Serving with Beauty: Paul, Apostle of Christ Producer on Radical Conversion, Mercy & the Movie

T. J. Berden is a producer of the new film Paul, Apostle of Christ, by ODB (Outside of the Box) Films. We had a brief e-mail exchange Friday about the movie.

KJL: Why is Paul, Apostle of Christ important?

T. J. Berden: To know what forgiveness with our limits looks like is something desperately needed today.

KJL: Why is St. Paul’s story significant right now?

Berden: The change from the largest persecutor of Christianity to its leader — can you imagine that radical conversion? To believe it’s still possible today? Do we hope for it? We at ODB hope and pray for that for the audiences who see it.

KJL: What’s the goal with the movie? How can it be important Holy Week viewing?

Berden: As we enter the Triddum this film can help on that Holy Saturday waiting — the mourning of a good friend, with the hopeful anticipation that as Paul says in our movie “death is only the beginning.”

KJL: Was it odd to have “Jesus” play “Luke”?

Berden: Jim Caviezal is one of greatest actors of our generation — he brought the memory and experience from The Passion, but pushed hard to show the cracks in the humanity of Luke, that would have been harder with our Lord. But the first time he got “back in the habit” — everyone on set did a collective gasp.

KJL: James Faulkner has said some powerful things about religious persecution in the world in connection to the film. Is this something you all had in mind from the beginning? How clear a message do you think it is in the final film?

Berden: We set out to show a realistic depiction of the situation in Rome and only at the end did we see that it had relevance to the current moment. This is the beauty of storytelling: If you create a moment that is authentic, it will resonate. It isn’t a cause film, but shows the plight of those who peacefully — with God’s grace–accept their death at the hands of injustice. We try to stay away from messages in movies, but I do think this emotional experience in the film can help wake people up to what is happening around the world as we speak.

Lopez: What is ODB films all about? Why is Hollywood worth a ministry?

Berden: We exist for artfully made, spiritually rich films that help people encounter God. We are about people before product. While we hope for the best result, we believe the journey with the people involved in making the film is everything. We want to serve with beauty, because we believe this is universal language that everyone hungers for.