Jung and Film Online | Conclave

Presented by: John Gosling, Julie Manegold & Grace Reid
Venue: Online via Zoom. We will be screening the film online on the evening.
Date: Friday evening, 28 February 2025
Time: 6pm – 9pm SAST (GMT+2).
Please log in by 5.50pm, the screening starts promptly at 6pm SAST
Fee: ZAR150 per film evening.
Film notes will be provided beforehand. Booking is essential.

If you enjoy exploring films from a Jungian perspective, you are warmly invited to attend our next Jung & Film evening on Friday 28 February 2025, featuring Conclave (run time: 2hrs).

This film, based on Robert Harris’s 2016 thriller of the same title, centres on a British cardinal (a sensational Ralph Fiennes) and a campaign for a new pope. It is a battle for hearts, minds and power.

Conclave (2024) takes us inside an ancient, mysterious process that has inspired endless curiosity for hundreds of years: the assembly of Catholic cardinals to select a new Pope.

Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence, who, after the sudden death of the pope, must park his own religious doubts to wrangle the 113 cardinals who have descended on the Vatican. These men will be sequestered until they can elect one of their number as the new pontiff. Among them are the gentle progressive Bellini (Stanley Tucci) and smooth traditionalist Tremblay (John Lithgow). Both have secrets. But are they as lethal as those of their friends – and rivals? Isabella Rossellini is formidable as Sister Agnes, a nun who is supposed to be invisible but observes everything.

In this film, it is the universal humanity of the clergy, the ambition, the manipulation, the grand visions, the pettiness, the disagreements about faith vs. doubt, progress vs. tradition, “we” vs. “they” that resonate most deeply. “Even in the sequestered quarters, rumours, revelations, and events take the characters on a breathing Rubik’s Cube-style series of twists and turns. The final surprise may seem outrageous initially, but it is crafted to fit the story as satisfyingly as the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle.” (RogerEbert.com)

These evenings are open to all interested members of the public and clinicians. We look forward to sharing this enriching cinematic experience with you, and to continuing our stimulating film discussions.

Watch the official film trailer here: 

Please note:

• Bookings and payments are now via the SAAJA website only (book your tickets online further below)
• You’ll receive the Zoom link upon confirmation of your booking, but it will also be distributed via email to all registered participants on the day of the event.
• If you don’t have it already, you will need to download Zoom prior to this event – you simply download the free Zoom App onto your computer or mobile device.

About the Facilitators

John Gosling is a psychiatrist and Jungian analyst. He trained at the C.G. Jung Institute of New York and returned to Cape Town in 2004. He is a past-president of SAAJA and is also a training analyst. He has a special interest in unprocessed trauma, the lifelong effects this has on our lives if left untreated. and how psychoneurobiology informs our work and approach to psyche. He actively works with dreams and has a special interest in applying the principles of analytical psychology to films and everyday life.

Julie Manegold is a clinical psychologist, art psychotherapist and Jungian analyst working in private practice in Hilton in KwaZulu Natal. She has a longstanding interest in the mystical traditions of various religions, with a specific interest in Gnosis, Sufism and Christian Mysticism. Her areas of clinical interest include the challenges of midlife, dream analysis and working with images.

Grace Reid is a psychologist and Jungian analyst who practices psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and supervision in Kenilworth. Her training and education took place mostly in the United States, where she was in private practice for five years before moving to Cape Town in 1990. Her special interests include the psychology of aging, dream analysis, psychological types, and the practical application of Jungian theory in everyday life. She has served as secretary of SAAJA and is a training analyst.