But there is also a burgeoning niche in faith-based productions in the Sacramento area, with a network of local film production staff and potential funders amidst a general growth in this type of filmmaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Sacramento is a great hub for making faith-based films,\u201d Katches said.<\/p>\n
The region\u2019s faith-based film community<\/p>\n
Zac Hersh had found work in the film industry, acting in several horror productions, but as a Christian it wasn\u2019t the perfect fit for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really struggling with working on horror films and I wanted to do something that aligned more with my belief system,\u201d Hersh said.<\/p>\n
So Hersh, who is married, in his early 30s and expecting his first child in November with his wife, pivoted, helping to write and direct \u201cRedemption River\u201d with James Rich, a longtime creative partner. The 85-minute film draws on Hersh\u2019s faith and his roots in the Auburn area, presenting the fictional story of a couple injured during a rafting trip on the American River.<\/p>\n
Hersh said the film was shot around Mineral Bar near Colfax.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was always going down to the American River and spent a lot of my childhood in that canyon and I always really wanted to do like a survival story down there,\u201d Hersh said. \u201cAnd so I just wanted to merge everything that I was kind of dreaming about doing in one project with the faith elements and the survival elements.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The crew of the movie \u201cRedemption River\u201d films on the American River in Placer County. Angel Studios <\/p>\n
Hersh didn\u2019t have to make his movie or find its distribution alone. Some of his crew had worked on \u201cNo Address,\u201d a faith-inspired feature film about homelessness shot locally in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n And his good friend Robert Craig, who lives in Meadow Vista and produced \u201cNo Address,\u201d helped refer him to Angel Studios, a faith-based streaming platform that Hersh said he has been in the process of getting his movie onto.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a small community here,\u201d Hersh said.<\/p>\n The approaches to how faith-based films have gotten made in the Sacramento region have varied.<\/p>\n For Craig, 63, it meant signing well-known names such as \u201cBackdraft\u201d actor William Baldwin, \u201cVacation\u201d actress Beverly D\u2019Angelo, venerable character actor Xander Berkeley and pop singer Ashanti to be part of the cast of \u201cNo Address.\u201d<\/p>\n Hersh\u2019s film went with more of a cast of unknowns, though several have worked regularly in secular films.<\/p>\n Emma Elle, who stars as wife Margo in the main couple in \u201cRedemption River,\u201d had uncredited roles in two \u201cHunger Games\u201d films. Her husband in Hersh\u2019s film is played by Oscar Rudecindo, who had a role in the 2022 film \u201cFalling for Christmas\u201d starring Lindsay Lohan.<\/p>\n Elle\u2019s IMDB page shows several Christian films. Others in the \u201cRedemption River\u201d cast are either influencers or veterans of the Christian entertainment circuit. Hersh noted that Heather Land, who plays Ruth in the film, is a Christian standup comedian.<\/p>\n Finding funders for Sacramento movies<\/p>\n Craig’s \u201cNo Address\u201d was part of a slew of related projects including a documentary and a book.<\/p>\n Craig, who invented the Gutter Guard, said he covered all the costs for \u201cNo Address\u201d and the related projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole thing was about 10 million bucks and I paid it myself because I believed in what we were doing, and I really wanted to do as many things as I possibly could to get more awareness on homelessness, to help those who are experiencing homelessness,\u201d Craig said. \u201cI\u2019m hoping that all five of our projects would really make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRedemption River\u201d cost a fraction of what \u201cNo Address\u201d and its related projects did, with Hersh estimating that \u201cRedemption River\u201d would wind up having cost more than $500,000 to make. Larry Gury, co-founder of California Family Fitness, backed the film.<\/p>\n Gury said that he and Hersh had an association that predated \u201cRedemption River.\u201d They met when Hersh pitched Gury on a non-film-related service for California Family Fitness. Gury backed some of Hersh\u2019s horror projects, though like Hersh, \u201cRedemption River\u201d would take on deeper meaning for him.<\/p>\n Part of Hersh\u2019s film revolves around the main couple having suffered a miscarriage recently before the events of the event. Gury and his wife lost a pregnancy , in 1979.<\/p>\n \u201cI know exactly what this girl went through and what we went through,\u201d said Gury, who is a nondenominational Christian. He became so personally invested in \u201cRedemption River\u201d that his grandchildren are listed as executive producers on the film.<\/p>\n Craig is hopeful about eventually turning a profit on the millions he put into \u201cNo Address\u201d and its related projects. Gury said that if he eventually earned back his investment on \u201cRedemption River,\u201d he\u2019d be thrilled.<\/p>\n \u201cI like the message of what we put together,\u201d Gury said.<\/p>\n Rise in faith-based film movement<\/p>\n Hersh said there\u2019d been an increase in faith-based productions with the success of \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d an Amazon Prime Video series that has released five seasons. He also noted the success of Angel Studios providing a platform for faith-based productions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt kind of recently took off,\u201d Hersh said of faith-based film productions. \u201cBut for a long time, there\u2019s just been a community of faith-based filmmakers that have kind of stuck together through the years. And once you meet one person, it kind of leads to meeting the next person.\u201d<\/p>\n Craig also credited the power of Angel Studios, saying that \u201cNo Address\u201d had received 320,000 hours of viewing time since it was added to the platform in June. He is in the process of editing his related, 2024 documentary, \u201cAmericans With No Address\u201d so that it could be added to Angel Studios.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re growing and they\u2019re looking for movies that amplify light, which is another way of saying they\u2019re looking for movies that have faith in them,\u201d Craig said. \u201cThey\u2019re growing like crazy. Before the end of the year, they\u2019ll have over 3 million members and they\u2019re looking for content.\u201d<\/p>\n There are different reasons why more faith-based content could be getting made in the Sacramento region these days.<\/p>\n Katches credited the region for being strong in general for independent film. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of people who have poured a lot of time and energy into making indie films in the Sacramento area,\u201d Katches said.<\/p>\n Jennifer West, film commissioner for the city of Sacramento, attested to the Sacramento area\u2019s draw for indie films.<\/p>\n \u201cI think indies are looking for places in California that can film and not have to go out of state,\u201d West said. \u201cI think that Sacramento, in particular, can double as a lot of different cities or areas across the U.S. and so it\u2019s cheaper for indie filmmakers to stay in California.\u201d<\/p>\n This was part of the strategy for \u201cNo Address,\u201d which went with a deliberately vague location in the film meant to highlight that homelessness can affect communities everywhere.<\/p>\n People like Craig are doubling down on faith-based filmmaking. He said he was in the process of setting up his own distribution company, Kingdom Gate Films, and that he would charge 10% rather than the standard 20%.<\/p>\n He said he expects to work with people worldwide and won\u2019t confine his projects to Sacramento area. He anticipates filming a significant portion of an upcoming faith-based production in Fargo, North Dakota. But Craig also praised the Sacramento region as a setting for filmmakers.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Sacramento, there\u2019s such a variety of scenery and different types of locations that really met everything that we needed to do in our film,\u201d Craig said. \u201cI definitely highly recommend the Sacramento region for any producer to film.\u201d<\/p>\n Follow More of Our Reporting on In the Spotlight<\/p>\n
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