Actor and film producer Benjamin
Dane wants to change our culture.
He’s seen how negative today’s
entertainment can be, and it’s his
goal to have a positive impact by
making movies like the upcoming
Beyond the Farthest Star. “Many
faith-based films step around real
life,” he says. “They don’t seem
to portray it in a realistic fashion
like secular films do. They tiptoe
around it, and what happens
is most aren’t real. Beyond the
Farthest Star is a different type of
faith-based film. It’s not like anything
you’ve ever seen. It’s real life,
real faith and real inspiration.”
The story of a pastor who moves
his family from California to Texas,
the film centers on his teenage
daughter Anne who’s battling
despair and anger over being uprooted
again. Bodie and Brock
Thoene liked the contemporary
script so much they wrote the novelization (Zondervan). “It’s a drama, but it operates on all cylinders,” Dane adds. “There’s this driving
intensity, and it’s not a yawner! We’ve found the film
works whether you’re a believer or a nonbeliever. It
affects people on both sides of the fence.”
Directed and written by Andrew Labrizzi, Dane
hopes Beyond the Farthest Star will lift people to a new
level. “Christ told parables,” he says. “This is a modern
day parable, but it calls people to redemption. I
think we have a responsibility as believers who are
filmmakers to not just do safe stories. We have a call.
We should explore the creativity God has given us,
because He placed it within us. It’s our responsibility
to use that talent and ability to be as wise as serpents
and as innocent as doves. To do something that changes
hearts. Not preach at people, but create a story that
calls them to a higher place.”
This article originally appeared in the October/November 2012 issue of FamilyFiction Edge digital magazine. Subscribe for free today!