to the glory of the Sanctuaries in Lourdes had to do justice to the site's universal reputation. He crucifixion, the resurrection. On August 13th 2011, 30,000 people, including several thousand sick pilgrims, attended a single performance of Robert Hossein’s new show. The setting for this world première was the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, in the heart of the Sanctuary in Lourdes. That night, 2 million television viewers and several thousand people gathered on the parvis outside the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, also watched the live broadcast of this extraordinary moment of communion. This film is its remembrance.
Séverine Berthelot (Mary), Pierre-Laurent Barneron (Jesus), Manon Le Moal (Bernadette).
Staging : Robert Hossein, Sets : François Abelanet, Costumes designs : Martine Mulotte, Lighting : Christian Bréan.
French
English, German, Italian, Spanish
Production compagny : Telmondis
Coproduction compagny : Les Trois Epis, Euromedia France,France Télévisions, CNC
Running Time : 1X85’
Production Year : 2011
Distribution compagny : Telmondis
Video Format : HDCAM, Digibeta 16/9, Digibeta 4/3 letterbox