There have been numerous books written about the life
of Blessed Joseph Vaz, Patron of the Archdiocese of Goa
and Daman. Unfortunately, very few take to reading about
the life of the soon be canonised saint. However, large
audiences have been drawn towards Agnelo Fernandes’
film, ‘Panvlam’. Fernandes, who has directed the movie
showcases the life and the struggle of Blessed Joseph Vaz
as he made his way from Goa to Sri Lanka and preached
the word of the Lord. The film, which was made in 2011
has been showcased in nearly 80 parishes in Goa.
Agnelo Fernandes, from Consua, Verna, had earlier
released an audio CD in Konkani by the same name, which
was awarded Best Album in Konkani in the Devotional
Category by the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. The lyrics on
the album were penned by Agnelo Fernandes with music
by Rev Fr Peter Cardoso, sfx. The same songs were later
added to the film, which has been highly appreciated.
A humble and down to earth person, Agnelo was a
catechist when he came across the books on Blessed
Joseph Vaz. He tried his hand at direction for the first time
in 2007 on his film, ‘Devacho Axirvad’. With continuous
encouragement from his parishioners and friends, he went
ahead and released his second VCD, ‘Amchea Hatant Asa’,
at the end of 2009. ‘Panvlam’ is his third project, which
was recently graded A by the Evaluation committee
under the Film Finance Scheme of 2010. However, it was
not easy to direct a film based on the life of a Saint.
Agnelo was so impressed by the life of Blessed Joseph
Vaz that he felt that the immense work of the Saint could
not be fitted into a feature film. “I could not fit it in because
of financial constraints. I still feel I should have put in more
effort. I had to recreate the era of the 1600s to early 1700s
to showcase how Blessed Joseph Vaz lived in Sri Lanka.
For the film, Agnelo approached the Entertainment
Society of Goa to avail of a financial scheme. Having
requested Rs 8 Lakh for the film, he was granted only
Rs 3 Lakh, while the other directors who approached
the committee were granted Rs 7 Lakh each. “I was
heartbroken but I didn’t give up and dedicated the
film to God. I was later given another Rs 75,000 by the
committee. Throughout the shooting of the film, I left
that God was by our side. I missed meeting with an
accident twice while shooting and yet no one was hurt,”
says Agnelo.
The film has been greatly appreciated by it’s
audiences. “I usually get feedback from the audience
who say they might not have read the book but the
film is an eye opener to understand the life of Blessed
Joseph Vaz in a better way. I am satisfied with the result.
Agnelo is an active member of Visionaries, along
with other NGOs and programmes.
Starting his career in direction in 2007, Agnelo says
that his actors have had a lot of patience and were very
supportive through his initial phase: “The actors were very
understanding and made it easy for me to direct the film
based on my story line.”
The film, ‘Panvlam’ will be screened in Sancoale on
January 13, 2015, Baradi Khuris, Betul on January 14,
2015 and at St Francis Chapel Ward, Navelim on January
15, 2015
