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11 Faith-based Films that don’t look like Faith-based Films
11 Faith-based Films that don’t look like Faith-based Films
In my travels to International Christian Film Festivals with my fabulous client and faith-based filmmaker, Chris Johnson, we learned that there is a conversation in the faith-based film world about genre. What we heard - repeatedly - is that most faith-based films are melodramas. They tell sincere stories of people coming to faith - which is a fundamental component of faith-based films - within the genre of melodrama.
However, we heard that this limitation of genre is hurting the industry, because there needs to be more diversity in order to keep the ever-growing audience that is definitely hungry for faith-based films continuing to watch.
So I decided to compile a list of what I consider faith-based films that lie outside the genre of drama. And first of all I would like to give a shout out to Chris’s comedy, Pastor Sue Saves Christmas, which is coming out this fall. We discovered that even the genre of comedy is relatively rare amongst faith-based films.
So, if you wonder if you are a faith-based filmmaker, check out this list and see that the genre is wide and all-inclusive and maybe that you and your stories do belong in this growing genre.
I had never heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer before seeing this film. I’m not sure it’s the best film ever made, but the story is extraordinary.
Sound of Freedom - Thriller
The first film I watched by Angel Studios is an edge of your seat thriller based on a true story of a member of the CIA who leaves government work to more freely be able to pursue child sex traffickers in South America.
Midnight Mass - Horror TV Miniseries
When I first started watching "Midnight Mass," I was surprised. Is it possible that there’s a faith-based series on Netflix? Well it’s not. But it explores many spiritual questions in a truly entertaining way.
Phenomena - Comedy Horror
Also based on a true story, this is about a team of exorcists whose leader - a Catholic priest - is killed by a demon, leaving the three young, chain-smoking, rule-breaking women to have to deal with the problem. I have never been more thrilled than to see a little piece of video footage at the end of the film of the three actual women this show is about.
The Book of Eli - Action Thriller
Whenever I visited my father in Trinidad, we would always watch Denzel Washington movies together. So I’ve seen “The Book of Eli,” many, many times: A drifter fights his way across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book that holds the secrets to humanity's salvation.
The Leftovers - Drama TV Series
There are several series that fictionalize living in cults, which is a great way to explore faith and the excesses that people can achieve in its name: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” for example, just launched its final season.
Evil - Drama TV Series
One of my all time favorites! A series about a team hired by the Catholic church to deal with inquiries: a scientist, a psychologist, and a priest in training to be an exorcist go out to investigate cases. Written by one of the top writing teams in Hollywood: Michelle King and Robert King.
Nefarious - Horror
A horror film that mostly takes place in a prison cell about a man about to die on death row who seems to believe he is the Devil.
Small Group - Comedy Drama
Another film made by one of my clients looking at a common practice in the current American Christian church of creating “Small Groups” to discuss spiritual issues. This film is listed as by christianwalls.com as one of the 13 Favorite Christian Comedies That Will Being Your Family Joy.
The Deliverance - Horror
When producer Lee Daniels announced the opening of “The Deliverance”, he said it was a film that would bring people back to faith. It’s based on a true story of a down on their luck family living on the edge in the hood, when the children start behaving very strangely. Absolutely terrifying!
Emancipation - Historic Drama
Will Smith plays an enslaved person who is somehow able to rely on his deep faith to guide him through some of the worst cruelties of American slavery. His faith is so strong that he is able to help others see differently and get a glimpse of the magnificence of God.
I'm Joanne Butcher
Film Business Coach and Consultant
"Are you ready to take a leap of faith and make the film you've been dreaming of making?
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Filmmakers are the most creative people in the world. Whether you write, produce, direct, act, compose scores, storyboard (the list goes on!), I truly believe that you have a unique story to tell and that that story can change the world.
Where I most often see independent filmmakers (second and third feature filmmakers
not excluded) struggle, though, is in turning that creativity into a well-made, successful, and financially viable film.
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With my experience in marketing, fundraising, and producing, I have guided clients through writing Nicholl's award-winning scripts, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, producing the films they've always dreamed of, and transforming their overall thought processes around creating.
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The struggle is OVER, after reading this book the path to funding your first Block Buster will be CLEAR!
Make Movies. Make Money. Make the World a Better Place.
Filmmakers are the most creative people in the world. Whether you write, produce, direct, act, compose scores, storyboard (the list goes on!), I truly believe that you have a unique story to tell and that that story can change the world.
Where I most often see independent filmmakers (second and third feature filmmakers
not excluded) struggle, though, is in turning that creativity into a well-made, successful, and financially viable film.
And that's where I come in.
With my experience in marketing, fundraising, and producing, I have guided clients through writing Nicholl's award-winning scripts, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, producing the films they've always dreamed of, and transforming their overall thought processes around creating.
My clients currently have 13 films in distribution, with 5 more on the way later this year. Others have nationwide programming on PBS, and many are working on internationally produced documentary and narrative feature films.
My B.U.L.L.E.T.P.R.O.O.F coaching program helps you HEAL from a lifetime of NARCISISTIC ABUSE.
The struggle is OVER, after reading this book the path to
funding your first Block Buster will be CLEAR!
Do you want the secret to getting you film funded?
Inside this book I will reveal the answers to all your questions, the secrets to getting your film funded & distributed globally. After reading this book you will have the knowledge and tools the raise the money you need to make a film that sets the world on fire! This is my 'Film Box Office S.U.C.C.E.S.S Formula' Click the button below to start your journey to film funding success...
Do you want the secret to getting you film funded?
Inside this book I will reveal the answers to all your questions, the secrets to getting your film funded & distributed globally. After reading this book you will have the knowledge and tools the raise the money you need to make a film that sets the world on fire! This is my 'Film Box Office S.U.C.C.E.S.S Formula' Click the button below to start your journey to film funding success...
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