Say You Love Film

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, "See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee..." (Exodus 31:1-6 KJV)

As a filmmaker and an artist - I so love... love... love Bezaleel and Aholiab in the Bible.  They are one of my favorite characters in Scripture because God shows off his love for art and gives us a taste of what He's up to with artists who are called by His Name. While these particular believers were called to a specific task, God gives us a glimpse in His Word of the details to how He designs artists who are called to express His beauty and truth in a unique and personal way. For some reason, though, so many Christians in the past 40 years have really struggled with film as an expression of the arts and God's purpose for it.

I believe that the core problem can be understood in that there are two types of people involved with filmmaking:

People who love the art of film 

And people who love what film can do for them or their cause

Many Christians see the power film has in impacting audiences who are tremendously moved by a great story told well because it is an immersive fusion of the best of the arts: photography, lighting, theater, music, writing, directing, acting, sound design, and so much more. These Christians then want to tap into that power to reach people for God.

The problem is that so many Christian films end up being poorly made because these Christians seem to  care very little about the art of filmmaking.  They love the power of film but don't love film at all. I want you to really think about this and ask yourself: Do I really love film?  I'm not saying do you really love film above God?  I'm saying - do you love film? 

Does it bring out the kid in you to hear the words: "You're all clear, Kid!  Now let's blow this thing and go home!"?  Are you moved to tears when you see a dying Spock telling his human friend: "I have been and always shall be your friend!"? Or how about the famous themes of John Williams or Hans Zimmer?  Do they inspire you to soar with great heights? Do you get chills when you see Bruce Wayne climbing out of that pit in Dark Knight Rises? Does your heart soar when George Mueller is reminded of why he has a wonderful life? When the two lovers stand on the bow of the titanic and she holds her hands out do you feel the freedom? When Samwise carries his weak Hobbit friend Frodo up the mountain does it spark hope in your heart?  Did the dinosaurs wow you in Jurassic Park and were your so excited to get a look at the immense dragon in the second Hobbit film? Do you want to go to a movie on its opening day... you just can't wait to see it?  How about if you walk into a city and see the giant lights and film crew walking around - does your heart long to be there with them?  Do you go to a movie because of who the director is?

If you don't love film, you won't even understand why I'm asking these questions. And you're going to have a harder time impacting people with film if you don't love the art of it.  So my advice to you, if you just want to reach people through Christ with film and don't care much for the art - is to find a Christian who does love film. Then become a producer, raise some money, and hire a writer who loves to write and a director who loves movies and wants to tell a good story well.  What business do you have in writing or directing a film if you have no love for it?  How do you expect the audience to receive what message you have for them if you are only consumed with the message and don't really care about how the message is artistically expressed?  Even if you're not able to raise much money, if you found someone undiscovered with passion and talent for writing or directing, I bet they'd be so humbled you asked them. Because usually they are in the midst of trying to do it all themselves. Having a producer on board would make things so much easier for them.

Notice from the Scripture that God puts this artistic wisdom right in the heart of those he's called to create art: 

"...And in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee..." (Exodus 31:6b)

In the heart we find passion.  That's where He puts the gift.  And in the Hebrew mindset, the heart is not just the seat of emotion, but the seat of the intellect as well.... which tells us a few things about the importance of an artist having a need for a balanced life empowered by the Spirit of God. This is a balance of skill or technical excellence and artistic creativity. For the filmmaker, he or she needs to have the love for the craft and the talent for telling a good cinematic story with excellence.   Without either of these things the film is more likely to fail.

A lot of Christians believe many of our films have been lousy because of lack of resources. True they can't compete with Avatar or Return of the King.  But I believe it's been more a lack of passion for the art and being consumed more with the message than the visual storytelling expression of the art. You can see the evidence of this when you see what filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Darren Aronofsky did with low budgets. Their passion for filmmaking combined with the talent that God gave them was not stopped by a limit of resources. Steven Spielberg's film that gave him his first break was called Amblin and it was mostly a silent 35mm film. Robert Rodriguez made El Miriachi for 7 thousand dollars and that was before all the low cost high quality digital tools that are now at our disposal.

Yes, money is important to making a film. But it less important than the passion that drives an artist to create art. That's why CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien told such compelling stories.  They loved to write. And you can find the same to be true for any other artist out there who has had great success. They have had passion for it that empowered them to express their unique and beautiful gifts that God gave them. 

I'm not saying that you aren't to sharpen the skills you have and learn to use the right tools, the laws, and principles of cinematic storytelling to create the most excellent film you can.  That comes with the territory. But without passion your movie will be lifeless. It's like God's Law - as important as it is - when the Spirit does not empower us to follow His instructions, this can open the door for us to become a Christian Zombie or legalist.  The Spirit of God provides Holy passion that empowers us to live the abundant life. That's why His law is now in our hearts - the seat of our intellect and the seat of our emotions. This spiritual principle plays out even in the natural artistic expression of filmmaking.

And so I believe a Christian who surrenders his life to Christ personally who has a passion for making films as art has a better chance of impacting their audience for Christ than A Christian who has no care for the art of cinema who tries to manipulate audiences with a message.  That's why movies about faith made by filmmakers who aren't even Christians seem to be  more impactful in the culture than many of our Christian films have been. 

When I was in film school working on a film, my director of photography started joking with me shouting: "Say you love film!" It was so inspiring and memorable to me that I had the phrase printed on my business cards after I graduated.  So I now shout it out to you in honor of the college days when the sky was the limit in my dreams:

Say you love film! 

If not, that's fine.  Just find a talented Christian who does. You can easily spot the Christian who is gifted and loves the art of filmmaking. They're either working on a film right now or standing in line waiting for the next Star Wars or Star Trek movie to come out.