Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture

“We say that God directed this movie because we literally waited on him to show us where to go and what to film.” – Wanderlust Productions CEO Braden Heckman (View Trailer Here)

Braden Heckman says Holy Ghost, the new documentary from filmmaker Darren Wilson, is “the most-funded Christian film in Kickstarter history.” Now, he wants you to see it. Toward that end, the movie will be released in various stages.

1) An online “Digital Premiere” on August 9 will be available for $5 to stream anywhere in the world. This premiere will be available for 24 hours only. The idea is for their more ardent fans to have a chance to not only see the movie a month early, but also to excite the fan base to become the marketing machine for the next phase. To sign up for the Digital Premiere click here.
2) On September 6, Wanderlust will live stream the opening night of their enormous American tour supporting the film. This stream will be free, and will include both the film and a concert with Christian rocker Jake Hamilton, along with a special guest appearance by Brian “Head” Welch from the metal band Korn. This stream will be available for 48 hours.
3) The American tour of Holy Ghost will span 15 cities from September 6 – October 10 with Darren and Jake Hamilton appearing at nearly all of them. In conjunction, they hope to have over 500 churches having their own “premiere nights” during that time period. DVDs of the new movie will be available at all of the showings, all around the world. To find out how to host a premiere click here.
4) On September 16, the DVD itself will be released in Christian bookstores worldwide.

About the rather unique rollout plan, Heckman says “We threw out everything we thought we knew about releasing a movie and recreated a film release from the ground up. What we came up with looks very different from traditional DVD releases, but we hope this will become a new model for other independent filmmakers in a world where all the rules are changing.”

“My first three films were really about my own exploration and questions,” says Wilson, “but with this movie, I’ve finally made up my mind, and I’m excited to share a movie with the world that was birthed out of the boldness that can only come from friendship with God.”

Hopes and expectations are high for the film. After its full trailer was posted on the movie’s Facebook page on July 2, it was reportedly viewed nearly 2 million times in less than two weeks.

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11