Documentary, "The Calling," explores call to religious life | Press Releases

A new documentary film about the founding of a new religious community and the complex emotions that can accompany the discernment of a calling to religious life will be shown at Fairfield University on Tuesday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the DiMenna-Nyselius Library Multimedia Room. Admission is free.

"The Calling," by filmmaker David Ranghelli, follows three Catholic missionaries who live and work in the dusty shantytowns that ring Lima, Peru. Armed only with prayer and the power of their convictions, they are determined to make a difference in an often dangerous and uncertain landscape. The film provides a rare glimpse into a way of life that is often misunderstood, but one that inevitably leads to essential questions of human existence: Who am I? and What do I believe?

Orlando Castillo is a young man from a prosperous Tampa family who wishes "to live simply" and become a priest, despite his parents reservations. Mother Mary-Elizabeth, a middle-aged single mother, struggles with how to balance her strong religious call with the emotional needs of her grown children. And Fr. Philip Scott, the founder of this new community, copes with the demands of his order's mission as they move from the United States to his native Peru.
Mr. Ranghelli is a New York based filmmaker who has worked in the cinema arts for a decade on numerous dramatic, commercial, and documentary projects. In that time he has worked for David Gruben Productions, HBO, PBS, Bill Moyers - Public Affairs Television, NFL Films, and the History Channel to name a few. "The Calling" is his directorial debut.