Jung and Film

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Jung & Film Online

Jung and Film Online 2025 

Presenters: John Gosling, Julie Manegold & Grace Reid
Venue: Online via Zoom
Time: Friday evenings at 17:50 for 18:00 SAST
Fee: ZAR150 per film evening. Notes will be provided prior to the film evenings.
Booking is essential: made convenient through our online booking facility.

About the Jung & Film Online Film Series

Storytelling is the oldest form of transmitting wisdom from one generation to another. We build our world on the stories we tell, which confers a great responsibility on the story teller, or, in our time, the movie makers. As Jung emphasized, stories also illustrate the insights found in centuries of human cultural and psychological development.

Our goal in offering the Jung and Film series is to provide a container for depth psychological engagement with the films. In addition to the emotional conflicts of the characters, the impact of the images, the interplay of colour and light, the subtleties of sounds and music, and the aesthetic beauty of many of the scenes all serve to engage the unconscious. This has the potential to activate the unconscious and allow integration of some unresolved issues and thus further our process of growth and individuation. Some films may thus induce an unexpected new consciousness in viewers.

The film stories we have chosen for the 2025 programme of Jung and Film evenings include the struggles for leadership in the Catholic church when a new pope is elected; the issue of gaslighting, isolation and control in relationships; the tensions and dilemmas surrounding honouring and breaking of traditions, and the importance of ancient wisdoms; the battle with the inevitability of aging; and the far-reaching positive consequences of one man’s ethical choice. 

The format of our film evenings is that the attendees and facilitators watch the film together on the Zoom platform, followed by a discussion of the film, which includes contributions by facilitators and participants. Before each screening, the facilitators will circulate notes, which discuss and amplify the film. 

It is our hope that viewers will become lost in the drama of the film and potentially access aspects of their own experiences and inner life, which they may then choose to share with others during the discussion.

If you enjoy exploring films from a Jungian perspective, please feel free to join us.
These evenings are open to all interested members of the public and clinicians.
As soon as the film evenings are open for bookings, you can secure your seat by booking and purchasing a ticket online via our Events Calendar.

Jung & Film Dates for 2025

28 February 2025 – Conclave

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)

Gaslight11 April 2025 – Gaslight

Gaslight (1944) is the psychological thriller that inspired the term “gaslighting,” directed by George Cukor, starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, and Joseph Cotten. 

The film centers on Paula Alquist (Bergman), a young woman who is manipulated by her husband, Gregory Anton (Boyer), into doubting her sanity. After inheriting her aunt’s house, Paula becomes the target of Gregory’s sinister plot to drive her mad by slowly altering her environment, including dimming the gaslights and convincing her she is imagining it. As the tension escalates, Paula’s grip on reality weakens, but a determined detective (Cotten) helps her uncover the truth, revealing Gregory’s dark intentions.

The film explores themes of psychological abuse and manipulation, and Bergman’s powerful performance won her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Himalaya30 May 2025 – Himalaya: The Rearing of a Chief 

Filmed in the mountainous Dolpo region of Nepal, Himalaya tells the tale of Tinle, an aging chieftain of the Dolpo people, who learns that his son, Lhakpa, has died on an expedition with Karma, his son’s friend, and other male members of the tribe. His death resulted from a botched attempt to navigate a short cut. 

Stricken with grief, this elderly and weather-beaten leader decides that he will take charge of the arduous annual yak trek, down to the lower lands to trade Himalayan rock salt for grain.

A struggle for power and leadership and a battle between the old ways and the new ensues between old Tinle and the younger rebellious and ambitious Karma. Impetuous Karma, wanting to prove himself as a worthy leader, commences the caravan before the date prescribed by the tribal shamans, and follows his own chosen route, ignoring what happened to Llakpa. Tinle insists on guidance from the tribal oracle for the correct departure date. Karma and his men head off, whilst Tinle and the older men wait for the appointed date.

The outcome is a lesson to those who ignore the power of the gods.

25 July 2025

To be announced.

12 September 2025

To be announced.

14 November 2025

To be announced.

Please take note of the following: 

Online Bookings: Bookings and payments are now via the SAAJA website only. Book your tickets via our online booking platform which will be available for each event. 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. 

Zoom: 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.

No refunds. 

CPD points are no longer available for these events.