American Jesus

The Vatican Museums

January 2007 •English

Originally produced in 1997 on the threshold of the Third Millennium of the Christian Era, and in celebration of the Jubilee of the Year of Our Lord 2000, The Vatican Museums was the culmination of three years of research and filming, the collaboration of thirty-two scholars and historians from around the world, a crew of forty directors of photography, operators, and lighting technicians, state-of-the-art digital cinematography, lighting, animation, and computerized editing, and the work of a famous composer with original performances by master musicians. Now available on DVD for the first time, this historic three-disc collection features seven hours of magnificent documentary film that illuminates and chronicles the great journey of the human spirit. Here then is the world's most spectacular and sacred repository of art, history, and faith.

Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

March 2022 •English

Were the eleven official witnesses—twelve if you include Joseph Smith himself—of the Book of Mormon reliable? What about the unofficial witnesses who interacted with the plates in various ways—including a number of women? Were the plates actually made of gold? How could witnesses really hear the voice of God and yet come to doubt His prophet?

Ashes

March 1975 •English

Conversations with four people — an artist, a woman struggling with her identity as a high achiever, an actor, and a priest — exploring their inner worlds, their self-image and how they feel they fit into society.

God Willing

October 2010 •English

The film examines the modern-day phenomenon of religious "intentional communities," or as they are often called, "cults." It takes as its focus "The Church," also known as "The Brotherhood," the 35-year-old ministry of shadowy messianic figure Jim Roberts. Since 1971, this secretive organization has recruited (hundreds) of adherents who live together in austere, separatist, communal groups, preaching salvation and damnation, and turning their backs on the outside world except when proselytizing for new members. A powerful exploration of a 35-year-old American religious sect known as “The Church” or “The Brotherhood.” It also outlines the struggles of families whose children turn away from them to become “Brothers” and “Sisters” in the group, renouncing their past lives and the world – often, without ever turning back.

Witness Underground

January 2024 •English

Punk rock, B-movies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses unite in this heartfelt documentary. As members of Jehovah’s Witness start to explore culture outside of their religion, they have to wrestle with the possibility of being excommunicated from friends and family. Featuring in-depth interviews and extensive home video footage, Witness Underground tells the story of punk rocker Witnesses pushing against the highly controlling Jehovah’s Witnesses religion as they build their own community through music and art. This prolific community of Witness musicians create their own record label, Nuclear Gopher, and become early adopters of promoting their music through the internet, including what may have been the first album to ever be livestreamed. This community’s history is well documented through archival footage of their home movies and self-produced music videos, all with a very charming energy.

The Satanic Verses Affair

March 2009 •English

Twenty years ago, novelist Salman Rushdie was a wanted man with a million pound bounty on his head. His novel, The Satanic Verses, had sparked riots across the Muslim world. The ailing religious leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini, had invoked a little-known religious opinion - a fatwa - and effectively sentenced Rushdie to death. This film looks back on the extraordinary events which followed the publication of the book and the ten year campaign to get the fatwa lifted. Interviews with Rushdie's friends and family and testimony from leaders of Britain's Muslim community and the Government reveal the inside story of the affair.

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping

August 2002 •English

Reverend Billy, a.k.a. Bill Talen, is an actor/performance artist and a leading figure within the anti-globalization movement. His work combines the ideas of social and political change with the means of theater arts to counteract our media-laden culture. The film follows the Reverend's "shopping interventions/actions" into cultural dead zones such as Starbucks, Disney and the New York University construction site at Poe House.

Promised Paradise

January 2007 •Indonesian

Using performance to inspire critical reflection, Promised Paradise delivers fascinating and revealing insight into the social and religious undercurrents dominating Indonesian society today and the Muslim world at large.

Is Genesis History? Mountains After the Flood

September 2023 •English

In this fascinating sequel to "Is Genesis History?", watch a team of scientists discover new evidence for the global Flood. By the time the journey is over, you'll understand exactly how modern science connects to the book of Genesis.

Revive Us

October 2016 •English

Are we in the last days of our great nation? Is it too late for America? Revive Us features worship, prayer, and thoughtful discussion as Kirk Cameron turns to Scripture to offer encouragement for our great nation. As Kirk says, 'When our family of believers gets together and the Spirit is moving, we are unstoppable!' Revive Us will have you believing this could be our finest hour!

Keep Up the Good Work

May 2013 •German

It is a fetish, a mantra, a secret religion to modern man: work. In times of the financial crisis and massive job reductions, this documentary movie questions work as our 'hallow' sense in life in a way that both humors and pains us.

The Cult Next Door

February 2017 •English

A short documentary featuring a brief overview of Bill Gothard's ministries, and some of the consequences for his followers.

Skál

April 2021 •Danish

Dania is 21 years old and grew up in a Christian community in the Faroe Islands’ Bible belt. She has just moved to Tórshavn and is seeing Trygvi, a hip-hop artist and poet locally known as Silvurdrongur (Silver Kid). He comes from a secular family and writes poems and texts about the shadow sides of humanity. Dania herself sings in a Christian band but is fascinated by Trygvi’s courage to write brutally honest lyrics. As she tries to find her place in the world and understand herself, she starts to write more personal texts. Her writings develop into a collection of critical poems called ‘Skál’ (‘Cheers’), about the double life that she and other youths must live in the conservative Christian world.

Against the Tide: Finding God in an Age of Science

November 2020 •English

Against the Tide is a travelogue, an examination of modern science, an excursion into history, an autobiography, and more. But at heart, it is the story of one man’s daring stand against the tide of contemporary atheism and its drive to relegate belief in God to society’s catalogue of dead ideas. Join the conversation between Dr. John Lennox—esteemed Oxford professor, mathematician, and philosopher of science—and veteran Hollywood actor and director Kevin Sorbo as they journey from Oxford to Jerusalem and explore the evidence on which Lennox’s Christian faith stands firm.

The Chaplain & the Doctor

Invalid date •English

Frustrated by watching Black patients suffer due to end-of-life healthcare inequities, two determined allies – a chaplain and a doctor – work to transform a broken medical system, one patient at a time.

American Crusaders

January 2007 •English

Documentary - A harrowing exploration of the rapid rise of American religious fanaticism after 9/11. This film explores an emerging ultra Right Wing mass movement seeking dominion over all aspects of contemporary American society. The film weaves archival video, contemporary Christian Nationalist movement propaganda (recruiting videos, apocalyptic/military videogame imagery, etc.) and original investigative material) to create an intense examination of the totalistic mindset and its will to power.

Katedrála zázrakov

November 2023 •Slovak

Michael Lost and Found

May 2017 •English

When a feature film is made about them seven years after their break-up, Benjie Nycum visits his ex-boyfriend Michael Glatze and finally tries to get answers about his bewildering shift from gay activist to ex-gay evangelical.

Power in my Hands

April 2018 •English

This is a film about the power of the Rosary, a Catholic Prayer. The film depicts personal stories about how the rosary has affected their lives.

A Life Apart: Hasidism in America

August 1998 •English

A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, is the first in-depth documentary about a distinctive, traditional Eastern European religious community. In an historic migration after World War II, Hasidism found it's most vital center in America. Both challenging and embracing American values, Hasidim seek those things which many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a close relationship to God. Integrating critical and analytical scholarship with a portrait of the daily life, beliefs, and history of contemporary Hasidic Jews in New York City, the film focuses on the conflicts, burdens, and rewards of the Hasidic way of life.