Trailer-10xProductions-EnemyGod

ProdCo: 10x Production
Title: THE ENEMY GOD 
Genre: Documentary

Logline:  Yai Wanonabälewä: The Enemy God gives voice to a group of indigenous people to relate their own dramatic story.

The film tells the true story of a Yanomamö shaman and the supernatural struggle for the survival of his people. It is the result of a collaboration of storytellers and filmmakers from Belize, Venezuela,  Canada, and the United States.

Pot, Truth and Videodiscs

A great article by Tom Khazoyan for TheOoze.com about their unlikely adventures on the Indie Film Circuit.

(EXCERPT)  My partner and I were sitting in the home of an artist in Santa Fe, NM, enjoying a party for filmmakers and others involved in the Talking Stick Film Festival. It was a fascinating group with representatives from many Native American tribes – each with their own unique stories. In the midst of the conversation, an elderly woman began to sort some seeds in a small container, all the while talking with us about her life on a reservation in Arizona. She carefully rolled a couple of joints that she offered around the group. We politely declined, but the experience drove home the point to me that God has brought us into a unique place because of our film, Yai Wanonabälewä: The Enemy God. 

In many of the films presented at Talking Stick, white, protestant missionaries were portrayed as racist destroyers of culture. I am sure that The Enemy God was the only one that gave a positive portrayal of white missionaries in an indigenous setting. Our film even shows a cultural shift away from traditional beliefs in a positive light. So why were we, a couple of white guys who work within evangelical missions circles, there? Why were we invited and accepted graciously?

I believe that part of the reason is that we chose to respect and honor the voice of our Yanomamö brothers and sisters and to make a film that elevates indigenous peoples. It gives us an opportunity to speak to a group of people that are essentially unreached by the gospel as it is presented in America today. We were there to listen and build bridges of respect, even though we hold to a different worldview.

Experiences like this over the past year, taking our film to multiple festivals, has given us a fresh view of the challenges for filmmakers who approach their art from a Christian worldview. I would say the place we most often find ourselves is an excluded-middle; we don’t fit in the current flow of ‘Christian films’ and we don’t fit in Hollywood either. A common end result of aiming for the middle, of course, is that you get shot at from both sides. We have a film that is passed over by some because there is no clear gospel message and by others who accuse us of being racist, genocidal pigs (actual quote from an e-mail I received!) I often joke that we made a film that has something to offend everyone: nudity, violence, occult practices, drug use, and religion. 

In the midst of our struggles to deal with the love/hate feedback that comes with creative endeavors, we have worked hard to develop some principles that can keep us going. First, we must speak the truth that we are called to speak. Speaking truthfully is no guarantee of market success, but it is a prerequisite to gaining a hearing, especially from audiences that might be predisposed to doubt and may never give you a chance to speak.

 Second, it may be that I confirm success of my venture by financial and market terms, or it may be that I judge success on a scale that includes smaller influences on folks like my friends at Talking Stick. I am making the assumption that, for all of the hype, those people have probably not gone to see Fireproof or the Left Behind movies. But, they have now seen a high-quality, authentic story of God’s redemption and power, made in a context and style that they embraced.

Do yourself a favor and go read their full article at theOoze.com

 
 

For more info on the film and filmmakers visit:  The Enemy God

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