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The second episode of our podcast is something of special edition, in which Nick Spencer and Natan Mladin sit down with renown artist and arts advocate Makoto Fujimura to talk about ‘Silence’, Martin Scorsese’s latest film. The film is based on the historical novel by Japanese author Shusako Endo, and deals with questions of faith, doubt, persecution, but also the nature of culture and cultural change.

Our guest, Mako Fujimura was one of Scorsese’s special advisors for the film. He is currently director of the Brehm Centre for Theology, Worship and the Arts at Fuller Seminary in California, and his most recent book ‘Silence and beauty’ – which we’ll be reviewing soon for our website – provides helpful background information on the story.

We got to talk to Mako about ‘Silence’, but our conversation also covered his work as a Christian working professionally in the arts, the American cultural landscape, the ills of modernism, and even the ‘sorrowfully joyful’ music of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

This is part of a mini–series reflecting on Silence. Check out:

• Nick Spencer’s review of Silence, the new film by Martin Scorsese 
• Paul Bickley’s review of Silence, the original book by ShÅ«saku Endō
• Natan Mladin’s review of Silence and Beauty, a meditation on Endō’s book by Japanese artist Makoto Fujimura

Image by Pamela Ebstyne King, used with permission.