Devotional Cinema

Devotional Cinema is a term coined by experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky to illustrate a mode of filmmaking intricately connected to the filmic language. The inspiration for the term came while Dorsky visited the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1990s. He noticed that various works, typically altarpieces and small portable shrines, called devotional works. Seeing their sublime and contemplative quality, Dorsky decided to expand on the idea of devotion. He saw the medium of cinema as an altar of worship, finding, through his respect for the screen, an ability for what is shown to directly affect the spirit and the mind through the kinesthetic qualities of cinema itself, without the need for the guidance of a narrative.

The concept of devotional cinema is intrinsically related to religion. It entails a devotee, the viewer, who is willing to open their heart to experience the film work and accept it. An example is given: After a screening of Voyage to Italy by Roberto Rossellini, Dorsky and the audience left the theater in total silence, and the awkwardness of sharing an elevator with the strangers who were in the audience disappeared completely. In this way, the film was able to act as a communion for the audience and share with them its inexpressible truth.

Encompassing this concept in his own cinema, Dorsky captures mundane objects like shirts, flowers, and landscapes in their pure existence under light, enhanced by the material, “alchemical” qualities of film. If what is sacred is untouchable, the viewer/devotee can at least regard it with their eyes and establish a relation with the images as poetry in their aesthetic and metaphysical beauty.