As Hollywood Fails, Christian Filmmaking Prevails
by Douglas W. Phillips, Esq., February 23, 2009
But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he’d want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches, by the government or by their families, that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon — I promise you — you will have equal rights federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk. — Homosexual activist Dustin Lance Black accepting the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Milk
The distinction between Hollywood’s toxic culture of death and the burgeoning Christian film movement of life was highlighted in bold this weekend.
Millions of viewers tuned into the 81st Academy Awards where they watched Sean Penn receive the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of homosexual activist Harvey Milk, and Kate Winslet receive the Best Female Actor Oscar for her performance in The Reader, a pornographic story about a female Nazi war criminal seducing a fifteen-year-old boy. They also watched award-winners use their platform to push homosexual political activism and to encourage teenagers to pursue a homosexual lifestyle.
But just over twenty-four hours earlier, National Public Radio broadcast a seven-minute feature story on a very different type of film movement and awards ceremony to a listening audience of more than six million:
As Hollywood crowns its favorite movies and actors at the Oscars on Sunday, another group is trying to create a rival movie industry. Fed up with sex and violence in mainstream entertainment, conservative Christians are turning out their own films. And they’ve made surprising inroads.
NPR Religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty reported on the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival in her feature report, “Christian Filmmakers Creating an Industry of Faith.” She began her story with this telling question: “What was the biggest grossing independent film in 2008? No, not Slumdog Millionaire. Not Milk. It was a movie you’ve probably never heard of...”
Click here to listen to the report which includes interviews with Kirk Cameron, Steven Kendrick, and some of the more than 2,400 attendees of the 2009 festival.