20 years in the making, artist and director Annie Berman’s documentary “The Faithful: The King, The Pope, The Princess” on the popularity of cultural icons – Elvis, Princess Diana, and Pope John Paul II, opens in New York during Elvis Week on Friday, August 13 at Maysles Documentary Center.
Elvis, Princess Diana, and Pope John Paul II are undoubtedly still alive today, thanks to their devoted followers who love, admire, and consume them. Literally.
The Faithful, a new film by writer/director Annie Berman, powerfully explores fandom, memorabilia and the magnetic appeal of three of the most influential cultural icons of our time. This documentary, twenty years in the making, leads viewers on an emotional journey leaving them looking inwards, reflecting on their own lives and the connections they cherish.
A Pope John Paul II lollipop. An Elvis Presley shower curtain. A Princess Diana teacup. These are just some of the countless pieces of memorabilia that these pop culture icons’ most devoted fans collect and cherish… but why? Berman profiles these figures’ biggest fans and makes numerous pilgrimages to Vatican City, Graceland, and Kensington Palace. As the years go by, the film itself becomes increasingly entwined with Berman’s daily life and identity, much like how these officially-licensed knick-knacks define the fans she filmed.
Watch the trailer for The Faithful.
Annie Berman (Producer, Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Narrator, Co-Editor) is a media artist living and working in New York City. Named one of Independent Magazine’s “10 Filmmakers to Watch,” her films, videos, performances, and installations have shown internationally in galleries, festivals, universities, and conferences, including the MoMA Documentary Fortnight, Rooftop Films, Galerie Patrick Ebensperger Berlin, Kassel Hauptbahnhof, Spring / Break Art Show, Flux Factory, Babycastles Gallery, and the Rome Independent Film Festival where she was awarded the Best Experimental Film Prize. Her work has received support from the Puffin Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, Wave Farm, Grant for the Web, the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts, the Center for Independent Documentary, Signal Culture, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and UnionDocs. She holds an MFA in Integrated Media Art from Hunter College, teaches at City College, and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective.