Decent Films Information

I confess some concern around the potential role of persecution narratives in American Christian culture today, because, while globally Christians are facing unprecedented levels of persecution, I think American Christians tend to think that we have it worse than we do. On the other hand, I appreciate your film's contemplation of violence in the name of Christ and its rejection of it. Did you think about any of these issues in a contemporary context while making the film? Hyatt: I don't think you are wrong at all in saying that we as Americans don't want to think about those things - or to say that we have it bad, too. Literally, our brothers and sisters around the world are being murdered for their faith today. We just tried to tell the story as it really happened, so the persecution [theme] came organically. I think you're right in saying that it is difficult as Americans to wrap our brains around that. If the film could just remind us to even be praying for these people, to be thinking about these things, I think that that would be a great start. SDG:How does the theme of rejecting violence in the name of Christ resonate today, in your mind? Hyatt: I think that, especially in America, it's a very tough concept - but when we read Jesus' words, when we read the Gospel, we see what Paul was saying and doing and how this Christian community lived. It was a nonviolent community. Obviously there are bigger conversations and dialogues that come with just-war [theory] and all these things that the Catholic Church has been grappling with for many years. I don't think that we wanted to have an agenda about it. We looked at St. Paul's words and just brought them to life. I think that there could be some fascinating dialogue over that issue and the Gospel that could come out of this. SDG:This is a very conversational film, and except for the flashbacks, it's mostly shot indoors. Can you talk from a cinematic perspective about making all these conversations visually interesting? Hyatt: (Laughing) It was difficult, I'll ...