The Lauriston Jesuit Centre in Edinburgh will be marking Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January with a special screening of the BBC film God On Trial – introduced by its writer, Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Originally screened on BBC2 in September 2008, God on Trial concerns a trial held in Auschwitz.  The accused party is God, charged with breaking the covenant promise made to Abraham and Moses.  The witnesses for and against the charge are all prisoners in Auschwitz, most of whom are to be taken to the gas chamber the next morning.

‘It is a very powerful, moving and sometimes shocking film, raising very fundamental questions about faith, suffering, violence and hope,’ says the Lauriston Centre’s Director, Fr Chris Boles SJ. ‘We’re holding the event in cooperation with St Thomas of Aquin’s High School, a place very dedicated to Holocaust education and a great example of a school which develops deep rooted values in its pupils.  We will be joined by pupils who made a visit to Auschwitz last year, and two of them will give short testimonials on what that visit meant to them and to the school as a whole.’

Frank Cottrell Boyce, who will introduce the film and lead a discussion on it afterwards, has an international reputation for his screen plays and novels.  He won the Carnegie Medal and was shortlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award for his children’s story Millions (also made into a film).  His other film credits include Welcome to Sarajevo, Hilary and Jackie and 24 Hour Party People.

This event will take place on Wednesday, January 27 in St Thomas of Aquin’s School Hall, 2 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh EH3 9ES, roughly 300 metres from the Lauriston Jesuit Centre, and will begin at 7pm.  The evening is free of charge and all are welcome.