Bible in the Screenlife Format Is Premiering at SXSW
Screenlife series iBible included in the SXSW festival program
Russian director and producer Timur Bekmambetov will present his new project, retelling biblical stories in modern language through cellphone screens, at the SXSW Film Festival. Due to the pandemic, the event will be held online for the first time.
The project entitled iBible shows how the events of the Old Testament would unfold if a smartphone with social networks and various applications became the main tool for creating the world. The series consists of short episodes 2-3 minutes each.
The first episode about the creation of the world was directed by Bekmambetov himself. Simon and Jesse Brooks, the creators of Phony Texts, stories told through various messengers, directed the other episodes and also wrote the script. The series was produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Majd Nassif, who worked together on the screenlife zombie series Dead of Night. The project will be shown in the special events section of SXSW. The festival itself will take place online on March 16-20.
The festival program includes one more screenlife project — a new adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare. It will be shown in the Festival Favorites program. The film premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival.
Cover image: SXSW
Meet the Filmmakers: iBible Creators Talk About the Upcoming Premiere at SXSW
iBible: The Good Book Gets a Smartphone Age Update in a Screenlife Series
About Screenlife
In a Screenlife film, viewers see the action play out from the POV of the computers, tablets and smartphones used by the characters.