An intelligent, devout young woman announces to her family she’s going to abandon academics and become a nun but, in so doing, finds herself in opposition to her family’s wishes and questioning her own spiritual convictions.

Creative team

Writer/director: Aren Bergstrom
Producer: Tabitha Grove

Filmmaker’s statement

How do you communicate something as personal as spiritual conviction? How do you convince the people around you you’re not throwing your life away when you’re making a decision that goes against all conventional wisdom?

These are the questions I pondered when writing and directing A Consecrated Life, a very personal short film that tries to convey the spiritual struggles of a devout young woman making a life-changing decision.

Through heartfelt conversations and glimpses into Laura’s life, the film attempts to convey the internal life of a religious person as a universal struggle, one that’s familiar to any young person fighting to choose their own way in the world.

Although we live in a world that is increasingly irreligious and atomized, I believe Laura’s journey and the overwhelming questions about destiny and calling she faces are relatable to people in all walks of life. The film is my attempt to use cinema – the world’s greatest empathy machine in the words of the late Roger Ebert – to share a personal religious journey with those people that find such journeys unfathomable.

About Aren Bergstrom

Aren Bergstrom is an independent writer, director and film critic based out of Toronto. He hails from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and holds an English degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a certificate in advanced television and film from Sheridan College.

In addition to filmmaking, he co-founded the film website 3 Brothers Film and works as a content writer for a travel company. His short films include the sci-fi comedy QuanTom, which played festivals worldwide, and the absurdist dark comedy Läck.

He directed a recent episode of the web series Walk in the Park and is currently pitching a dark mystery limited television series entitled Lazarus.