Polish-Flemish philosopher Alicja Gescinska interviews national and international personalities with diverse philosophical and religious backgrounds.
As a child, Anisa Mehdi (60) celebrated Christmas, Easter, bar mitzvahs and Ramadan - and she assumed that everyone did. This mixed religious upbringing has had a strong influence on her work as a journalist and documentary filmmaker. She was the first woman to report on the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. The winner of two Emmy Awards and flutist, Alicja meets with her at home in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Alicja Gescinska
Self - Host
Now playing Season 1, Episode 6 — Anisa Mehdi
September 4, 2016
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Season 1 • 9 episodes
Alicja meets with Sir Roger Vernon Scruton at his magnificent estate which he has named “Scrutopia,” the perfect place for her to try to loosen the strong views of this green conservative thinker. Scruton is an English philosopher who specialises in aesthetics and has written more than forty books on philosophy, art, and politics. He rides horses, plays the piano and organ at the Anglican Church and plunges Alicja into rural life.
In a house full of monumental sculptures and delicate busts Alicja meets sculptor Alexander Stoddart. In 2008 the artist from Glasgow Scotland became court sculptor of the British royal family. He has since become one of the most renowned classical sculptors from Britain. Alicja becomes fascinated by his talent, glib tongue and his passion for the Baptist Church.
Alicja meets Connie Palmen, the leading lady of Dutch literature and a true Catholic. They meet in the heart of Amsterdam and talk about faith, love and death.
Alicja meets Raymond Tallis, a neuroscientist and philosopher who doesn't believe in God and calls himself an optimistic humanist. After his retirement he became a full-time writer and poet, and he writes about art, culture, spirit and nature. Alicja is a guest in his home in Manchester and accompanies him in The Athenaeum Club, a gentleman's club in Pall Mall in London, where Darwin and Dickens were members.
The Benedictine monk Laurence Freeman (65) is a world authority in the field of meditation. He lives in a monastery without walls, travels the whole world, and has a permanent place in the center of London. The author of dozens of books and friend of the Dalai Lama is a staunch advocate of interfaith dialogue. On the feast day of St. Benedict he takes Alicja to the convent in Turvey and teaches her to meditate.
As a child, Anisa Mehdi (60) celebrated Christmas, Easter, bar mitzvahs and Ramadan - and she assumed that everyone did. This mixed religious upbringing has had a strong influence on her work as a journalist and documentary filmmaker. She was the first woman to report on the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. The winner of two Emmy Awards and flutist, Alicja meets with her at home in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Krzysztof Zanussi is one of the most renowned movie directors in Europe. Alicja visits him at his home just outside Warsaw.
Alicja travels to Amsterdam to meet with Lieve Joris (63), a Belgian non-fiction writer. Lieve has traveled the world, often in very difficult conditions, writing about the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa. She often works as an au pair in her host countries, afterwards always returning to her nest in Amsterdam which she shares with her Polish husband Marek. Alicja visits them together in Neerpelt, where Lieve grew up in a family of nine children.
In the last episode Alicja visits Lydia Chagoll (85), choreographer, filmmaker and writer. Chagoll calls herself 100% humanist and rebel. Her social commitment is reflected in word and deed: she worked as a lay counselor in prisons and writes and films about prisoners, child abuse and euthanasia.
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