As I mentioned during her Feast Day, Hildegard of Bingen is clearly one of the most extraordinary women in history, if not the most extraordinary.  Her achievements, including standing up to and even actively challenging The Church, and recording her visions and music, would be remarkable for any person of her time, let alone a woman.  Thankfully, her contributions are readily being recognized – composers have actively re-set her texts, and her chants have been recorded by a contemporary Swedish electronic ensemble (check out Garmarna – they have clips on their website).

Last year German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta released a new film about Hildegard’s life.  Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen was only available in Germany, until now!

The film is opening in New York City on October 13, in Philadelphia on October 22, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Minneapolis on November 5, and San Francisco and Washington DC on November 12.  You can see more dates on the film website.

I am very anxious to see this film and how it portrays the amazing life and work of my favorite historical figure.  Though I’m sure that there will be at least a few conflicts in historical accuracy, and how could there not be, I will be thrilled if only to see the medieval cloisters that they used to film movie and recognize the effort of Margarethe von Trotta in returning to her original writings and church documents to convey the truth of the events that unfolded in Hildegard’s life.  I’m also envisioning the inherent camaraderie that will be present among the fellow theater-goers!

The film’s website has far more information about the movie, including a detailed history of Hildegard’s life, with a timeline, as well as why this topic was of such importance to the filmmaker.