A new documentary film about Holy Cross Monastery in West Virginia, USA, is set for release on April 23rd.
The project began two and a half years ago, when Sam Cox, a young filmmaker and spiritual seeker, approached Fr. Seraphim about making the film.
Sam wanted to know why men in our time would choose to pursue monastic life. With Fr. Seraphim’s blessing, Sam began production of the film in August 2017, which lasted until January 2019. Over the course of making the film, Sam spent over three months living at the monastery. During this time, he was also united to the Holy Orthodox Church.
Unlike the monastery’s own film From the Little Mountain, New Men features interviews with various members of the coummunity, providing an intimate glimpse of the brotherhood. The recent innovation of drone photography also allowed the monastery’s picturesque natural setting to be captured more vividly than was possible a decade ago.
New Men has already been screened at a number of film festivals, as well as various Orthodox parishes in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Georgia. Starting April 23rd, the film will be available for streaming on Vimeo. DVD copies of the film will also be available, exclusively through the monastery web store.
