Pope John Paul II film festival part of renaissance in Christian film

The year 2014 seems to be the year that Christians are taking back the film industry as dozens of faith-based films and blockbusters go mainstream. In addition to a series of TV shows, and Hollywood releases, there is also a film festival named for Pope John Paul II happening now in Florida.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - For the past week, a Florida film festival has showcased feature-length films and plenty of discussion about faith in the media. The John Paul II film festival features a film about Pope Francis, the acclaimed movie, "Heaven is Real," as well as nearly two dozen other regular-length and short films all centered on the faith.

Meanwhile, Hollywood has surprised us many with recent films including "God is not Dead" and "Noah." Although the acclaim for each film varies from the popular "Heaven is Real" to the broad-licensed "Noah" the total impact has been to drive people into the theaters and into their Bibles. The films as a product of the modern entertainment industry, are pointing people back to their faith.

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They also symbolize the power of the Christian media to both entertain and educate while provoking mainstream discussion about God.

This return to the faith in film is not confined to America either. According to a press release from 7eventhDay Media, the stories at the Pope John Paul II Film Festival came from as far away as South Africa, Turkey and Spain.

Frank Brennan, the Festival's Director of Film Submissions and Technology said in the release, "We are proud to bring these uniquely powerful films to South Florida. While we are showcasing many genres, all of these project offer an opportunity to witness every-day-people do incredible things and challenge their fears. We've all been short on inspiration," he added. "Think of this lineup as an 'energy boost' for the soul."

Indeed, this sums up much of what we've seen in theaters this year. Christianity is back in the theaters, in a very big way, and it feels both good and right to enjoy it.

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