"From Darkness to Light" is the theme of the Soup and Cinema Series of film and Scripture presentations for Advent 2009 and Lent 2010.

Led by Capuchin Franciscan Father Anthony Scannell, spiritual director of Catholics In Media, the evenings begin with a simple soup dinner at 6 p.m. followed by an abridged viewing of the film at 7 p.m., and discussion linking the films to the Season. The evening closes at about 8:45 p.m.; admission is free.

"The Gospel of John [3: 19] tells us, 'This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people preferred darkness to light' --- but not everyone," noted Father Scannell. "And that's what Soup and Cinema will be about: films that show people preferring the light to darkness, as our earth itself moves into darkness in Advent, and then into light in Lent."

For Advent, the first film to be presented and discussed is "Frozen River," about a working-class mother and her two sons, who live near the frozen St. Lawrence River. She is desperate, with her husband having run off with the money she saved to buy a new mobile home. The river offers an opportunity to engage in smuggling, as she reluctantly partners with a young Mohawk woman whose tribe has taken her only son.

"As Christmas approaches," says Father Scannell, "will there be any light in their darkness? In ours?"

"Frozen River" will be presented Nov. 30 at St. Francis De Sales Church, 13368 Valleyheart Dr., Sherman Oaks; Dec. 2 at St. Bede the Venerable Church, 215 Foothill Blvd., La Canada-Flintridge; and Dec. 4 at Holy Family Church's St. Joseph Center, 1524 Fremont St., South Pasadena.

The second film goes from bare and utter reality in "Frozen River" to another frozen landscape, but in utter fantasy: "The Polar Express," the mythical train that takes children to the North Pole and the wondrous, magical city of Santa and his elves, on Christmas Eve, over another frozen river and a wild, hazardous journey. "The Polar Express" will be presented Dec. 7 at St. Francis De Sales, Dec. 9 at St. Bede, and Dec. 11 at Holy Family.

The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting rates "Frozen River" as A-III (adults), and "The Polar Express" as A-I (general patronage).