The Theology of 'Daybreakers'

The movie Daybreakers is a fresh take on the vampire mythology based on an interesting premise and is possible of evoking all sorts of thematic considerations.

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Adventist Church Launches Youtube Channel

This is well done:

 Posted by Gary Walter
http://bit.ly/gwalter

I hope

Note: This was recently published as one of Nathan Brown's final editorials as editor of Record, the Adventist church's news magazine in the South Pacific Division.

I hope . . .

I hope we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

I hope Christianity is real--to you.

I hope we can better seek, celebrate and create beauty in our world.

I hope we can learn to listen better--to God, to each other and to our communities.

I hope we really believe that "it is more important to be kind than it is to be right."

I hope we can focus more on faithfulness than our various measures of "success."

I hope we can admit that "we don't know"--that we don't have all the answers and that's OK.

I hope we can be less worried about control and more interested in community.

I hope we can one day recognise women as equally human, equally Christian, equally capable and equally called.

I hope we spend less time reinforcing our walls than building our centre.

I hope you're a treehugger, both literally and metaphorically.

I hope we have stopped "selling" God.

I hope our first response to disaster is to help the hurting, not pull out our prophecy charts.

I hope we can learn to be more humble, more generous, more courageous and more joyful.

I hope you watch the sunset sometimes.

I hope you don't believe everything you read in our church publications.

I hope we don't really think music is as important as some would have us believe.

I hope we can find better ways to remember and share Sabbath, and better things to do on Sabbath afternoons.

I hope you are seriously bothered by injustice, poverty and oppression--and are moved to do something about them.

I hope you rejoice you're a Christian.

I hope we aren't so busy running a church that we are forgetting to participate in the kingdom of God.

I hope you watch less TV.

I hope we can learn to address hard questions, to disagree well and to embrace those who are different.

I hope your explanation of what you believe actually sounds like "good news"--to you and to others.

I hope we can find our voice as a church and begin to speak out on things that matter in ways that our community understands.

I hope there is a stage of life between bright young thing and old hack.

I hope you're vegetarian--for so many reasons.

I hope we are a church that serves the world, not panders to the noisy few.

I hope we can lament.

I hope we still "believe in Christ, live the life."

I hope you read a good book this week.

I hope we can practise the art of apology--and the art of forgiveness.

I hope we are aware of how technology changes us and that we resist blindly pursuing the latest gadget or fad, instead seeking what is most real.

I hope we can learn from other religions, faiths and traditions, respecting their best and seeking their good.

I hope you enjoy and share some kind of art, creativity or similar passion.

I hope we can become a church that values fresh questions more than tired answers.

I hope we aren't just another brand of Church Inc.

I hope we can develop a faith that is more ordinary and everyday--and, in this way, ordinary and everyday can be redeemed.

I hope we can come up with--or borrow--better reasons why we do and believe some of the good things we do.

I hope you believe we can change the world.

I hope we maintain a sense of wonder at the hugeness, variety and miracles of life.

I hope faith, hope and love still remain.

I hope "right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant" and that it is possible to overcome evil with good.

I hope in Jesus, His life, His death and His resurrection.

I hope to see Him some day.

I hope and I pray.

I hope . . .

"Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God" (Ecclesiastes 5:7, NIV).

Christian Music...Gross!

by Leslie Foster

What do a mysterious terminal illness, a pastor's kid headed for hell, and contemporary Christian music have to do with each other? Absolutely everything when it comes to the film Jesus People. Directed by Jason Naumann and written and produced by Dan Ewald and Rajeev Sigamoney, (full disclosure: I'm currently developing a film with Sigamoney) the film explores the lengths to which a father will go to save his son.

Sigamoney, who attends the Hollywood SDA Church (known to its members as The Purple Church), recruited dozens of church members to serve as extras in several scenes; and even to serve on the crew, including Christina Attiken, Susan Nwankpa, and Nathan French--who served as production coordinator, assistant property master, and production assistant respectively.

Shooting the film over a patchwork of weeks in order to accommodate the cast and crew's busy schedules, Naumann, Sigamoney, and Ewald crafted a provocative and funny story in which a good man, in his own misguided way, will stop at nothing to save his child. Believing his son is succumbing to worldly influences and having recently been diagnosed with a strange illness that his doctor warns is irreversible, Pastor Jerry decides to create a Christian pop group to win back his son before it's too late. Wading into the weird, alternative universe that is CCM, Pastor Jerry recruits a washed-up Christian singer and three unknowns to his band "Cross My Heart."

Those who enjoy the work of Christopher Guest or have been fans of the recent crop of mockumenary-styled television shows such as "Arrested Development" or "The Office" will immediately feel at home in the universe Sigamoney and Ewald have created, with its painfully awkward and self-concious moments. The film doesn't shy away from poking at Christian stereotypes and attitudes, but manages to pull it off with surprisingly little cynicism and, dare i say, lovingly.

There are most definitely uncomfortable moments and something squirm-worthy for everyone watching. Most people will leave offended by at least one thing in the film. In both the screenings I have attended, there have been moments of dead silence punctuated by a few nervous giggles several times throughout the movie. Does this detract from the film? It will for some, but it will keep them talking about Jesus People for days to come and I suspect the filmmakers had that outcome in mind.

Despite or perhaps because of its moments of uncomfortable truth, the mockumentary is the perfect format to explore the insular world of contemporary Christian music and in fact, the very insulated lives many of us who are Christians live. Jesus People manages to wrap dealing with death, fear of selling-out, hypocrisy, romance, and much more into a tight, very entertaining film. It is a rare commodity in its ability to mock the oddities of Christian life while respecting the characters at which it pokes fun. It is filled with laughs and more than a few gentle moments that will take viewers by surprise.

Doubt vs Certainty

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Information © IMDb.com

Doubt and certainty. These two have been at war with each other as long as humans have been discussing religion and faith. Many Christians see doubt as the enemy of belief and faith and do everything they can to eradicate it. Someone once wrote that '[d]oubt digs the grave of faith.'  Frederick William Faber wrote: 'For right is right, since God is God,/ And right the day must win;/ To doubt would be disloyalty,/ To falter would be sin.'

Others see doubt as a necessary part of faith and growth in understanding. Robert Browning believed that the person '[w]ho knows most, doubts most.' And Rene Descarte, in his Principles of Philosophy argued that,

[i]f you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.

At the very beginning of John Patrick Shanley's new movie, Doubt, Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) preaches a sermon to his congregation where he asks the question: 'What do you do when you're not sure?'

There are two answers to this question: You could acknowledge doubt, exploring it as best you can, accept that there may be things we can never know, and live with the ambiguity that so often is a characteristic of human life. Or you could retreat into a dogmatic certainty, suppressing any doubts, and act forcefully to live as though your understanding is the absolute truth — sometimes wreaking great evil in the process. This choice between certainty and doubt is the theme of Doubt. And what a profound movie it is!

Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the parish priest of St Nicholas Church School in the Bronx during the autumn (fall) of 1964 just after Vatican II which called for priests to see themselves as 'part of the family' of their parishioners.

The principal of the school, Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) is an old-school nun who commands the respect of her staff and students through fear. She is ruthless and rigid. Sister James (Amy Adams) is a new teacher at the school who wants to motivate her students by inspiring them to learn because it is exciting and liberating. Sister James is innocent and naive and struggles to adapt to the governance of Sister Aloysius and is often troubled by her approach to disciplining of the students.

One of the students is the school's first black student, Donald Muller (Joseph Foster). Sister Aloysius begins to suspect that Father Flynn is taking an inappropriate interest in Donald. Her response is swift and ruthless. Sister James is caught up in Sister Aloysius's campaign when she is recruited to keep an eye on Father Flynn and report any suspicious behaviour she might witness.

The problem with Sister Aloysius's conclusion is that the evidence is ambiguous. But that does not deter Sister Aloysius who is totally convinced of the guilt of Father Flynn. So the story becomes a battle between doubt and certainty as the fate of Father Flynn resides in the outcome.

Doubt is an absolutely brilliant film for a number of reasons. Firstly, Shanley, the writer and director,  has sustained ambiguity throughout the story forcing us, as viewers, to come to our own conclusions about what is happening. As the narrative progresses, we must consider new information and perspectives and grapple with doubt and certainty in our own thinking.

Secondly, Shanley has refused to collapse into a predictable Hollywood ending. Those who must always have a satisfying resolution to all their stories may (will?) be disappointed. This is cinema at its best — it treats us as intelligent. To watch this movie is to be forced to think for ourselves about the issues and consider our own relationship to doubt.

Thirdly, there are the actors. Meryl Streep is superb as Sister Aloysius. She inhabits her role to such an extent that we forget that it is Meryl Streep. And Philip Seymour Hoffman could not have been better in portraying Father Flynn. The occasions we see these two great actors on the screen together are tense and electrifying. And Amy Adams, Joseph Foster, and Viola Davis (who plays Donald Muller's mother) offer us subtle and powerful performances.

Doubt is the most thoughtful movie of the year so far. It's provocative portrayal of doubt and the potential evil of certainty is timely, penetrating, and deeply provocative. Doubt is a must-see movie — and I am completely certain about that!

Movie Review: Religulous (2008)

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Information © IMDb.com

The latest anti-religious documentary to hit cinema screens is Bill Maher's Religulous. The word "religulous" is a neologism (made-up word) that combines religion and ridiculous. That pretty much sums up what Bill Maher thinks of religion.

Religulous is ostensibly a documentary that surveys current religious beliefs and practices in the world today. Unfortunately, it's actually about how "smart" Bill Maher is at ridiculing and mocking religion using the worst possible cases of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish fundamentalism he can find. On the rare occasion it is slightly humorous and ironic (for example, the Muslim rapper who believes in freedom of speech and tolerance for himself but not for anyone who disagrees with Islamic beliefs). There are also the couple of absolutely delightful and intelligent Roman Catholic priests, one of whom is a scientist and the other a high official in Rome.

Bill Maher is a controversial comedian, actor, writer and producer who is most famous (apparently) for a US late night show called Politically Incorrect. You will note that theologian doesn't appear in this list of qualifications and Religulous proves that Maher knows nothing about religion than some sort of school yard version that is naive, primitive, and completely lacking in any nuance.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the obvious ignorance that Maher displays about religion is his clear lack of ability to listen. Sure, most of the people he "interviews" are complete nut cases or blind fanatics. In the entire 101 minutes, he only "interviews" two or three people that sound remotely intelligent or informed about their own beliefs. Even so, if you are going to interview someone, there should probably be more of the interviewee speaking than the interviewer. In Bill Maher's case, he clearly thinks he is smart and funny and condescendingly interrupts with mocking comments and questions that I think are supposed to impress the viewer.

By the end of Religulous, we come to realise that Bill Maher is as dogmatic and myopic as the people he has interviewed. The film ends with him ranting against religion with apocalyptic images flashing on the screen suggesting that the world will end because of religion.

In addition to the self-opinionated, self-congratulatory Maher, according to the Internet Movie Database, while the movie was being made it was called A Spiritual Journey so that interviews could be arranged with religious leaders without them knowing the type of "documentary" being made. Until Bill Maher arrived for the interviews, people did not know he was involved in the film. Clearly, Maher was setting his interviewees up so that he could control what happened and capitalise on their confusion to make them look stupid. So his whole approach is premised on deception from the beginning. That, along with a highly selected sample weighted toward the fanatic or self-deluded, results in a film that is not really of much value at all.

Please understand — I think religious fundamentalism is dangerous. But when Maher's Religulous is put alongside other productions like Andrew Denton's God On My Side, Religulous pales into complete insignificance. The alleged humour is not even funny. Even Richard Dawkins's Root of All Evil? which I heartily criticised is better than this! Even Michael Moore is better!!

Religulous is little more than a slightly amusing promotion of Bill Maher as he uses (often ill-informed, uneducated, dogmatic, fundamentalist) people to have us all look at him and think how clever he is. Don't watch it to learn anything. Actually, don't bother to even watch it for entertainment.

Note: The entire movie can be viewed online by clicking here.

Shameless Plug: A Few of My Films

Hey everyone, a longer post is on the way soon, but until then I'd like to share some of the work I've been able to get online recently. Interregnum is a piece I completed for my senior project back in 2006. Kim is a documentary I shot about a young woman who was raped while she was a student at Southern. To top it all off, I'm slipping in my latest reel, which includes some of the work I did with tedMEDIA last year.


Interregnum from Leslie Foster on Vimeo.


Kim from Leslie Foster on Vimeo.


Leslie Foster Reel from Leslie Foster on Vimeo.

Dispatches from Hollywood

by Leslie Foster

What does it mean to be an Adventist filmmaker trying to make it in Hollywood? I've been exploring that question rather personally for the last six months and I'm still not sure I can answer that question, but I have been discovering some useful clues and tools along the way. If there is one clue I've picked up, it's that being an Adventist filmmaker isn't so much about finding a soapbox and clinging to it as fiercely as possible as it is about learning to listen to God's whispers and representing yourself as skillfully and honorably as possible. And if there's one tool I've found more valuable than others, it is in having a community in which you can be nurtured.

I have a few friends who have forged their way here over the last few years on their own, and I am in complete awe. I'm quite willing to admit that I would have given up without my church family here. I've never quite clicked with a church community, so this is a first for me and a pretty welcome change.

This community has been essential in helping me figure out some of the clues as to what my role is in this industry. I have a group of friends to keep me accountable and people who are helping me hear God's softest whispers. I may not know quite where I'm headed yet, but I have the confidence that through the oddest twist and turns of my journey, I have someplace that I can call home.

As this journey continues, I'll keep you updated with stories from my experience and stories of other travelers on similar paths. I'm excited about where we're headed; Adventism is entering an interesting frontier as more of us enter the film world, and I'm curious to see how we change that frontier and how it will change us.

Shameless Plug: The 365° Experiment

I'd like to introduce everyone to a strange little project of which I'm a part. On January 1st Eric Watts, an Indiana based writer, and I began an experiment, which if successful, will last the entire year. Inspired by the jaw-dropping example of the musician Paleo, who wrote, recorded, and uploaded 365 songs between 2006 and 2007, we are attempting to meet similar goal: to write one script or short story a day for the whole of 2008. We're six days into the madness right now, and though we still haven't gotten all the formatting right (those familiar with screenwriting format will notice right away) I'm proud to introduce The 365° Experiment.

A cautionary note: the nature of some of the scripts might be offensive or difficult for some to read. The purpose of the scripts is not to offend, but to challenge, to provoke, and possibly to allow readers to experience life from a new perspective.

Every Film A Sermon

by Leslie Foster

You play, in so many of your movies, these very inspirational figures. And then, in others, of course, you play the bad guy. To what extent do your faith and values play a role in choosing parts?

Even in a role like "Training Day," the first thing I wrote on the script was, "The wages of sin is death." And it was important, actually, for me in making that film. They actually wanted the guy to live at the end. And I said no. I think the only way I could justify him living such an awful life, or living in the worst way, was for him to die in the worst way. I'm always looking for that--for some kind of a message. And sometimes I just choose not to do certain films.

Read the rest of beliefnet's interview with Denzel Washington here.

Washington's belief that every film he does is a ministry may seem like quite a stretch to some. However, we live in a era in which film is our literature, and even in his darkest films, perhaps Washington is doing what Flannery O'Connor did in the mid 20th century or what the book of Judges has done for thousands of years.

They demonstrated truth not by showing the lives of perfect people, but by digging into the hidden darkness of human kind, and through that darkness exposed people to the depths of their own shadows but also to the light that dispels those shadows. To quote O' Connor, "All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal."

For the Bible Tells Me So

by Leslie Foster



Watching this trailer gave me a severe case of the chills. It created a moment where I had to shake my head and wonder at the emotions that swirled around me. "For The Bible Tells Me So" was released several weeks ago, and I pray that it creates meaningful dialog within the church in general, and the Adventist church specifically. I'm also a little jealous; I would have loved to be involved in the making of the film.

This is a subject that has haunted me for years, from being a teenager who at times questioned his own identity and mouthed the mantra that I loved the sinner, hated the sin; to being a college student whose views got the Humpty Dumpty treatment. I've seen homosexuals in the church treated terribly, heard church members angrily declare that they'd like to kill every single of 'those people' or express their deep hatred of something so different.

The medium of storytelling can change the world, and I hope the stories told in this film change someone. If we as Christians can put as much emphasis in loving, really loving people as we do in following the rest of the law (we forget that love is the beating heart of the law) then the world really will be changed.

Perhaps watching this film will enable some to walk away, not necessarily with changed opinions, but with changed hearts, with the ability to love and respect.

Shameless Plug: EPC News

by Leslie Foster

This week, the tedMEDIA team has been busy creating a daily news show for the 2007 European Pastors Conference in Zwolle, Holland. Clips from the show will be going up on the web in the next few days as well as 11 short films created for the conference.
You can access the clips at tedMEDIA's YouTube site or Reframe.info.
For now, here's the show's intro.

Shameless Plug: Marbles with Thoreau

by Leslie Foster



What does it mean to live simply, to be motivated by more than material needs? American author, essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau found his answers at Walden Pond and the answers he found are what have driven filmmaker Melody George to return to Walden. I worked on Melody's crew back in 2005 when “Marbles with Thoreau” was her senior project at Southern's film school. The story of Ace and Eva Calloway, two children who stumble onto Thoreau and his search for a life of simplicity captured the imaginations of everyone on the project.

Melody and producer Thomas Wentworth are currently in the process of raising funds to shoot a 15-20 minute short film based on that original senior project. The short itself is part of a long-term process to turn the story into a feature film. They have raised just under half of their projected $25,000 budget and are currently looking for someone to complete that budget and come on board as an executive producer. The “Marbles” team would like to finish up their fundraising by January '08 so that can really get rolling with pre-production and shoot in May. (Melody and Thomas are also well on their way to casting an actor for Thoreau and have started looking for actors to play Ace and Eva.)

The "Marbles" team is exploring the journey towards contentment. They are breathing new life into the ideas Thoreau explored, making them exciting and relevant for a new generation. As humans, it's so easy to get bogged down in material pursuits, to forget simplicity; but Thoreau and the Marbles filmmakers call us to a journey beyond the things that keep us earthbound. They call us to embrace a simplicity that leads to a hope greater than anything in this world can give us.

Keep this film and the filmmakers in your prayers. I believe they have amazing things to offer. We're seeing the rise of a generation of artists who are going to change the world and every step counts.

If their goals inspire you, if this is a journey you're on and you are in a position to help, please visit their website and get in contact with them. If you can make this dream a reality, you're giving these artists a foothold into a world that needs them very much.

Shameless Plug: Southern's School of Visual Art and Design

by Leslie Foster

I'd like to direct y'all to the School of Visual Art and Design's (SVAD) newly revamped webpage. It features interviews with recent alumni, VR tours of the facilities, galleries of student work including recent films and animations, and the latest news on the feature film Secret of the Cave, produced by SVAD Productions. A lot of exciting things are happening on the second floor of Brock Hall. Head on over, take a peek, you'll be intrigued.

Fortress on a Hill? (thoughts by Leslie Foster)

I have a problem with the idea of a Christian media industry. I believe the industry, as it is today, is beneficial to a few people, but for the most part has become an inward-looking venture driven by capital as much as any other industry. Instead of creating media that was competitive with anything generated by the so-called secular music, film, and book industries, Christian media withdrew. It withdrew into the comfortable confines of the Church community to make imitations of secular work with a thin veil of Christian morality pulled over the surface. One could spend gallons of digital ink on the various aspects of this industry, but I'd like to just focus on film.

The danger of retreating from the scrutiny of "secular" critique is that religious people and thus media can become a bit self-congratulatory. This back slapping happens too much in the films created by those of us within this industry. It's very easy to create stories about wayward sons and daughters venturing into a wild world where they indulge in (insert favorite vice) but are drawn back to the right path. It's easy viewing, feels good, and reminds us that we are the comfortable guardians of absolute truth and right. Since when were we supposed to be pulling out our proverbial cigars and puffing away in smug security in our hilltop mansions? We may have built a city on a hill, but we've reinforced our walls so much that it's hard for light to escape.

In his book Jesus in the Margins, Rick McKinley talks about a church that has become an enclave of well-dressed people rejecting those who don't always cover up their struggles with pretty masks. He is afraid that those who seek will not only see people who reject them, but a God that rejects them as well. This is my fear for much of what we produce in Christian media.

Our visions of perfection are driving our fellow travelers away from the God they seek. Our shallow and cozy films don't encourage those who search. God's message has never been comfortable...that's always been the job of false prophets. Our films tend to skim the surface of the problems we face in life. Anybody can talk about symptoms, let's start digging into the underlying issues. Maybe if we stopped gloating about how good we are at pulling people out of their heathen wretchedness and started talking about our struggles we'd find more common ground with those outside the church. We aren't perfect or even close to perfect, nor do we have all the truth. These are not things of which to be ashamed. These struggles are all part of our journey towards the mystery of God.

Jesus' messages, from the Old Testament to the New have never been comfortable. They have that irritating ability to make everyone squirm a bit, and yet He could draw those considered the lowest in society to Himself. Maybe we should follow His example and stop feeding the media of mutual admiration and start challenging ourselves and those around us. Let's start pulling our masks off...before God does it Himself in His surprising way, and make films not for us and by us in a Christian sense, but for us and by us in the human sense...warts and all.

Image Credit: James Christensen

The Future of Adventist Media?

What does the future of Adventist film and video look like? Well, right now admittedly, it looks like two slightly confused, freshly graduated film students wandering around the greater London area with befuddled grins. But give it a few months and we might prove to be worthy heirs to the Adventist media mantle. tedMEDIA is a three year experiment in creating media that not only encourages Christians to learn how to communicate with postmoderns, but plans to create media that touches those of us who are postmoderns--inside and out the church community. That oft-used word "relevance" skirts around the edges of this post, but I'll leave that mostly alone for now. I have a lot of hopes for where this can go, including producing short films, becoming a regular fixture at film festivals, and developing a popular web-presence. Big dreams I know, and the subject for another time and another post.

Below I'm including a short video the team created as a test over 48 hours. It's a video that's directed as a challenge to Christians. It's an experiment in concise story-telling and editing that feels just a bit edgy.

An Inspiration!

These impressive oils paintings were done by a very young girl, Akiane Kramarik, who was raised an Atheist and was never taught to believe in God.

The girl's talent, especially with light and shadow, is awesome. But what impresses me as much is her determination to stay with a project until it is finished!

The love in her eyes when she speaks of God is downright inspirational.

It will never cease to amaze me, the many ways in which God speaks. What a gift and a blessing!

Sometimes I just have to shake my head as I ponder the wonders of our Lord.
Watch this amazing short video that was on CNN...

TCYK

If you found the last video post thought-provoking and in good humor, check out The Church You Know site. Nothing beats good satire. Enjoy.

Be sure to come back and comment on the one that really struck a chord for you.