Interior Teresa is a re-imagining of St. Teresa of Avila and set modern-day. It centers on Teresa and Major, two teenagers who both don’t really know how they feel about God, especially Teresa who’s started having strange visions. When they meet on a Sunday afternoon, both stuck cleaning the church sanctuary, they spend the afternoon opening up about their experiences with spirituality and sex. As the day progresses, both move toward their own epiphanies, encompassing their vices and also the free price of love. For Teresa, these realizations may come in an unusual form.
Runtime:
00:14:27
English subtitle:
Yes
Information for the Audience:
Director Statement
I’ve always had a problem with sex and religion. Growing up in Texas in a neighborhood where everyone and their dog went to church on Sunday, I always felt a disconnect. My friends and I would party the night before and show up to service hung over like it was nothing. I was sexual, curious and I also very much believed in God. But since my sexual escapades weren’t exactly acceptable, I hid them. I felt shame. As I grew older, I wondered why can’t a woman be sexual and also of God? I always land back at marriage and chastity and the same argument. But in today’s culture, where technology is rapidly evolving us and the classic nuclear household is declining…does it all work? Does the bible make sense anymore and are the rules outdated?
Then, about two years ago, I read about St. Teresa of Avila. Not only did she have visions from God, but she also viewed spirituality as something innately sensual. She viewed it as ecstasy. Ultimately, she re-defined God for herself. It was about her personal relationship with her higher power instead of placating others. I dove into her book about inner spiritual cultivation, “Interior Castles” that stressed the patience and craft of re-building the soul from the ground up. I wondered, this young woman who lived in the 1500s, what would her story be like modern day? What would it look like if a girl cried wolf, or God? What was the interior of Teresa?
I believe, in today’s culture, that the only salvation for religion is re-defining it, the way Teresa did. And by religion, I mean spirituality. I mean the “higher power” discussed in AA. I mean the “higher self” referred to in yoga, mediation, and any weight loss program around. What does spirituality mean to us now and how can we make it really work for ourselves?
All this is explored more in depth in Interior Teresa the feature. But here, I wanted to focus on the meeting of two main characters: Teresa and Major. They’re best friends in the feature and the short is their origin story. Major and Teresa are exactly where I was at 17, and perhaps where most people were. They’re hungry for love, for understanding, but they’re lost. I wanted to put these two lost people in a place that’s also become lost: the church. Can a 17-year old actually feel at home here? I wanted to let them have a chance to re-define this space. When they begin to do that, and feel safe, they can explore, and re-define, interiorly. In the end, it’s about two people understanding that they deserve love. For me, that’s a relationship always connected to a higher power and higher self.
Interior Teresa is a re-imagining of St. Teresa of Avila and set modern-day. It centers on Teresa and Major, two teenagers who both don’t really know how they feel about God, especially Teresa who’s started having strange visions. When they meet on a Sunday afternoon, both stuck cleaning the church sanctuary, they spend the afternoon opening up about their experiences with spirituality and sex. As the day progresses, both move toward their own epiphanies, encompassing their vices and also the free price of love. For Teresa, these realizations may come in an unusual form.
Director Statement
I’ve always had a problem with sex and religion. Growing up in Texas in a neighborhood where everyone and their dog went to church on Sunday, I always felt a disconnect. My friends and I would party the night before and show up to service hung over like it was nothing. I was sexual, curious and I also very much believed in God. But since my sexual escapades weren’t exactly acceptable, I hid them. I felt shame. As I grew older, I wondered why can’t a woman be sexual and also of God? I always land back at marriage and chastity and the same argument. But in today’s culture, where technology is rapidly evolving us and the classic nuclear household is declining…does it all work? Does the bible make sense anymore and are the rules outdated?
Then, about two years ago, I read about St. Teresa of Avila. Not only did she have visions from God, but she also viewed spirituality as something innately sensual. She viewed it as ecstasy. Ultimately, she re-defined God for herself. It was about her personal relationship with her higher power instead of placating others. I dove into her book about inner spiritual cultivation, “Interior Castles” that stressed the patience and craft of re-building the soul from the ground up. I wondered, this young woman who lived in the 1500s, what would her story be like modern day? What would it look like if a girl cried wolf, or God? What was the interior of Teresa?
I believe, in today’s culture, that the only salvation for religion is re-defining it, the way Teresa did. And by religion, I mean spirituality. I mean the “higher power” discussed in AA. I mean the “higher self” referred to in yoga, mediation, and any weight loss program around. What does spirituality mean to us now and how can we make it really work for ourselves?
All this is explored more in depth in Interior Teresa the feature. But here, I wanted to focus on the meeting of two main characters: Teresa and Major. They’re best friends in the feature and the short is their origin story. Major and Teresa are exactly where I was at 17, and perhaps where most people were. They’re hungry for love, for understanding, but they’re lost. I wanted to put these two lost people in a place that’s also become lost: the church. Can a 17-year old actually feel at home here? I wanted to let them have a chance to re-define this space. When they begin to do that, and feel safe, they can explore, and re-define, interiorly. In the end, it’s about two people understanding that they deserve love. For me, that’s a relationship always connected to a higher power and higher self.
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A film by Meredith Alloway
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