Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 08/15/24

The healing arts. Ideally, the arts, particularly storytelling, offers society insights into healing our wounds and moving forward with greater wisdom. Whether or not modern-day movies very often accomplish that (or even aspire to) is, at best, a hit-or-miss proposition. Jonathan E. Lim, a physician, entrepreneur and philanthropist, is working to cure that with his City Hill Arts shingle, a film production company dedicated to producing unique works that inspire positive personal and societal change.

My Penguin Friend, in theaters this weekend, certainly fulfills the “unique” bill. Inspired by a true story, it tells the story of a lost penguin who, after being rescued from an oil spill, forms and unlikely – and transformative – friendship with a fisherman (Jean Reno).

JWK: It’s very interesting that you’re a physician who has become and entrepreneur and a philanthropist – but you’ve also added filmmaker to your portfolio. How did that come about?

Jonathan E. Lim: I grew up just loving the movies but also loving science. I pursued science to help people by becoming a doctor. So, I went into medicine and then had a career in general surgery. I went into cancer research and then segued into the business side of healthcare by joining McKinsey which is a management consulting firm and so learned a lot about the healthcare business. Then I entered the biotech industry more than two decades ago. I’ve been in there just really enjoying working on novel therapies that help patients on a broader scale.

It was actually in 2018 that one of the companies I was leading was acquired by a pharmaceutical company. It really gave me the opportunity to pray, reflect  and take time off to spend time with family and friends and travel. So, I was three months off the grid and I realized I wanted to go back to my childhood passion for movies and the arts. I came out of that sabbatical really fired up about starting something new in the arts. I started City Hill Arts which is dedicated to “revitalizing people, planet and perspective” through inspirational storytelling – and here we are. We’re working on really exciting projects of everyday people doing extraordinary things – some of which are based on true stories and others of which could be works of fiction that come from different genres.

JWK: And, as a person of faith, you bring that aspect of yourself to these productions.

JEM: That’s right. In fact, that’s where the name City Hill comes from. I started City Hill in 2010 named after Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A City on a hill cannot be hidden.” So, it’s really my Christian faith that drives me in everything I do. I just feel incredibly blessed to be pursuing what God has made me (to do). I owe everything to Him.

JWK: When did you actually get into the film business?

JEM: City Hill Arts was founded in 2018 out of that sabbatical. I started it in the fall of that year. So, I’ve been sort of working on different stories in film over the last six years. My Penguin Friend, the movie that we’re gonna talk about, arose out of that. City Hill Arts maybe got involved in 2021. So, it’s just about three years now. 

JWK: How did you come upon the story and why did you choose to make it into a film?

JEM: First of all, I love penguins! My wife and I joke that she actually walks like a penguin. It’s very endearing. Steve Wegner, who’s on my team at City Hill Arts, his good friend Nico Veinberg brought the script to us. Nico and the rest of the team had been working on trying to turn that script into a movie for the prior three years or so and they were unsuccessful. They heard (about) City Hill Arts’ mission and what we’re trying to do in terms of our storytelling. So, they sent us the script and, you know, it wasn’t ready then. It actually went through about twenty rewrites which is quite a lot.

It was based on this true story of this Brazilian fisherman that came across this Argentinian penguin all covered in oil. He nursed him back to health. They formed this amazing friendship. The penguin swam 5000 miles every year to go visit his fisherman friend in a remote village of Brazil. So, that story itself – which went viral in 2016 – really gripped us. We wanted to tell this epic narrative film which is a really a fun family adventure for everyone to watch.

JWK: What was it specifically that gripped you? I mean, obviously, it’s an amazing story but is there something particular message that you’re trying to get across with this film?

JEM: Yeah. I mean it’s really a message of love, kindness and friendship – and that theme and those virtues transforming this broken fisherman, his family and the community. It’s just infused with so much love and kindness. We don’t have enough of that in the world right now. We need more of that. So, I think it was the ability to show that through a movie. Then, also, there’s a broader theme of stewardship. Our mission at City Hill Arts is “revitalizing people, planet and perspective.” I think this movie fits within that. God calls us to be wise stewards of the planet that we live on as well as it inhabitants – which includes each other and the animals that live here as well.

JWK: Why do animals move us so much? I don’t know about you but I can watch a movie where people are knocked off right and left but seeing an animal hurt in a movie always seems especially heart-wrenching.

JEM: I think if you had asked me that question a few years ago – before I had a dog – I would have answered it very differently from now (after) having experienced that relationship with my dog where he just showers me with unconditional love and loyalty.  You know, I could walk to the postbox and then come back a minute later and he’s wagging his tail and so excited. (It’s) as if I’ve been gone all day! I don’t know. There’s something about that relationship between us and animals that God imprinted on us. It’s just difficult to explain. It’s sort of a picture of the unconditional love that Jesus shows for us.

JWK: What do you hope people take from the film when they see it in theaters?

JEM: I think it’s, first of all, a community-building experience. There’s something really special about going to the movie theater with family and friends – experiencing it together, just hearing people laugh and cry and just having a communal experience – which we don’t get a lot of these days. You know, everyone’s on their phones and small screens all the time. So, I think it’s that experience – and then those messages of love, kindness and friendship. The movie is really sort of a classical throwback. There are just beautiful shots of nature and just the beauty of the Patagonian coastline and Punta Tombo which has the largest colony Magellanic penguins in the world. You’ll see hundreds of thousands of penguins as far as the eye can see. Then, the penguin himself, we cast ten penguins in the role of Dimdim. These were ten rescue penguins from an aquarium in Ubatuba, Brazil. You’ll see penguins on screen doing things that you’ve never seen before. It’s really a joy.

JWK: How well do penguins take direction?

JEM: (laughs) Pretty well! They’ll work for food or friendship. If they’re hungry you can sort of bribe them with fish. If they are well-fed you can bribe them with a friend. Sometimes, when we had a well-fed penguin, we would put one of their penguin friends off screen at a distance and than have the penguin walk towards their friend. We did have a penguin trainer. We called him the Penguin Whisperer. His name is Fabian Gabelli. He was just amazing. He spent a couple weeks training all ten penguins. Then Jean Reno, the main star of the movie, spent a week training with the penguins as well, building rapport. His rapport with the penguins, as well as Adriana Barraza who plays his wife, is really special. It’s really something.

JWK: So, City Hill is like three separate entities of which City Hill Arts is on. Is that correct?

JEM: Yeah. We have City Hill Ventures which does more biotech type of investing. We have City Hill Foundation which does philanthropy. City Hill Arts is an independent stand-alone company now that is focused on inspired family entertainment. Some of the films are faith-based. Others are sort of values-driven. We really want to make movies that can bring people together and show what unites as as human beings as opposed to what divides us. We really want to tell a number of different stories like that.

For instance, there’s a movie that we’re working on called In the Beginning, which is in that faith-based category, about Genesis 1:1 to 2:3. So, the days of creation. It’s really this cinematic spectacle. We’re collaborating with Cary Granat who is the former CEO of Walden Media (who) worked on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Amazing Grace and other just incredible movies, Ed Jones who won the Academy Award for Who Framed Roger Rabbit and, I believe, some of the Matrix movies and then we also are collaborating with David Cunningham, a Christian director. So, that’s in the queue. We’re trying to raise support for that. We have sort of initial animatic that just is incredible.

Then we’re working on other stories. We’re trying to translate The Belgariad which is a fantasy fiction series that was written by David Eddings. I grew up loving that series. It’s really wholesome fantasy-fiction. Our whole slate of movies that we’re working on is on our website, cityhillarts.com. It’s about a dozen different projects that are being worked on right now.

JWK: What are you looking for? I guess, basically, stories that are uplifting and show people coming together.

JEM: Yeah, that’s right – and have some aspect of revitalization. So, stories of hope, inspiration and triumph of the human spirit against all odds. We’ve had some stories of overcoming grief and tragedy – like The Secret Art of Human Flight. This is a movie that was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival last year. This is a story about a grieving widower who seeks the help of a guru to learn how to fly. It’s sort of a grounded fantasy that is comedic, very dramatic and sort of touches on the processing of grief.

JWK: Do you have any ambition to get into other mediums such as television or what have you?

JEM: We’re looking at that. I think television is such an impactful medium. It’s a very story-driven and writer-driven medium. So, that is something that we’re definitely looking at but, right now, our focus is on theatrical films. We could expand in the future, in terms of TV.

JWK: Is there anything else you’d like to say as we wrap up?

JEM: I really appreciate the opportunity to be here today. I would just say that we’re really trying to make a difference in the world. If that message resonates, I would really love for many people to come out to the movie theaters on opening weekend. It starts this Friday, August 16th. Opening weekend…is really important for any movie but especially for independent films like My Penguin Friend because if we don’t sell enough tickets then AMC, Regal and Cinemark will basically take the movie out of the theater. So, this is really important to support independent films. I would love to have as many people come out and support the movie as possible. I think they’ll love it.

JWK: It looks great to me. As someone said in the comments section when I looked at the trailer on YouTube “This is one of the most tear jerking trailers ever. You’ve made me an emotional mess.” I mean it really draws you in. Even in the trailer you really care about these characters.

JEM: That’s great. That’s a really nice comment. The movie really does that as well.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.