De wonderschilders

all posters
? %
Netherlands, 2000, 55 min

Directed by:

Erik van Zuylen

Cinematography:

Maarten Kramer
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Plots(1)

In some Italian churches extraordinary paintings can be found. They show an accident with a cable lift, for example, or dead cows who have been struck by lightning, or a Swiss family who were in a car crash. These catastrophes and accidents have really happened not so long ago. In De wonderschilders, a number of religious Italians recount how they miraculously survived a serious accident. They are all convinced that they were saved by a patron saint, and express their gratitude by commissioning a painting of the scene. On the canvas, the accident is depicted very graphically, with the appropriate patron saint always in the background. It is a form of ex-voto, with which people promise to do something for a saint if one of their wishes is fulfilled, like a miraculous cure or in this case surviving an accident. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)

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