Winner of the Docu Talent Award at CineLink Industry Days 2026, Dzhovani Gospodinov’s Ora et Labora reveals Germany’s oldest Benedictine monastery at a critical moment of transition, “exposing the fragile balance between faith, authority, and existence.”
The film, produced by Bady Minck and Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu of Luxembourg production outfit Amour Fou, is described as “a cinematic meditation on monastic life in the twenty-first century, set within the Benedictine Abbey of St. Mauritius, the oldest monastery on German soil.”
“The film enters the abbey in 2023 under the leadership of Abbot Mauritius, a former Michelin-starred chef whose ambitious and unconventional vision transformed the monastery and gave the community a renewed sense of purpose,” the synopsis reads.
“As the abbey seeks to revitalise itself and attract a new generation of monks, this fragile process is disrupted by the sudden death of its talismanic abbot. Through multiple characters Ora et Labora explores contrasting relationships to faith, authority, doubt, and vocation and asks what spirituality and belonging can mean in the context of religion and contemporary society.”
Self-taught Luxembourgish-Bulgarian filmmaker Gospodinov comments: “While making this film, I have been reflecting not only on the question of faith itself, but also on that of commitment: how much can an institution ask of the individual? When does devotion become endurance?”
“Rather than trying to find answers my own commitment was to stay close without becoming complicit, to observe without idealizing, and to resist the temptation to simplify a world that is built on contradictions,” he adds. “The film shows the monastery as a collective body, allowing multiple figures to move in and out of focus over several years.”
“Through conversations, shared routines, setbacks and realisations, we see the monastery as a world in constant negotiation with itself,” Gospodinov continues. “With unprecedented access, I want to invite the viewer into a closed world. Rather than focusing on religion, ORA ET LABORA becomes an institutional portrait using the monastery as a microcosm to reflect broader questions of masculinity, identity, belonging, and meaning in a rapidly secularizing Europe.”
During the CineLink Industry Days, producers Minck and Dumreicher-Ivanceanu have been looking to secure sales representation, distributors, broadcasters, and additional investors for the completion of the TV cut.
Minck explains how director Gospodinov “allows us to gain an unprecedented insight into the everyday lives, challenges, and beliefs of Benedictine monks in the present day. Besides the fact that Ora et Labora is the first feature documentary to be shot in a European monastery since Philipp Gröning’s Into Great Silence in 2005, we were fascinated by the extraordinary context of this monastery.”
“Not only is it the oldest monastery on German soil, but it is also run by a French ex-Michelin-starred chef with an unusual approach to his position,” she confirms. “He successfully ran the guesthouse and acquired new church windows designed by Gerhard Richter, turning the monastery in Tholey into a tourist attraction. Over the past three years, a series of unforeseen events, new arrivals, and departures have allowed Dzhovani a deep insight into the monastery’s structures and the monks’ minds. He witnessed profound spiritual conversations, as well as the monks’ doubts and hopes, making Ora et Labora a universal and contemporary reflection on identity, spirituality, and belonging.”
