What Changed The Faith-Based Film Industry?

About this episode

The episode discusses the transformation of the faith-based film industry and the factors contributing to its improved reputation.

Christian movies have a pretty negative reputation. They are criticized for being cheesy, preachy, poorly acted, poorly written, and generally prioritizing lesson-teaching over entertainment or artistic excellence. But, in recent years, their Rotten Tomatoes scores have been on a steady uptick. The critical reviews contain more of the nuance given to secular films, and, en masse, viewers seem to be more positive about their experiences. So, what’s happening? The tide that has turned in the faith-based film industry is multifaceted. The studios have become willing to give Christian directors bigger budgets. Writers have started telling stories with more complicated heroes and honest portrayals of life. Skilled and well-established actors like Patricia Heaton, Zachary Levi, Kelsey Grammar, and Dennis Quade are being hired One of the innovators behind the industry’s compounding improvement is Andy Erwin. Andy Erwin and his brother Jon helped found Kingdom Story Company in 2019. The studio has been responsible for some of the biggest and most positively reviewed Christian films to date—including Jesus Revolution, Sarah’s Oil, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. But the Erwin…

Topics covered

• faith-based films
• Christian movies
• film industry
• storytelling
• entertainment
• cultural change

Keywords

• Christian films
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Andy Erwin
• Kingdom Story Company
• I Can Only Imagine
• film quality
• storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: I Can Only Imagine, I Can Only Imagine 2, Jesus Revolution, Sarah’s Oil, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

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