So Fare Films’ Inaugural Premiere: Simulating Religious Violence

So Fare Films, co-founded by JCU sociology professor Jenn Lindsay, announced the release of the documentary Simulating Religious Violence.  The film debuted on September 20 in Trento, Italy, at the Religion Today Film Festival, which is committed to the interchange between cinema and religions. 

So Fare Films is an independent documentary film production company and training program. So Fare Films’ goal is to support young talents in developing their skills and building their portfolio while producing documentaries on societal topics. Since 2017, the company has been making films, which have been presented at international festivals, conferences, and nonprofit organizations. 

The debuting documentary Simulating Religious Violence, directed by Professor Lindsay, features a group of religious scholars and computer scientists who, after being called to action by the Boston Marathon Bombing, design simulations to prevent and predict violence and religious radicalizations. They travel to refugee camps in the island of Lesvos, Greece, seeking to understand the correlations between refugee crisis and religious extremism.  

Professor Jenn Lindsay started the project back in October 2015, when one of her professors in graduate school asked her to document his group project on developing computational tools to be applied to religious studies. “I hope audiences will be inspired to reflect on the complexity of social life, the risks and potential of superdiversity, and the motivations behind social behaviors that are all too easy to view reductively,” Jenn Lindsay said. 

The film will also have its North American premiere at Boston University on November 19, followed by a panel with Professor Jenn Lindsay, LeRon Shults (one of the protagonists of the documentary), and several computing and religion scholars, moderated by film protagonist Wesley J. Wildman. It will be followed by its West Coast premiere at the San Diego Convention Center on November 23, hosted by the American Academy of Religion.   

The Rome City Premiere will be held at John Cabot University in Spring 2025.