Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Kathleen, Mary, and Faustina Bowen via phone call on October 21st, 2024. Some of the questions have been rearranged and edited to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
Images were provided courtesy of Kathleen Bowen.
How did you come across the book Fabiola?
Faustina: We attended Our Lady of Victory Homeschool and this book was part of the 9th grade curriculum. The author told the story of Saints Sebastian and Agnes differently than you heard before. Saint Pancratius is another saint you discover in the book that you don’t hear about often.
Is he a prominent character?
Yes, both in the book and our film adaptation.
“Fabiola draws parallels between third-century Rome and our contemporary world.”
When did you seriously consider making this a film?
Mary: In 2018 we made a feature film with a budget of about $5000 called “Outlaws of Ravenhurst”. In 2020, we made another feature length (Grisly Grisell) and made a short film between now and then to perfect our skills. We knew after this short film we wanted our next feature film to be Fabiola. Over the past five years we have been working on this project. We have five drafts of this film.
Could you share specific examples from the film that you think will particularly resonate with modern audiences?
Faustina: Fabiola really talks about Rome when it is on the brink of collapse. I feel like a lot of people in our day feel like our culture is in a period of collapse. Fabiola ends on a note of hope. High times in history also come from the brink of low times or times of trial. And we may be on the brink of that (hope) with our society.
In adapting this historical narrative for the screen, how did you balance staying true to the historical period while making it accessible and meaningful for today’s viewers?
Mary: When we took the book and turned it into a screenplay we found some of the characters didn’t always have situations that translate to today. With some of the saints they didn’t seem to have personalities, we wanted to show that these characters are individuals and we wanted to showcase both their weaknesses and strengths to show how they can be relatable to us today.
For example, some of the saints were very lofty and aloof. When you are writing a script you are peeling the character apart like an onion to see the layers. We gave the characters a particular vice in the story to make it more relatable. The saints were focused on trying to overcome the vice whereas the other pagan characters weren’t as interested in overcoming the vices. So when we re-added the flesh/depth of the character these saints were different from what the original text portrays (which was more one-dimensional).
The film seems to explore themes of sacrifice and unwavering faith. Could you tell us about a particular scene or character arc that you feel most powerfully conveys these themes?
Faustina: I would say one of the most powerful examples of this is a fictional character (Syra), the Christian slave of Fabiola. Syra said, “She is sacrificing every moment of her life to bring the Gospel to Fabiola.
Kathleen: While the themes of sacrifice and faith are strong, I really think the audience is going to leave the theater with a strong sense of forgiveness from the film. In a lot of ways the film could be titled, Fulvius, after the villain. Our film will highlight the Catholic understanding of forgiveness which is really about asking God for forgiveness, then forgiving ourselves, and it’s really a bonus if others forgive us.
What inspired you to choose this specific story from Christian history, and what unique perspective does Fabiola offer compared to other faith-based films?
Faustina: Two of the characters in Fabiola are converted like how Peter and Paul are converted. One character is converted more through words than a dramatic way. She has a more sophisticated conversion. Another character has more of a Pauline conversion (knocked-off his horse). Something very momentous occurs to him and this causes him to change his ways.
In creating this film, what challenges did you face in depicting the early Christian experience in a way that would speak to both Catholic and broader audiences?
Mary: We didn’t compromise the dialogue (the word Catholic doesn’t appear in the script- we use the term Christian). Hopefully, this film is a way to bring Protestants into a realm that these are people (the martyrs) they can find heroes in. One major sticking point might be Constantine, but he is not a major figure in Fabiola.
Faustina: The thing I wanted to add, we recently watched the old Charlton Heston The Ten Commandments and we want the quality of the film to be like that movie. While it’s a Protestant made film it still appealed to Catholics. Likewise, we see our vision for the film to be similar to that high quality of faith that it appeals to a broader Christian audience. One of the patrons is actually a Baptist.
As this is your fifth film, how has your approach to creating faith-based content evolved, and what lessons from your previous projects influenced the making of Fabiola?
Mary: Something we have learned over the years, that we haven’t heard criticisms from people is that the acting is bad. We have made the lines digestible, working on camera angles. Learning how to run schedules, working with a larger cast. Also, we have been able to shift our attention from filming to the more detailed things (better scripts, building the set in an existing structure that was in the Roman area).
Kathleen: Me watching Faustina and Mary directing this time I have noticed the amount of creativity and time spent in preparation has been impressive. The time dedicated to the details and preparation really made the difference with Fabiola. It has taken seven years to get to a point where the product turns out where it looks like a movie. None of us went to film school this was all self-taught.
How can my audience support you in this project?
Faustina: We have a newsletter for them to receive updates. They can also contribute or invest at Industrious Family.
About the Bowens:
Mary Bowen and sister Faustina along with their mother Kathleen have been producing and directing films for nearly a decade. Fabiola will be the Bowen family’s first film with a full budget projected to be $1.25 million.
