Three teenage brothers in Ireland have turned their admiration for Blessed Carlo Acutis into a short -up of Lego about the life of the young Italian Catholic, who died at age 15 due to leukemia and will soon be canonized.
The short film, entitled “Lego Movie — The Incredible Life of Carlo Acutis” (Lego movie – Carlo Acutis’s incredible life) is now available on YouTube under the name Floating Enterprise.
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The Louis, Iiosaf and Oliver Flynn brothers, 16, 14 and 18 respectively, are from Kilcornan, in Limerick County, Ireland, and began making movies with Lego in 2015, when they got an iPad Mini. The youngest, Iiosaf, is responsible for building the stages and narrating; while Louis and Oliver plan, encourage and record.
Ten years after starting with this hobby, they have managed to create a film made with Lego about Blessed Carlo Acutis, which fits perfectly with the interests and charism of the Young Italian, whose canonization was postponed due to the death of Pope Francis.
The Flynn told CNA – Ewtn News agency – who found a young man whose life and passions resonated deeply with his.
“We were very inspired. It is something unprecedented, obviously, that they will canonize it. It was very unique, in the sense that it was very close to us,” Louis said.
During the realization of the film – a task that implied time, attention to details and moments of frustration – Louis said he had felt the presence of Acutis helping them overcome difficulties.
“Even with this video, we had technical problems, and we simply asked Carlo to intercede, and I definitely noticed a difference after that. I can see things more clearly,” he said.
The launch of this short of Lego arrives in a timely manner, since in Rome the reprogramming of Acutis canonization is being discussed.
Louis commented that he now has a clear and positive commitment to his Catholic faith: “Definitely, in the last year I have committed to go to Mass every day at least. It does not demand too much discipline, but it means a daily personal prayer to God, which is a great blessing.”
Among the previous films that have made with Lego are one envelope San Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadalupe, and another about San Patricio. Thanks to these experiences, they learned to make more advanced and detailed scenarios.
However, writing the script about Carlo Acutis was a challenge, Louis said, because the young Italian is well known and his life has been widely documented.
“With San Patricio you have much more creative freedom, which does not happen with Carlo, because everything is much more recent,” he explained. “So that was a challenge, but we really wanted to share with other young people their message and their way of life.”
How was the creative process?
Louis explained to CNA the level of detail that implies making a lego movie of this type.
“Yes, everything usually starts with our own ideas. We do not use screens until we really start filming. Then we are putting together the story with each individual movement by taking, and from there we calculate how many LEGO scenarios we need to build, or what characters include.”
Each individual movement of the characters or elements of a scene must be adjusted, photographed and moved again, a laborious process and that consumes a lot of time. Creative production in its short film career has been, according to Louis, an experience of discernment and learning.
“We have a clear image of what we are going to produce and what is going to be seen on the screen before doing any physical work. Then we begin to build the scenarios, and over time we have greatly improved the techniques. The final product is more impressive,” he said.
His personal admiration for Acutis is evident: “I think he is very inspiring. His faith, his age, the fact that he was interested in spreading good news using technology.”
Louis concluded saying that he found strength in Acutis while carrying out the project. “Today, much technology is not used well, and Carlo understood exactly why God had created it and all the good that could generate.”
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally published in CNA.
Patrick J. Passmore
Patrick J. Passmore lives on the northern coast of Ireland. He has collaborated with St. Brigid Media in various projects such as consultant and editor.