Gardening with Soul

Overview

There's something about nuns which makes them such rich and interesting subjects for documentary makers. I think it's got a lot to do with a fascination with what makes these most religious of people so devout. Last year it was Christopher Pryor and Miriam Smith's How Far Is Heaven, which delighted us with a portrayal of nuns who live and at work in the rural and predominantly Maori community of Jerusalem on the banks of the Wanganui river.

In this year's offering Gardening with Soul we meet Sister Loyola. After hearing her being interviewed on National Radio, director Jess Feast felt inspired to meet the nun who, like the sisters in Jerusalem, is also a member of the Sisters of Compassion. She may have turned 90 during the filming of the documentary but Sister Loyola is still the main gardener at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay.

A slightly hunched Loyola is a little slower on her feet than she used to be but she's still keen to turn the soil, prepare the compost and plant out new seedlings with the help of some of her fellow gardeners. Feast follows the bright and bubbly nun over the course of a year to try to figure out what makes her tick. She lives a fairly solitary life but she gets most of what she needs from her garden and her faith. While watching I couldn't help wondering if she's a product of good genes or if maybe its just the fact she's doing what she loves which keeps her so active at an age when most people are anything but.

Clearly the trust between documentary maker and subject is great as Loyola is very frank about her life, from her days as a young nurse to her brief relationship with a young soldier and her chosen life as a nun working mainly with children and mothers across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. When Feast delves into more tricky questions on child abuse in the church, Sister Loyola is firm. You should never ever be silent on these issues but there should still be forgiveness.

Sister Loyola's compassion and her special affection for plants and people who may not have had the best start in life is truly heartwarming. Even during the darkest times, there's always light in Sister Loyola's world. A beautifully-shot, uplifting and intimate portrait of wonderful local woman at work.