Virgil Films &
Entertainment has selected Mar. 3 for the release of both DVD and Blu-ray
editions of a unique faith-based film.
Filmmaker Will Bakke
teams once again with co-writer and friend Michael B. Allen for their first
non-documentary film, Believe Me. It is important to understand the source
material of this work to have a better understanding of where the film — and
the filmmakers — are coming from.
Back in 2009 Bakke and
Allen, along with friends Lawson Hopkins and Austin Meek, combined for the documentary
One
Nation Under God and then re-teamed in 2011 for a second documentary, Beware
of Christians. The two films
followed the four Christians as they tested their faith on the road in a
crisscross journey of the United States … and then internationally.
Using the experiences of
the two road trips, Bakke and Allen have fashioned a dramatic-comedy work — a
fictional story — about how a college student named Sam Atwell (played by Alex
Russell — Unbroken, Carrie, The Host, etc.), who is
desperate to come up with the necessary funds to complete his college degree,
takes to the road with three of his frat brothers to con Christians into
contributing to a fake charity that they’ve conjured up.
They join what is
basically a travelling road/tent revival show and quickly learn the “lingo” of
what moves their audiences to give money to their made-up cause. They are the God Squad … and the money comes
rolling in.
So the message of Believe
Me comes down to the point of view that Christians are shmucks? The answer is no.
Although played for
laughs — and Believe Me is indeed very funny, especially for a faith-based
film — there is a message. Question,
test, ask … don’t just blindly follow.
The story elements all ring true, and that has quite a bit to do with
Bakke and Allen’s own experiences in living through their documentaries One
Nation Under God and Beware of Christians.
The film worked the
festival circuit and then went the indie distribution route for theatrical play
dates in selected venues around the country.
Virgil Films mainstream distribution to the home entertainment market
place will dramatically widen the audience reach for this well-written satire …
a satire with a message. Believe
Me is well-worth a look-see when it heads home on Mar. 3.
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