Alana was born as a result of in vitro fertilization. She did not know her biological father and is not allowed to know him. However, the irrepressible need to understand her identity led her to investigate her origins.
ALANA NEWMAN
Creator, “Sexual Revolution, 50 years since Humanae Vitae”
“I found out some stuff about my father. I found out that he was Polish; I found out that he was raised Catholic. So, that's when I first became interested in Catholicism and the pope, Pope John Paul II, Saint John Paul II because I wanted to know more about my biological father who I couldn't access.”
Because of this discovery, Alana decided to study the works of the most influential Polack: St. John Paul II. His writings and catechesis on human love led her to discover faith.
Alana decided to delve deeper into the teachings on love and discovered Paul VI and Humanae Vitae.
From there she was inspired to make the documentary 'Sexual Revolution, 50 years since Humanae Vitae' . It explains the complicated ethical dilemmas presented by the scientific advancements of the 20th century in contraception and the teachings of the Church.
DANIEL DISILVA
Documentary's director
“Some young people need to know the reason for the faith; they need the Thomas Aquinas version of the reasons why we believe this or we believe that. Others, with a more simple faith, just want to know what the Church teaches. So, in a certain sense the film has both.”
The documentary presents different figures who contributed to the era. The creator of the contraceptive pill, Gregory Goodwin Pincus, and other scientists such as John and Evelyn Billings are featured. Also included is the Australian couple who investigated a natural method to regulate the birth rate, according to Church teachings.
ALANA NEWMAN
Creator, “Sexual Revolution, 50 years since Humanae Vitae”
“I love the music from the 1960s in that era, but their ideas on human sexuality and the birth control pill were wrong. So, in the movie, we tried to take the good, which was some of the music, and reframe it for today. Also to infuse that sense of love and togetherness and try to bring people together in this new sexual revolution.”
Alana, thus, produced a song for the documentary with a profound meaning. As a composer, she used the 60s style to transmit this important message.
DANIEL DISILVA
Documentary's Director
“The song says, 'you're the reason I believe in love,' and it's a song dedicated to Paul VI, who of course wrote Humanae Vitae, and it's sort of a nod in his direction for what he did in explaining, even 50 years ago, reasons to believe in love.”
Paul VI's Humanae Vitae was one of the most complicated documents written by a pope in the 20th century. It clashed with a strong secular current and was met with opposition within the Church itself.
