"I thought I knew a lot about Fatima ... but I learned a ton from 'Finding Fatima'."

Sister Helena Burns reviews the DVD,  "Finding Fatima", which was produced by the award-winning filmmakers of the film "The 13th Day":

Great new DVD from the makers of The 13th Day, Finding Fatima is shot in the same Bresson-esque and super-stylized way as The 13th Day. While hearkening to and honoring filmmaking's past, the Brothers Higgins are simultaneously bringing the story and message of Fatima to a new generation.

As much as I love watching documentaries, I was just going to give this a quick perusal, but I got hooked and couldn't stop watching.

I thought I knew a lot about Fatima – it's my favorite Marian apparation, and I've been reading books and watching films about Fatima since I was a teenager — but I learned a ton from Finding Fatima. Finding Fatima could be called "Fatima Then and Now," because it brings us up to speed on the Fatima story as it continues to unfold in our present day.

Read the entire review. For more Fatima resources, visit the "Fatima for Today" website. Here is more about "Finding Fatima":

Produced by the award-winning filmmakers of the highly acclaimed feature film The 13th Day, this is a powerful and in-depth documentary that combines archival footage, dramatic reenactments, original interviews with Fatima experts and stunning visuals to tell the whole story of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. With high production values and a beautiful look, artists and filmmakers Ian and Dominic Higgins present a compelling docu-drama on all the crucial details about the appearances and messages of Our Lady in Fatima in 1917, a message of prayer, penance and conversion that is desperately needed in our modern world. From the initial apparitions of the Angel who prepared the children for Our Lady's coming, to the Miracle of the Sun, including moving film footage from The 13th Day, this illuminating and inspiring film will impact all those who see it to personally take heed of the critical messages of Our Lady of Fatima.

"Great new DVD from the makers of The 13th Day! This film, Finding Fatima, is shot in the same Bresson-esque and super-stylized way as The 13th Day. While hearkening to and honoring filmmaking's past, the Higgins brothers are simultaneously bringing the story and message of Fatima to a new generation.

They use clips from The13th Day for the re-enactments, as we get to know the personalities of the three visionary children in depth. This documentary is chock-full of fascinating, down-to-earth interviews and historical footage, all presented in a spritely way. There's not a dull moment in this life and joy-filled documentary, even with its more sombre sepia-toned visual edges! Innovative without being novel or gimmicky, Finding Fatima has a 21st-century feel to it.

The pacing is perfect, the interview clips are kept short, and the interviewees even sort of "dialogue" with each other! The soundtrack is as mottled as the bordering-on-dreamy palette of colors the film is shot in. Perhaps Ian and Dominic Higgins are onto something new: "transcendent filmmaking." Although all filmmaking should have the quality of the transcendent, what if your film really is about the real Queen of heaven and earth? Finding Fatima is a template of how you might want to proceed."
-Sister Helena Burns, FSP, Film Reviewer, The Catholic New World

Here are some clips from the documentary:

Related on Ignatius Insight:

• The Controversy Over the Third Secret: Objections and Responses | Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R. | Appendix D from Fatima For Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope