Here’s the latest dispatch from the crossroads of faith and media:

Best of Enemies hits theaters on April 5. Synopsis: Based on a true story, the movie centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina during the racially charged summer of 1971. During their weeks together, Ann and C.P form a bond that will last a lifetime as they realize that  despite their many differences, they serve the same God and share the same dream for their families. The film stars Academy Award-nominee, Taraji P. Henson who portrays “Ann Atwater,” and Academy Award-winner, Sam Rockwell who plays “C.P Ellis.”

A contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic Australian tale Storm Boy opens in US theaters on April 5. Synopsis: Retired businessman Michael Kingley recounts to his granddaughter the story of how he grew up on an isolated Australian coastline with his father. Together, they rescued and raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican named Mr. Percival, an adventure that has a profound effect on their lives. 

Tony Award-winner John Glover talks about playing Bishop Clemens von Galen in All Our Children, Stephen Unwin’s  new play set against a forgotten chapter of the Holocaust: the persecution, sterilization and murder of hundreds of thousands of disabled people. Between 1939 and 1945, it is estimated that well over 200,000 people with a wide range of disabilities were dismissed as Lebensunwertes Leben (‘lives unworthy of life’) and systematically killed in six converted psychiatric hospitals across Austria and Germany. Public opposition to the program was limited. The most striking intervention came from the Bishop of Münster, Clemens von Galen, who will be played by John Glover. The play, directed by Ethan McSweeney, will run from April 6 to May 12 at New York City’s Sheen Center.

Bulletin Board: April 11 – An evening conversation with Mastermedia CEO Dan Rupple from 7-8:30 pm (NYC). Mastermedia has served as a voice of faith to top media leaders for over 30 years. Checkout the group’s website here.

The Kingdom Studios/Lionsgate partnership deal is bearing fruit. Kingdom, founded late last year by producer Kevin Downes and the directing brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin (I Can Only Imagine, Woodlawn) has unveiled a slate of faith-based film projects it is developing for production. The projects will be distributed via Lionsgate.

Joining the previously announced first film (I Still Believe, scheduled for release on March 20, 2020) are Jesus Revolution (telling the true story of a national spiritual awakening in the early 1970’s and its origins within a community of teenaged hippies in Southern California), Apostles: The Resurrection of Christ (reportedly intended to introduce a series of that will create a sort of cinematic universe based on The Bible) and The Drummer (a period musical being developed in association with the faith-based music group for King & Country).

“God can restore what is broken and change it into something amazing. All you need is faith.” – Joel 2:25