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Evangelical theologian and indologist
Country of origin
Netherlands

Freek L. Bakker received his PhD in 1993 at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam about Indonesian-Balinese Hinduism. From 1977-2003 he was a Protestant pastor in the Netherlands, 2003-2017 assistant professor of religious studies and film. He is a member and since 1997 chairman of the dialogue group of Hindus and Christians of the National Dutch Council of Churches. He has published various articles and books on religion and film, including The Challenge oft he Silver Screen: An Analysis of the Cinematic Portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha, and Mohammad (Leiden et al.: Brill 2009) and in Dutch Jezus in beeld: Een studie naar zijn verschijnen op het witte doek (Westervoort: Van Gruting 2011).

Articles

Freek L. Bakker, member of the Interreligious Jury, comments on the award winning films of DOK Leipzig 2021.

Current issues

Peter Paul Huth comments favourably on the 2026 Venice Film Festival awards ceremony, highlighting in particular the Golden Lion winner, “Kvinde Ukendt” (Unknown Woman) by May el-Toukhy, and “Un bon petit soldat” by Stéphane Brizé, which won the award for Best Screenplay and the INTERFILM Jury Prize.
Alex Gibney’s documentary *Musk* portrays a ‘hero of capitalism’, whilst Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s *DAU* evokes the victims of Stalinism.

Events

16.02.2025
Haus der EKD, Charlottenstraße 53/54, 10117 Berlin

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