The Eric Metaxas Show - Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

Actress Jacqueline Fritschi-Cornaz discusses the new film ‘Mother Theresa and Me’ about the legendary figure. ...

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Folks, welcome to the Eric Mataxis show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m. Investments.com. That's LegacyPMinvestments.com. Welcome to the Eric Mataxis show. It's a nutritious smoothie of creamy, fresh yogurt, vanilla, protein powder, and a mushy banana for your mind? Drink it all down. It's nummy. I wub, vanilla. I wop. Banana. Here comes Eric Metaxus. Folks, welcome to the program. We have the privilege of a friend Rabbi Jason Sobel, who is the author of many books.
Starting point is 00:00:51 The new one is called Signs and Secrets of the Messiah. What is a rabbi doing writing about the Messiah? Rabbi Jason. Well, hey, Jesus was a nice Jewish boy. So, you know, obviously all Jesus was a rabbi, the disciples were Jewish. And so we want people to see the Bible in high definition in the context in which was written because we believe it makes it come to life. Well, I agree very heartily with that.
Starting point is 00:01:26 I was just with my friend Pastor Greg Denham, who's in San Marcos, California recently. And he's always talking about the context, the judge. Jewishness of the New Testament, the Jewishness of the Jesus movement and how what a crime it is, more than a crime, what a horror it is that we have really torn the good news of Jesus away from its Jewish roots that is fundamentally wrong, fundamentally unbiblical, scandalous. And so anytime I have an opportunity to talk about that I want to, so tell us about your new book, is the sequel to the previous book that we discussed on this program. Yeah, absolutely.
Starting point is 00:02:12 We wrote Signs and Secrets of the Messiah, a fresh look at the miracles of Jesus, because we want people to see the life and the ministry of Jesus in a way that makes these things come to life like never before. I also think there's something for everyone's significant in the book. in the sense that each one of these miracles has a promise attached to it. And we live in a world where people have lost hope and they wonder if anything can ever actually change. It seems like it's impossible when you look at everything that's going on.
Starting point is 00:02:53 And I think by looking at the miracles, we see that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In fact, the word for the miracles or the signs are testimony. And the word for testimony in Hebrew shares the same. Hebrew root as the word again. He's the God of the again. What he did in these miracles, he wants to do again today in our lives. There are many people who are pretty serious about their Christian faith, but they don't seem to be open to the miraculous. And I always think that's sad because God is alive. He wants to do miraculous things today of every kind. I wrote a whole book called Miracles
Starting point is 00:03:32 where I talk about the variety of ways God speaks to us. us and moves in our lives. But there are many people who they have a very kind of pinched view of what it means to be a Christian to follow Jesus. And they don't somehow they act like miracles happen in the past, but they can't happen now. That is unbiblical. It's wrong. But a lot of people seem to fall into that.
Starting point is 00:03:59 It's almost like a secular version of the Christian faith, which is contradiction in terms. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, either we take Yeshua Jesus and the Bible for what it says. I mean, he, he says, it says, I'm God, I'm never, I don't change. But on top of that, Jesus says greater things than these you will do. You know, there is a promise that we would see and we would participate with Jesus in the life that he purchased for us. You know, saying. And so I think, you know, the first miracle we talk about in the book is the miracle of the water into wine. And why is that the first miracle he does? Well, what's the first miracle Moses does? He turns the water into blood. Jesus is the greater than Moses. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He turns the water into wine because wine is the symbol of the messianic kingdom. But part of the significance of this miracle is that it shows us that God, God can take something ordinary like water, transform it into something extraordinary.
Starting point is 00:05:12 And that's what he wants to do in our life. He still is in the business of transforming people. That in and of itself is a miracle. The born-again experience is a miracle. So if that miracle can happen, what other miracles does God want to do? Yeah, I think you said it earlier. I think sometimes people lose hope that those kinds of things are possible. and folks, that's ultimately a sin for us to lose hope.
Starting point is 00:05:39 God calls us to know who he is and of what he is capable in our lives. It's why we pray and when you don't see an answer, you keep praying according to his will because he wants us to live in hope and to know that he can do things. And there's a mystery there. But I think sometimes when we familiarize ourselves with him and with the miracles that he has done, it gives us hope and it gives us faith for for miracles.
Starting point is 00:06:08 Now, the title of the book is Signs and Secrets of the Messiah. And when you use the word signs, you mean it in the sense of miraculous signs. Absolutely. So we're looking at the book of John. And in the book of John, the Greek word that's used there is Samion, which actually means miraculous signs. So we're looking at these miraculous signs. and just to talk about, you know, something, what you're saying, building on that, is that, you know,
Starting point is 00:06:38 we talk about in John chapter 5, the healing at the pool of Bethesda. And I love going to Israel and taking people to the pool. Here's a man who wasn't able to walk for 38 years. And Jesus, Yeshua comes, says, do you want to be made well? Instead of this man saying, of course, duh, of course they want to be made well, he answers with, well, I don't have anyone to put me in the water when the water's stir. so I haven't been healed. And that wasn't what Yeshua asked.
Starting point is 00:07:05 And it goes back to what you said, hope deferred makes the heart sick. And so this man had lost hope. What's interesting is that this man couldn't walk for 38 years. Why is that important? Because Deuteronomy 214 tells us Israel wandered in the desert for 38 years. And 38 is the numerical value in Hebrew of the word, Lebo, his heart.
Starting point is 00:07:29 Hebrew's alphanumeric. You write numbers, letters. So Yeshua was testing to see what was in this man's heart, 38. He's saying, if you have hope, if you have faith, you can be healed. If you lose hope, you'll die in the desert like the generation that came out of Egypt. And I don't want to see that happen to you. Even though you've been stuck for 38 years, you don't have to remain in that place. Hope is a belief that our future is going to be better than our past. Jesus is the ultimate hope dealer. So like what you're saying is there is always hope and we have to keep that hope alive in our hearts. It's fascinating to me that you
Starting point is 00:08:10 always are linking the Old and the New Testaments in this way. I don't know that I've ever heard the idea of the water being turned into wine being related to Moses, turning the water into blood. Of course, that was one of the plagues. But that's a fascinating thing to look at, and it seems like many sermons could be preached on that. But similarly, the idea that the man at the pool of Bethesda, who says he cannot, he has been able to walk for 38 years, I'd never heard that the Israelites wandered for 38 years. I always hear 40 years. So how do you get 38, by the way? Like, I'm not quite clear on that. Yeah, yeah, it's a good question. So, Israel was in the desert for 40 years.
Starting point is 00:08:59 But the first two years, God was preparing them to enter the promised lands. They were receiving the Ten Commandments. They were building the tabernacle. It was in the second year that God tells the children of Israel, well, is in the second year that the children of Israel send the 12 spies in the land. They see the giants. They bring back an evil report. They disobey God.
Starting point is 00:09:22 They won't go in and take the land. And so, therefore, God says, because of your unbelief, your lack of faith, that adult generation would die in the wilderness. And so, Deuteronomy 214, you can look up the verse, actually says that they wandered for 38 years, right? Meaning they were in the desert for 40 years, but they wandered because of unbelief 38 years, which is what this is doing with. That to me is really an amazing thing that these numbers have this kind of significance. That's amazing. Rabbi Jason, I'm still wondering how to pronounce your last name, even though I've known you for years.
Starting point is 00:09:57 Right. Sobel. Yes. Sobel, ladies and gentlemen. Sobel. So we're at a time. Rabbi Jason Sobel, the book is Signs and Secrets of the Messiah. I've got to get you back, ASAP. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Shalom, Shalom. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, lots of companies are coming out saying they'll pay for employee abortion travel and expenses. Most of you've heard about some of these companies. you've decided to stop shopping or doing business there, but did you know that you most likely own stock in those companies
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Starting point is 00:10:46 like companies paying for abortion travel. You need to go to Inspire Advisors, com slash Eric to connect with an Inspire Advisors Financial Professional who can run your report and help remove companies paying for abortion travel today. Go to inspireadvisors.com slash Eric. That's inspireadvisors.com slash Eric. Advisory services are offered through Inspire Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor with the SEC.
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Starting point is 00:12:23 Welcome back. I warned you that I would have a real game. and I do. She's sitting with me here. Her name is Jacqueline. Jacqueline, welcome. Thank you so much. Jacqueline, I'm really impressed that I pronounced Jacqueline as I think you would wish me to pronounce it, but how do you pronounce your last name? That's the other question. Fritchie Cornaz. Are you sure? Yes. You're sure. How would you know?
Starting point is 00:12:47 Okay, I'm excited because tonight I get to see the film Mother Teresa and me. There's a special screening here in New York. It's what brings you to New York, but my audience doesn't know anything about this. So would you tell them, first of all, your role in bringing the film to the screen and also a little bit about the film?
Starting point is 00:13:11 Well, good morning, America. I'm so pleased and honored to be here. It's the International Charity Day of the United Nations. Remembering Mother Teresa, it's her death anniversary. And we will have the U.S. premiere tonight.
Starting point is 00:13:26 as you say. It's an incredible joy for me that our vision came through after 14 years of a real intense journey. I remember 14 years ago I was in Mumbai. I visited some Bollywood studios. And on the way, for my first time in my life, I met some street children. And for me, that was incredibly touching and shocking because I watched her eyes and I could see this lack of perspectives which made me so sad and also
Starting point is 00:14:04 angry. I entered the next film studio and there was this huge painting on Mother Teresa and spontaneously I asked this producer have you ever thought of making a film about this incredible woman who had the courage and the strong
Starting point is 00:14:22 strength to get up every morning to face this misery. And we were so grateful, Richard, my husband and myself, to be able to create and establish a foundation, Zaria Foundation, to be able to do a fundraising all over the world to finance the production. We found Kamal Musal, a Swiss Indian filmmaker, who wrote a very compelling script with two parallel stories, one about Mother Teresa as the human being, the woman behind the saint,
Starting point is 00:15:02 who no one knows, you know, really. And the parallel story with Kavita, a young woman, with her own conflicts, and so it's a very compelling film. I then started in my research, and the work for an actor, It's the highest discipline to play a well-known personality. So let's be clear.
Starting point is 00:15:28 You play Mother Teresa in this film. Yes, I do. You're way too tall to play Mother Teresa. I will be, you know, interested to hear your feedback tonight after you have seen the film. Listen, I don't think film magic is film magic. I mean, it really doesn't matter. But it's just extraordinary to think that you are playing this gigantic hero, of course, many people would literally say that she's a saint.
Starting point is 00:15:57 And this just must be tremendously difficult and humbling thing as an actress to put yourself in that. I mean, it would be much easier, you know, to play Princess Diana, who died on the same day Mother Teresa did in a way than to play Mother Teresa. I have a personal reason for saying this because Mother Teresa, she's been a hero to me for a long time. in my book Seven Women. She is one of the figures that I write about in my book Seven Women. But in 2012, I was invited to be the main speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. And I say this because I watched many of the previous speakers to get some idea of what I might say. And I found almost every one of them to be kind of dull.
Starting point is 00:16:48 Can I say that on the air? D-U-L-L-L-L. They were so bipartisan, they said nothing, most of them, until I watched Mother Teresa. And I was astounded at the authority that this tiny woman had when she spoke. So just to stand where she stood and to speak at the National Prayer, because it was so daunting to me. So to my mind, playing her in a film, I just can't imagine how you prepare yourself for something like that. Well, it was a journey, and of course I was very humble. I had a lot of respect to, you know, take that challenge.
Starting point is 00:17:25 But it was also so enriching and so fulfilling because I knew that I can transmit a message. And that, you know, I, first of all, I worked with the sisters in Calcutta at the Shishubavan with the abandoned and multiple handicapped children. I went to Skopje to get to know her family. I received that wonderful silver cross from one of her relatives, because they were all jewelers on the mother's side. I went to a monastery in Switzerland. I stayed there for a while to find out about the relationship between a nun and Jesus Christ in the suffering at the cross because that was very important for Mother Teresa.
Starting point is 00:18:09 And as a Protestant, I didn't know that. So I also learned some Albanian accent, some Bengali. and, of course, as a method actress, I try to really go into all these different energies. You're a method actress. Do you know that we're about 50 feet away from the Lee Strasbourg Studios? Did you know that?
Starting point is 00:18:31 Yes, I know that. We're right, like, if we drill through that wall, I think we're going to hit James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. They're right through that wall. Wonderful. No, but it's so that's very interesting to hear that you say that. And of course, yes, she was from Albania. Many people forget because we associate her with India.
Starting point is 00:18:48 But I have myself been to Skopje and I saw the place, her birth home, this tainy spot where this woman grew up in very humble circumstances. What an amazing story. What an amazing story and what an amazing woman, you know. With 18 years, she left Skopje to go to Calcutta. And there she worked as a teacher first. and then she really left everything behind to follow her vocation and to go into the slums and to build up schools, to be there for the poorest of the poor.
Starting point is 00:19:25 And I'm so thrilled, you know, that through this film, actually, we are able to give all the revenues to poorest children for education and health care. And it's a great joy today is the International Charity Day of the United Nations. I remembering Mother Teresa to be able to ask people to live with more respect, tolerance and compassion because our world desperately needs more compassion and more, you know, love in action, as Mother Teresa said. And we also hope to inspire a lot of young generations to think and to reflect about their own values
Starting point is 00:20:11 and to create their own visions and to stuck with them even in times of troubles and doubts, as Mother Teresa did. Have you been an actress your whole career? Yes. And did at some point you become serious about your faith, or was this just when you encountered the story of Mother Teresa, did it light on fire for you? Well, I was always interested and was always important to me that I had. have a message with my work
Starting point is 00:20:43 and that I can really stay behind the content of a film or a script or a theater play, you know, in Switzerland. We also work as stage actors because the market is so small with all the different language areas.
Starting point is 00:21:00 So it was always very important to me that I can you know kind of be convinced about what I do. In some ways it's hard for me to believe that in other film hasn't been made about Mother Teresa. I mean, somebody must have made some film at some point.
Starting point is 00:21:15 There are some films, but I think that in our film, we really try to show the human being and the woman behind the saint so that people can be motivated to see even a saint had her very, very dark times. And she was so lonely, which made me really, you know, I cry when I read her letters. which were published in 2007 because she didn't have any sister to talk about. She had to be the role model. So she stayed in this dark moment
Starting point is 00:21:53 and she felt so lonely and that's why she started to write letters. So she had kind of a possibility to express her feelings. So were these letters written to someone or just like a diary? Well, they were written very often to God directly, so she just had to get out. So she didn't need to mail them.
Starting point is 00:22:17 No. No. And I mean, it's amazing what this woman built up today. We have 5,000 sisters around the world. She didn't have any, you know, business training. She didn't have internet at that time. No, back office, nothing. So, I mean, it's amazing. Well, we're going to go to a break, but I want to tell people that this film will be available as a a fathom event across America on October 5th. It's exciting. You can go to Mother Teresa and me.com for details. I think there's a lot of hyphens in there. Mother Teresa and me.
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Starting point is 00:24:44 but for a limited time for all my listeners, go to Mypillow.com, use promo code Eric to snag this set for just 3999. That's a 50% discount. Visit Mypillar.com today or dial 800-978-3057 to grab this deal with promo code Eric. Act fast. It won't last. Use promo code Eric for more specials. 800-9783057.3057. Use promo code Eric or Mypillow.com. Folks, welcome back. I have the privilege of sitting here in the studio with Jacqueline Frichie Cornaz, or something like that. I tried not to mess it up too bad. You're just perfect. Thank you. Jacqueline, do you, because I don't. Yes, I'm French. Forlisdorf-Deutsche-Kunenver, Unterhalten. Your native language, of course, you live in Switzerland, is German.
Starting point is 00:25:46 It's Swiss German. What's the difference between Swiss German and German? Swiss German is like a Dutch. dialect. I think that, you know, Germans couldn't understand us if we talk in our dialect, but we learn it as a first language in kindergarten and school. And then it's a French, Italian, English. Today, of course, we start with English. And, you know, any other language. But it's a great privilege to live in a country where you have all these languages around because it's so enriching. and you're able to travel and to talk to the people
Starting point is 00:26:21 and to just be in a contact. Did you know as a girl growing up in Switzerland that you would be an actress, that you would want to be an actress? You know, I was on stage with five years, the first time in my ballet class. I was a little rat, and we just, you know, were dancing on stage.
Starting point is 00:26:45 I hope this was the nutcracker. No? It was. Oh, good. And, of course, I was, you know, I was so thrilled to feel the emotion. And this first time, I felt that I'm like an instrument. I played with my body, with my soul, and I could transmit something. And I could feel that the audiences would respond.
Starting point is 00:27:09 So that was actually the moment, which was so inspiring to me, which always told me, even if I'm nervous, you know, before a premiere or something, just go back to that little girl, to that rat, and I could, you know, kind of feel that I can make people happy. Yeah. And how did you find your way into method acting? That was a wonderful, wonderful coincidence. I applied for a workshop of Susan Batson, a very famous coach.
Starting point is 00:27:43 You know, she works with Nicole Kidman, with Julia. at Binoche. And she once came to Europe before the pandemic. And I was in Berlin. I did that workshop and I did a second one. I was privileged to be a part of it. And then she invited me to come to New York to continue the work to really go deeper into the character of Mother Teresa, which helped me an enormous, enormous way. And I'm so thrilled that she will be here tonight. in our premiere. Oh, she will be there. I'll get to meet her.
Starting point is 00:28:20 Okay. The famous acting coach. Yes. Okay, so you were speaking a moment ago about Mother Teresa's struggle, and I think that it's interesting. You know, people say it's lonely at the top. In other words, here she is not just the head of this internationally famous organization institution, where she's reaching out to the poor,
Starting point is 00:28:46 but she's world known, internationally known, and I can imagine that the pressure for her to appear like the perfect Christian must have been very painful, very difficult. Because as you just said, you're tempted never to show weakness because you're put out there as a role model. So that's at the heart of her loneliness,
Starting point is 00:29:07 as you were just describing it. It must have been so terrible, I mean, the suffering in the letters which you can feel makes you so sad, really. She went through a terrible time. And it was not just for a few days, it was over decades. But she continued to follow her vocation.
Starting point is 00:29:33 She even did another vow to stay with that vocation. And I think that can also be inspiring for people today because we give up. easily. And also for a younger generation, it can be so inspiring, motivating. And that's why we really want to transmit the woman behind the same, because a lot of people don't know that woman. And it can be, it can, you know, help to create more love in action and compassion and love and tolerance. Yeah. Well, yeah, it's important for us. I mean, when we're talking about what it means to be a Christian, is that we have to be honest that the greatest Christians struggle.
Starting point is 00:30:25 And Mother Teresa is thought of as one of the greatest Christians of our time, but she struggled tremendously. There's a spiritual battle, which I think people forget, that there's a real spiritual battle. And so I'm just very glad that you get into that. in the film. Now, for people just tuning in, what is the general plot of the film, just so people and I said, we're talking about Mother Teresa and me? Well, as I said, it's on one hand the story of Mother Teresa entering the slums, building up her congregation, and, you know, going through these struggles and overcome these struggles by just following her vocation. And it's intertwined it actually a parallel story, a contemporary story,
Starting point is 00:31:15 which makes the film very compelling. The story of the young Cavita. She is originally Indian growing up in London. Her boyfriend left her when he hears that she's pregnant. And she escapes to Calcutta to see her nanny because there she feels comforted and loved because her parents want to marry her in a higher caste. And this nanny works with the missionaries of charity for a long time.
Starting point is 00:31:50 That's called a cliffhanger, folks. Don't go away. You'll hear the rest of that and other sentences when we come back. Welcome back. It's my privilege to be speaking with the actress and producer Jacqueline Frichie Kornas. I keep trying. You are just telling us this story of... So this film, Mother Teresa and me, there are two storylines.
Starting point is 00:32:37 One is the story of Mother Teresa, whom you play in the film. But the second storyline involves this girl you were just telling us about named Cavita. And so that's happening in a contemporary time. In other words, when she goes to Calcutta and she meets the Sisters of Mercy, she does not meet Mother Teresa because this is years after the passing of Mother Teresa. Exactly. Okay. Exactly. There is one moment actually where Mother Teresa holds her in her arms when she, you know, took her out of a burning hut.
Starting point is 00:33:13 So as a baby, Kavita, she's in the arms of Mother Teresa. But I don't want to tell more about Kavita because it's so interesting, I think, for the audiences to discover themselves the whole story. because Calcutta and Mother Teresa really changes the life of this young woman. Well, it's interesting you talk about, I don't know how you phrased it, but Mother Teresa was putting her faith into action. And this is a big thing. The great Christian Dietrich Bonhoffer about whom I've written, this was his central idea, if you can boil things down,
Starting point is 00:33:55 was that unless you're living out your faith, you really don't have faith. You have to live it out. You have to put it into action. And in a way, when you put your faith into action, it deepens your faith. And so it's kind of a conundrum because it's the two go together. And I think a lot of times the tragedy of many Protestants or evangelicals, because I wrote a biography also about Martin Luther, is to say it's just faith as though it's this intellectual thing. And they forget that I must put it into action. otherwise perhaps I have no real faith. And so it's an important idea, and so I'm excited that in this film you give people an opportunity to see that, because that's something that people often think of Christianity as just a series of doctrines or beliefs, and that's not right. Well, on one hand, of course, we see Mother Teresa as a Christian, as a Catholic nun, but we also feel this universal energy of love because this many,
Starting point is 00:34:58 of Kavita, she says, you know, Hindus, Christian, Muslims, we all need the same love. And I think that's the main message of the film, because our world needs a lot of love to, you know, to develop and to overcome all these crisis, wars and conflicts. So the film doesn't take a position, but it wants to inspire people to live with more love in action. Right. And of course, I, this is where I, would jump in and say, but theology does matter, because where do we get this idea of love? I would argue we get it from the Bible and other religions don't give it. But I would also say that every human being in the world is hungry for that love, which is really at the center of the message of the film. Now, if people want to see the film, I want to say it again. October 5th, it's a fathom event, 800 theaters across the nation. And if people want to find out where they can see it, what film theaters carry it, where should they go? Well, on one hand, it's on the website of the film,
Starting point is 00:36:10 Mother Teresa and me.com. And on the other hand, it's on the film website, or on the website of Fathom Events. Okay, Fathom Events. Yeah. And so what have people been saying about the film now that it's been out? Because I know launching a film is a huge,
Starting point is 00:36:28 huge, huge thing. And I'm just in awe that you've spent years doing this. I mean, actually, before I ask you about the response to it, what is it, you know, for you, you said it was 13 years ago, you had this experience. What was the process for you to bring this film to reality? Because it's a gigantic thing. It is a gigantic film project. And, you know, it has taken us 10 years to just do the fundraising to get the production financed.
Starting point is 00:37:04 And there were moments, of course, where I said, I don't have the strength anymore. It wasn't that I wanted to give up, never, ever. I just felt this vision so strongly. But there were moments where I then had the chance also as a method actress to just go into these feelings because I knew Mother Teresa was in those moments very often. And that also helped me to support preparation. Then, you know, we had the challenge of the pandemic. We just finalized the shootings in Mumbai.
Starting point is 00:37:40 We had to wait eight months until we could continue in London and then in Calcutta. There were so many challenges. And I'm so grateful for Kamal Musal's work as a scriptwriter director and also producer and the whole crew and the team behind, it's amazing really what we did together. And that also gave me the strength to be the one who carries on. And it helped me a lot. Have you produced the film before or is this the first time?
Starting point is 00:38:15 I have produced a lot of theater productions. This is the first big film production. Right. So you're an actress. and a producer. And how did you go about finding someone to share the vision, to write the script? I mean, how did that work for you? Well, I'm a person who can be very inspired myself.
Starting point is 00:38:41 And I think that's a talent that I can inspire others because I'm just so passionate about it. And I just believed in it. And fortunately, even if it has taken a lot of time, people always jumped on the project. We first produced just a small, tiny trailer in Calcutta to show people around the world in a lot of fundraising events and presentations, how we would like to make this vision come true. And then, you know, suddenly a lot of people were behind it and now around the world. We released it in Switzerland, in India, in Latin America, and now in America.
Starting point is 00:39:28 So this huge success is just so fulfilling because the more people can see the movie, the more people are a part of this vision and of this message. It's very exciting. I'm just very excited that you accomplish this, that you're here in New York. Folks, the film is Mother Teresa and me. October 5th Fathom event. We'll be right back. Welcome back. I continue my conversation with Jacqueline. And Jacqueline, I was telling you that when I was invited, really astonished that I was invited to be the speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast, I watched so many previous speakers. And they all, almost all of them, were very shy about saying anything strong about faith.
Starting point is 00:40:43 And I thought, what an irony and what a tragedy, because this is the point of the prayer breakfast. but they were all so bipartisan. They didn't want to offend anybody. And it was kind of annoying because I thought to myself, isn't this the point of the breakfast, until I watched Mother Teresa from 1994. And I, I mean, no joke, because she was 4'10, nobody seems to have prepared.
Starting point is 00:41:07 So the microphone was literally like this. I mean, I'm not kidding. I mean, if you watch the video and people should watch it. So I watched her, and she spoke with this fire, I said, this is unbelievable because she didn't do it. It's not like when people get loud or something. I mean, it came from her soul that this was, she spoke with the authority that God gave her. And it was so powerful.
Starting point is 00:41:31 And she spoke about the unborn, which is a big issue for me. But she said it with humility, but also boldness. And I said, this is amazing to be able to say this in this way. And because of what she said, I said what I said when I spoke at the moment. the National Prayer Breakfast. In other words, I thought to myself, if this 4'10, Albanian nun can go in front of the world and say those things, I can certainly do something. I can say something. And so I assume that because of her inspiration, I was much bolder in what I said. And I think when you're bold, you encourage others to be bold. And so I just feel like I have this connection
Starting point is 00:42:14 with Mother Teresa because she was really unique. It's hard to think of anybody quite like her. Are you familiar with the Malcolm Muggeridge film about her life? Yes, of course. Most people aren't. Why do you say a word about that? Because she was really introduced to the world through another great Christian hero named Malcolm Muggeridge who made a film called Something Beautiful for God.
Starting point is 00:42:37 But this is about 1970 or something? Oh, I can't even tell you which year. But, of course, during my research, I watched a lot of films and I write a lot of books. Yeah. But, I mean, she was working in obscurity in the slums of Calcutta, and somehow Malcolm Muggeridge, this great British journalist who became a Christian, discovered her and made this film about her. And so many people, I think, she came to be known to the world through the film called Something Beautiful for God,
Starting point is 00:43:14 by Malcolm Muggridge. And then the rest, of course, is history, to the whole world. knows Mother Teresa. Yeah. Well, he opened the door, and I think that's wonderful. So the world could really get to know this woman. And I'm so glad that she got well known because she deserved it. And she needed all these contacts through her, you know, being well known
Starting point is 00:43:42 because she could then be an instrument to really change something. She could take the phone and call an American president, and she said, I need some helicopters because here we have food, but we cannot deliver it. So, I mean, that was fantastic. Yeah, no, it is fantastic. And it also speaks to the power of film. There's a Bonhofer film coming out next year.
Starting point is 00:44:10 There's something about a film, if it's well made, that can change things. And so that's why I'm just so glad. When I heard about this film, I said, I hope we can get you on the program. So again, it's an October 5th Fathom event. Mother Teresa and me and Jacqueline. Congratulations. And thank you for your time. Thank you so much.
Starting point is 00:44:33 It was a privilege to be here.

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