St. Vladimir's Seminary,575 Scarsdale Road,10707,Yonkers,NY,US

Grab a bag of popcorn: it’s movie night on our campus, Sunday, September 24, 7 o’clock. We’ll be screening Becoming Truly Human, a fascinating documentary that explores the rise of the “Nones,” i.e., those who check “none of the above” on religion surveys.

Multiple research groups report that the number of Nones had risen from roughly 6% of the U.S. population in the 1990s to 25% as of 2015. However, little research existed on this growing demographic—until now.

The film offers a cinematic portrait of eight Nones, each of whom shares his or her journey from religious affiliation to religious non-affiliation. The film hears from the Nones, both individually and as a group, as they share views about religion, God, the afterlife, and much more, thus offering a rare opportunity to listen in on a conversation that most religious adherents would never be invited into. (Teaser: one of the Nones, Basil, shares how his quest for spiritual wholeness ultimately leads him from religious non-affiliation to another level of spirituality.)

On hand for the screening will be writer/director Dr. Nathan Jacobs. Jacobs is president of 5 SEES, one of the production companies involved with the film. Vice President of 5 SEES, Sarah Werner, will also be present at the showing.

“Our research has found that because Nones are outside of religious circles, they rarely voice their thoughts on religion or even have the opportunity to do so,” said Jacobs. “It’s a powerful experience for these Nones to hear what others are thinking and know they are not alone.”

Becoming Truly Human is the first feature film about America’s religiously unaffiliated, and North America’s first Orthodox Christian feature film. The film will begin its semi-theatrical release on August 22 via TheatriCast with marketing and promotion by Aspiration Studios. Freestyle Digital Media will handle the digital release of the film (Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and so forth), beginning September 2017. DVD and Bluray sales will be handled by Ancient Faith, beginning October 2017.

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