The Christian film industry is an aspect of

Christian media Christian media refers to media that is Christian, or refers to various aspects of Christian demographic. As a genre its conventions originated in sermons, Christian literature, literature, and gospel music, and it has been adapted into Christ ...

for

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s containing a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

-themed message or moral. They are often

interdenominational Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

films, but can also be films targeting a specific denomination of Christianity.

Criteria

Popular mainstream studio productions of films with strong Christian messages or

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

stories, such as ''

Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...

'', '' The Ten Commandments'', ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...

'', '' The Robe'', ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor fo ...

'', '' The Blind Side'', '' The Book of Eli'', ''

Machine Gun Preacher ''Machine Gun Preacher'' is a 2011 American biographical action drama film directed by Marc Forster and starring Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Shannon. It tells the story of Sam Childers, a former gang biker turned preacher, ...

'', '' Risen'', ''

Hacksaw Ridge ''Hacksaw Ridge'' is a 2016 epic biographical war film directed by Mel Gibson and written by Andrew Knight and Robert Schenkkan, based on the 2004 documentary '' The Conscientious Objector'' directed by Terry Benedict. Set in World War II, A ...

'', and ''

Silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

'', are not specifically part of the Christian film industry, being more

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

about their audiences' religious beliefs. These films generally also have a much higher budget, production values and better known film stars, and are received more favourably with

film critics Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

. Many films from the Christian film industry are produced by openly confessing

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

in independent companies mainly targeting a Christian audience. This has been on the rise since the success of

Sherwood Pictures Sherwood Pictures is an American independent Christian film production company in Albany, Georgia, United States. It is unusual among production companies in that it is a ministry of a local church, Sherwood Baptist Church. The company uses mostl ...

whose ''

Fireproof Fireproofing is rendering something ( structures, materials, etc.) resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a ...

'' was the highest grossing

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

of 2008.

History

Beginnings

Catholic priest

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Society of Jesus, Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jes ...

promoted the

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that uses pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lens (optics), lenses, and a light source. ...

by publishing the book ''

Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae ''Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae'' ("The Great Art of Light and Shadow") is a 1645 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It was dedicated to Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans and published in Rome by Lodovico Grignani. A second edition was pub ...

'' in 1680. Controversy soon followed as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s and masons used the lanterns "to persuade followers of their ability to control both the forces of darkness and enlightenment" and temperance groups used the lanterns to fight

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In the 1800s,

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

such as

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

used the lanterns to present the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. Through the years, many Christians began to utilize motion picture for their own purposes. In 1899, Herbert Booth, as part of the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

, claimed to be the first user of film for the cause of Christianity.

20th century

In the 1940s, Christian film libraries emerged. Harvey W. Marks started the Visual Aid Center in 1945. Circa 1968, Harry Bristow launched Christian Cinema in a small

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

in the Germantown area of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and in the early 1970s, the ministry moved to a theater in

Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia. History Lenape The historical territ ...

. Christian Cinema operated a movie theater that showed only Christian films, but closed down in the mid-1990s. The growth of Christian film libraries led to the Christian Film Distributors Association (CFDA) being formed in 1974. The CFDA began holding a conference each year for Christian

filmmakers Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screenwritin ...

and

distributors A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design A ...

. The Christian Film and Video Association (formerly the Christian Film Distribution Association) gave out Crown Awards for films that "glorify

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Spencer Williams Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...

's 1941

race film The race film or race movie was a genre of film produced in the United States between about 1915 and the early 1950s, consisting of films produced for African American, black audiences, and featuring black casts. Approximately five hundred race ...

'' The Blood of Jesus'' was screened in cinemas and in black churches. The film was produced in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

on a budget of US$5,000. To present the afterlife, Williams used scenes from a 1911

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

film called ''

L'Inferno ''L'Inferno'' () is a 1911 Italian silent film, loosely adapted from '' Inferno'', the first canticle of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. ''L'Inferno'' took over three years to make, and was the first full-length Italian feature film. It is al ...

'' that depicted souls entering Heaven and in addition to Williams, the cast was made up of amateur actors and members of Reverend R. L. Robinson's Heavenly Choir, who sang the film's gospel music score. The film's commercial success enabled Williams to direct and write additional feature films for Sack Amusement Enterprises, including two films with religious themes: '' Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus'' (1942; now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

) and '' Go Down Death'' (1944). The 1971 Christsploitation film ''

If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? ''If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?'' is a 1971 American Christian exploitation horror film directed by Ron Ormond, featuring Southern Baptist minister Estus Pirkle. Background The film is based on a sermon by Estus W. Pirkle held on ...

'' was based on a sermon by

Estus Pirkle Estus Washington Pirkle (March 12, 1930 – March 3, 2005) was an American Baptist minister, evangelist, and filmmaker. Early life Estus Washington Pirkle was born in Vienna, Georgia on March 12, 1930. He was one of eleven children to Grover W ...

held on January 31, 1968 at Camp Zion in Myrtle with the title "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?". The sermon was made available by print, and Estus W. Pirkle joined with filmmaker

Ron Ormond Ron Ormond (August 29, 1910 – May 11, 1981) was an American author, showman, screenwriter, film producer, and film director of Western, musical, and exploitation horror films. Following his survival of a 1968 plane crash, Ormond began making ...

in their first collaboration, and converted the sermon into a film. The pair made a number of other films together (each being 1974's ''The Burning Hell'' and 1977's ''The Believer's Heaven''), but this first film is the team's most well-known. The film became widely distributed among churches and church camps in the 1970s.

Movie theaters and film festivals

Since '' The Great Commandment'' opened in movie theaters in 1941, many Christian filmmakers have attempted to pursue theatrical releases. World Wide Pictures was a pioneer in partnering with churches to bring Christian films to the cinema. Gateway Films (now Gateway Films/Vision Video) was "formed with the express purpose of communicating the Christian Gospel in the secular motion picture theaters" and released '' The Cross and the Switchblade'' in 1972. In 1979, the ''

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

'' film appeared in theaters across the United States. This film, based on the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke is the third of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascension of ...

, was made for $6 million by

Campus Crusade for Christ Cru (until 2011 known as Campus Crusade for Christ—informally "Campus Crusade" or simply "Crusade"—or CCC) is an interdenominational Christian parachurch organization. It was founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles by ...

. In 1993, Tom Saab launched the Merrimack Valley Christian Film Festival in

Salem, New Hampshire Salem is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 30,089 at the 2020 census and an estimated 30,647 in 2022. Salem is a northern suburb of Boston located on Interstate 93. As the first town along I-93 north ...

. Each year this festival is held during

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

week and draws an audience of thousands to a theater to watch Christian films for free. Saab's organization Christian Film Festivals of

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

has also presented film festivals in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

and

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. In October 1999, the Voice of Pentecost Church in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

hosted the 1st Annual WYSIWYG Film Festival. Other Christian film festivals include San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, 168 Hour Film Project, and the Redemptive Film Festival.

Recent years

Many Christian films have been released to theaters since that time, such as ''

The Omega Code ''The Omega Code'' is a 1999 apocalyptic thriller film directed by Rob Marcarelli, written by Stephen Blinn and Hollis Barton, and starring Casper Van Dien, Michael York, Catherine Oxenberg and Michael Ironside. The premillennialist plot revolves ...

'' (1999), '' Megiddo: The Omega Code 2'' (2001), '' Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie'' (2002), ''

Facing the Giants ''Facing the Giants'' is a 2006 American Christian drama sports film directed by and starring Alex Kendrick. The supporting cast was composed of volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church, and it is the second film that Sherwood Pictures has do ...

'' (2006), ''

The Ultimate Gift ''The Ultimate Gift'' is a 2006 American drama film directed by Michael O. Sajbel from a screenplay written by Cheryl McKay, which is based on the best selling novel by Jim Stovall, who cameos in the film. It stars Drew Fuller, Bill Cobbs, L ...

'' (2007), ''

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written in 1772 and published in 1779 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is possibly the most sung and most recorded hymn in the world, and especially popular in the Unit ...

'' (2007), the CGI animated version of '' The Ten Commandments'' (2007), ''

'' (2008), ''

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry ''The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry'' is a 2009 Christian film, released to theaters on September 18, 2009. It was directed by Rich Christiano, and the majority of the film was filmed in Holley, New York, beginning August 18, 2007. The film premier ...

'' (2009), '' To Save a Life'' (2010), ''

Preacher's Kid Preacher's kid is a term to refer to a child of a preacher, pastor, deacon, vicar, lay leader, priest, minister or other similar church leader. Although the phrase can be used in a purely descriptive way, it may also be used as a stereotype. In ...

'' (2010), ''

Letters to God ''Letters to God'' is a 2010 American Christian film, Christian drama film directed by David Nixon and starring Robyn Lively, Jeffrey Johnson, Tanner Maguire, Michael Bolten and Bailee Madison. The story was written by Patrick Doughtie about his s ...

'' (2010), '' What If...'' (2010), '' The Grace Card'' (2011), '' Courageous'' (2011), '' October Baby'' (2012), ''

Last Ounce of Courage ''Last Ounce of Courage'' is a 2012 American Christian Christmas drama film directed by Darrel Campbell and Kevin McAfee and starring Marshall R. Teague, Jennifer O'Neill, and Fred Williamson. It centers on the struggle of Bob Revere, a man dealin ...

'' (2012), ''

Home Run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

'' (2013), '' Grace Unplugged'' (2013), ''

I'm in Love with a Church Girl ''I'm in Love with a Church Girl'' is a 2013 American Christian drama film directed by Steve Race. It stars Jeff "Ja Rule" Atkins, Adrienne Bailon, Stephen Baldwin, Vincent Pastore, Toby Mac, T-Bone, Michael Madsen and Martin Kove. The fil ...

'' (2013), ''

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

'' (2014), ''

God's Not Dead God's Not Dead may refer to: * ''God's Not Dead'' (album), a 2011 album by the Newsboys ** '' Newsboys Live in Concert: God's Not Dead'', a 2012 live album by the Newsboys * " God's Not Dead (Like a Lion)", a song by the Newsboys *'' God's Not Dead ...

'' (2014), '' Persecuted'' (2014), ''

Old Fashioned Old-fashioned, an idiom meaning something not modern, or may refer to: * Old fashioned (cocktail), a whiskey cocktail ** Old fashioned glass, a type of drinking glass named after the cocktail * Old Fashioned (film), ''Old Fashioned'' (film), a 201 ...

'' (2015), '' Do You Believe?'' (2015), '' War Room'' (2015), ''

Beyond the Mask ''Beyond the Mask'' is a 2015 American Christian historical action-adventure film directed by Chad Burns that stars Andrew Cheney, John Rhys-Davies, and Kara Killmer. The film portrays an ex-mercenary (Andrew Cheney) during the American Revoluti ...

'' (2015), '' I'm Not Ashamed'' (2016), '' I Can Only Imagine'' (2018), '' Breakthrough'' (2019), and '' Overcomer'' (2019). In 2006, nearly 50 Christian-faith films were produced. The films grossed an average $39 million. All five of the major Hollywood studios have created marketing departments to target the growing demand for faith-based and family fare. ''Movieguide'' publisher Ted Baehr said, "There is competition for the Christian audience now that there hasn't been before. I thought at some point it would level off, but so far it's getting bigger and bigger. It's more than I could have possibly imagined. One of the audiences that has become stable and even grown for

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and movies is the Christian audience." The proliferation of Christian movies and Christian films has led to the establishment of many

online retailers Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows Consumer, consumers to directly buy good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a pr ...

that focus their business exclusively on the sale and distribution of Christian movies online and family-friendly films such as Parables.tv
Exploration Films
based in Monument, Colorado, FishFlix.com, ChristianCinema.com and ChristianMovies.com. Parables TV also provides

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

and

linear TV Broadcast programming is the practice of organizing or ordering (scheduling) of broadcast media shows, typically radio and television, in a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or season-long schedule. Modern broadcasters use broadcast automatio ...

. In 2013, FishFlix.com opened the first ever DVD store devoted completely to Christian DVDs in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. The 2014 film ''

'' is one of the all-time most successful

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Christian films and the 2015 film '' War Room'' became a box office number-one film.

Christian film in Africa

South Africa

Faith-based, family-values films are popular in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

due to its predominantly Christian audience including '' Faith Like Potatoes'', a 2006

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

-turned-

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

Angus Buchan.

Nigeria

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

Christians are actively contributing to the booming Nigerian film industry known as

Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...

. Christian films makes up about 20% of Nigerian films. Independent companies, ministries, and large churches producing hundreds of Christian films often see themselves as an alternative to Nollywood. Nevertheless, they have participated in mainstream success and many of the films appear on state television channels. The

Redeemed Christian Church of God The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a holiness pentecostal megachurch and denomination headquartered in Ebute Metta, Lagos, Nigeria. With presence in 197 countries and territories of the world and more than 5 million members in Nigeri ...

founded Dove Studios, which has become the country's biggest movie studio and distributor. More than 50,000 copies of their movies were sold before April 2006. The Gospel Film Festival (GOFESTIVAL) is also a major Nigerian film attraction.