Filling a Void in Christian Cinema
The founders of United Christian Films (“UCF”) are on a quest to change the landscape of Christian films by making movies that target Hollywood’s largest demographic.
“There are a lot of good Christian movies out there, but at the end of the day they typically don’t appeal to today’s youth,” says Dennis Ward, VP of Creative Services. “We’ve had so many kids tell us that today’s Christian movies don’t speak to the issues they are facing or even entertain them. Our mission is to change that.”
The challenge is not an easy one because it is not something that the industry supports; however, other artists have found a way.
“Christian music has successfully crossed over,” states Brad Perkins, VP of Operations. “Artists like Skillet, tobyMac, NeedToBreathe, and others have shown that Christian music is extremely appealing to the youth as well as non-believers. We want to do that with movies.”
One way to do this is making movies that appeal to younger audiences. The company’s first planned feature, Missionary Men, is a hilarious comedy about four teenagers who try to drive from Kansas City to Peru in an attempt to spread the Gospel, and is meant to target younger audiences.
“Our research indicates the number one genre of film among younger adults is comedy and overwhelmingly people were more likely to see a movie with recognizable talent,” says John Struhar, VP Of Investor Relations. “By combining these aspects, we have shot at appealing to young audiences.”
In an attempt to allow as many people as possible to be part of this revolution, UCF has turned to Kickstarter, a crowd funding website that allows people the opportunity to back projects that interest them. By going this route, Christians can contribute in redefining the movie landscape.
United Christian Films Kickstarter campaign runs until January 1st, 2014 and the production company is targeting filming to begin May 2014.
For more information about United Christian Films, please visit www.unitedchristianfilms.com.
For more information about the Kickstarter campaign, please visit www.tinyurl.com/missionarymen.
Contact Information: General and media inquiries: [email protected].
(Source: Christian Newswire)
