The Ministry of Motion Pictures Podcast

When I first saw Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life I knew I was watching the work of a brilliant filmmaker and storyteller. This film was a revolution in the way I thought about the cinema. But for all my admiration, there were things about it that perplexed me, and stumbled upon a book called Shining Glory: Theological Reflections on Terrence Malicks The Tree of Life. I read it in about 2 days and watched Malicks film again, and new windows were opened up into my understanding of this marvelous work of cinematic art. When I started this podcast, I knew one of my guests had to be the author of this book Dr. Peter Leithart.

Dr. Terry Lindvall is with me again to continue talking about Christian film history. In this episode we zero in on the subject of his latest book, God on the Big Screen which considers the correlation between cinematic history and church history by looking at the prayers found in films. We also talk about the new horizons opening up in the new world of distribution, and talk about Terry's favorite films. Dr. Livdvall is the author of two books on Christian film history -- Sanctuary Cinema which covers the silent era, and Celluloid Sermons which covers the sound era up to 1986. He currently occupies the CS Lewis Chair of Communication and Christian thought at Wesleyan University.

The Christian film movement has a historian -- and his name is Dr. Terry Lindvall. Dr. Lindvall has written two books on Christian film history. Sanctuary Cinema chronicles the history of Christain film in the silent era, and his follow-up book, Celluloid Sermons, co-authored with Andrew Quicke, covers the era of the 1930's up until 1986. He currently occupies the CS Lewis Chair of Communication and Christian thought at Wesleyan University, and today, Dr. Terry Lindvall is my guest.

Brett and I talk about our shared love for the films of Terrence Malick, and how his work demonstrates, what Brett calls, a sacred aesthetic. What is a sacred aesthetic and how can filmmakers reach for this. Brett also provides some helpful advice for young filmmakers.

Brett McCracken is a senior editor of The Gospel Coalition, overseeing content related to culture and the arts, and his favorite art form is film. Brett isn't just a self made cinephile, he studied film at UCLA. He knows his stuff, and he's here to talk about Christian film.

Brian Mitchell is the Chief Operating Officer of The WTA Group, formerly known as Working Title Agency, which helps creatives develop, finance, produce and market films, books and other products to the faith market, and beyond. Brian has been working in this marketplace for over 30 years, and he has seen it grow and change. He has a wide range of experience working for artists from Amy Grant to the Kendrick Brothers.

In this interview Brian explains what WTA Group does, how it works with creatives, what kinds of content they want to see, and how theatrical release is still key to the work they do in film. Brian also talks about how WTA recognizes that their role puts them into the position of being a gatekeeper, and their conviction to make sure their projects are biblically solid.

And just recently, WTA Group is expanding it's operations and Brian shares with us the exciting things that are brewing behind the scenes.

After Grace Unplugged was released Brad chronicles his experience through a long dry period and recounts God's faithfulness during that time as he parted ways with one producing partner and was sought by a new one. This is the "anti-how-to-make-it-in-Hollywood" seminar.

Brad Silverman is the writer/director of No Greater Love, Grace Unplugged, and the soon-to-be-released film, Selfie Dad. Brad is a filmmaker who has as strong commitment to sound, biblical theology and has an undivided trust in God in the direction of his life and career, even through the difficult periods. This episode is part 1 of Brad's career as he chronicles his entrance into filmmaking to directing Grace Unplugged.

If you've been around some of the more reformed circles of Christian ministries you will be very familiar with the ministry of 9 Marks. 9 Marks is devoted to equipping local churches to be healthy churches. I've followed, and benefited, from 9 Marks ministry for years. Jonathan Leeman, the Editorial Director at the ministry of 9 Marks is my guest on this episode.

Having made the jump into the Christian film industry later in my career, I have to admit, I've been bewildered by how poorly this genre of film is represented, and how difficult it is to get anything produced and distributed. Filmmaking in general is a very hard nut to crack, but it seems Christian film has a double dose of difficulty, and I often wonder if God really cares about his people, or his church, utilizing this medium for his purposes. Are Christian films valuable to the church -- to the world, or are they just a frivolous amusement?

This is why I invited Jonathan Leeman on this podcast, to give me a biblically solid, reformed churchman's perspective on Christian film.

Rich Peluso of Affirm Films talks about the exciting developments for faith-based productions in a streaming environment, what he hopes to see happen in the next five years, and he gives us ten success factors that he uses to gauge the potential of any faith-based film. If you're a Christian filmmaker, this is not an episode you will want to miss.