I recently had the opportunity to view Rich Christiano’s The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and was delighted at how well it turned out. The film follows an older Christian man (Gavid MacLeod) who starts a mentoring relationship with three middle school boys (Jansen Panettiere, Frankie Ryan Manriquez, and Allen Isaacson) . It is a heart-warming story that encourages older believers to get involved in mentoring the next generation.

The film was screened in front of hundreds of people, so I had a great opportunity to watch the crowd’s response to the project. There were many times throughout the movie that people laughed and cried. Two women who were sitting next to me were crying loudly at least twice within the film. The movie does an excellent job of taking the audience on an emotional and fun ride. Do I even need to say it? The audience loved Sperry. It kept them attentive and involved all the way through and received quite a round of applause once the credits started rolling.

Probably the most notable technical aspect of the film was the image quality. Filmed on Super 16mm film, the project stood head and shoulders above the other projects screened at the festival, despite the hype of the Red camera (which is, nonetheless, very cool). Video sometimes makes the actors and landscape appear a little plastic, while film still feels more “real”. Though I would not hesitate to shoot our next project on the Red camera, this project really benefited from shooting on celluloid. The movie depicts the 1970’s in upstate New York in a clean, simpler style and the choice of shooting on film mixed with the brightness of the colors chosen really amplified the mood of the project.

The film had arguably the clearest gospel message of the festival and ranks up there as the smoothest delivery in a Christiano film. I am a real fan of any filmmaker that is not ashamed on his or her faith, and I think that Sperry will certainly be used mightily by the Lord. Rich, a veteran of the modern Christian film movement, has certainly crafted one of the finest Christian films out there. This is a film that you owe it to yourself to see – but be sure to take someone with you! This would be a great movie to show to older saints that need encouragement. We have too many retirees in the church that feel useless. This movie could be the much-needed jolt of encouragement needed to get our sleepy community churches active once more.

Being a Christiano film, it has no objectionable material in it and is easily accessible to children and families.

While The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry is not currently available, it will be screening in theaters in September of 2009. Churches can sponsor a screening in their communities and even earn a percentage of the profits for the theatrical run. For more information visit www.sperrymovie.com.