‘His Only Son’ becomes first-ever crowdfunded theatrical release, coming this Easter
The upcoming film “His Only Son,” based on the biblical account of Abraham and his son, Isaac (Genesis 22), has made history by becoming the first-ever crowdfund film to have a nationwide theatrical release.
Spearheaded by Angel Studios, the same company that brought viewers “The Chosen,” whose episodes have been viewed over 420 million times worldwide, “His Only Son” tells the life of Abraham (Genesis 12 through 22).
"We just had to bring this epic story of faith,” Angel Studios spokesman Jared Geesey told The Christian Post.
The idea for the film was conceived by former U.S. Marine David Helling, whose time in the deserts of Iraq formed a desire in him to bring biblical accounts to the masses in a theatrical format. Helling, who's also the director, described the quality of the film as “The Chosen” meets “The Passion of Christ.”
Speaking of Helling, Geesey added: "He actually got connected into the Bible when he was in Iraq, and the Lord just brought the Bible to life for him and he was like, 'I have to go to film school and learn how to tell biblical stories.' So he's been working on this film for five years.
"We're just so excited to bring it to fans,” he continued. “If you love 'The Chosen,' you're going to absolutely love 'His Only Son!’”
The timing of the movie’s release is intentional, as the Old Testament account of Abraham being willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, symbolically reflects the coming of Christ.
"Maybe people are thinking, 'Why would we have a story about Abraham right at Easter?' But the parallels of what he went through and how God asked him to sacrifice Isaac and what we celebrate on Easter with Jesus' sacrifice for us. It's such a powerful bringing to life of seeing Jesus in the Old Testament,” Geesey said.
"Today, Angel reached another milestone with the first-ever crowdfunding of marketing funds for a theatrical release,” said Neal Harmon, CEO of Angel Studios. "Because Angel’s decisions are driven by fans — and crowdfunding for 'His Only Son' reached capacity in 100 hours — we are responding to the demand from the audience by at least tripling the theater count nationwide and throwing our most valuable marketing resources behind the film. The Angel Guild, made up of Angel investors from every show, have rated this film with one of the highest scores we have ever received in our system."
The studio hopes fans of “The Chosen” will show up to theaters this Easter and really make the film a success.
As per “The Angel Guild” (made up of fans who are pegged Angel investors that partner with Angel Studios), “His Only Son” was rated one of the highest scores in their system.
“His Only Son” stars Lebanese film and TV actor Nicolas Mouawad, who plays Abraham. To purchase tickets in advance, visit His Only Son Movie.com.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: jeannie.law@christianpost.com She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic