If you watched the Oscars in February, you will not have seen a pro-religion film given any recognition. You have to go to the Faith and Value Awards ceremony for that.
The winner of the 2008 Most Inspiring Film award this year went to a Christian film called Fireproof. The tagline reads ‘Never leave your partner behind’ and the story concerns the marriage of a firefighter, Caleb, whose bravery and courage in his job doesn’t extend to extinguishing the disaster raging in his own home. Until, that is, his father challenges him to commit to ‘The Love Dare’, a 40-day plan designed to help struggling couples restore their relationships.
Combating divorce
The film was made by Sherwood Pictures, a company working out of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, and run by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick. Their first two films Flywheel and Facing the Giants were popular in the Christian media, but Fireproof is the first film that has gone into cinemas rather than straight to DVD. When considering what sort of script to develop after Facing the Giants, they prayed for an outcome that would have an impact on their wider culture, rather than just Christians. They picked marriage, not only because of the baseline 50% divorce rate, but also because, across the US, firefighters, police and other first responder services have up to 90% divorce rates.
