Fifty years in Australia, 60 years in religious life and 80 years alive! – join me for my 2016 trifecta. This could be read on the invitation which Father Laurence Murphy SDS sent out to friends and family earlier this year to announce the celebrations which took place on Sunday, 9 October at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Nollamara.

In what has been described by Variety magazine as “a work of scalding and moving relevance,” Ken Loach’s beautifully crafted I, Daniel Blake tells a bitter-sweet story of human resilience in drastic circumstances.

Jesuit Father Sean Salai provides a lot of information in What Would Pope Francis Do? – a relatively short but well-written book that is particularly suitable for young Catholics. Six thematic chapters (on longing, closeness, dignity, weariness, tenderness and Mary) reflect on Pope Francis’ teachings from his 2013 exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel).

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells His disciples, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.

“Poor fellows, had they seen it in broad daylight they never would have attempted it.”

Religious orders have played an undeniably significant role in the development of the Catholic faith in Australasia. Coming from far across the seas – from Ireland, Spain, Italy and elsewhere – they have helped grow established Catholic communities and have helped build new ones.

Israeli director Elite Zexer’s debut directorial feature, Sand Storm, is a heartbreaking story of how one man’s obsession with tradition ultimately tears his family apart. The film explores where families in Southern Israel blur the lines between modernity and tradition, and where the importance of custom and tradition generally outweighs happiness and wellbeing within one’s family.

Although more than 70 years have passed since the end of the Holocaust, directors Alon and Shaul Schwarz explore how its repercussions and ramifications continue to affect Jewish families through their documentary Aida’s Secrets.

The glorious Queen of Katwe (Disney) applies the traditional formula of an uplifting sports drama to the real-life story of a Ugandan chess prodigy.

Director Tim Burton is on his home turf with the gothic fantasy Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Fox).
While his adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ 2011 novel is mildly entertaining, however, it’s hobbled by an overly complicated premise and by the head-scratching implications of time travel.