Jessica Hausner • 2009 • Austria • Lourdes unsettles epistemologies about the occurrence of miracles

Charting a course of ambiguity between faith and doubt, Lourdes unsettles epistemologies regarding the occurrence of miracles.

Christine is afflicted by multiple sclerosis and thus confined to a wheelchair. Like many other pilgrims she travels to Lourdes, a tiny town high in the Pyrenees that remains an iconic site for the faithful. Once there something strange begins to happen—Christine appears to regain use of her limbs.

Jessica Hausner's fourth feature premiered at Venice, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize; Seville, where it won Best Film; Vienna, where it won the Best Feature Film; and Warsaw, where it won the Grand Prix.