By Kirk Petersen
Hundreds of theaters around the United States are planning a one-time showing of a documentary inspired by Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry’s “teachings and writings on the power of unselfish love,” a senior member of Curry’s staff announced November 30.
“A Case for Love will be shown in 1,000 theaters nationwide, one night only, on January 23, 2024,” said the Rev. Chuck Robertson, canon to the presiding bishop for ministry beyond the Episcopal Church. “The hope is to see a huge turnout, which would result in the film making its way to a streaming service, where it can then be viewed by countless other people… many of whom might never otherwise step into a church or place of worship.”
The film’s initial spark, of course, was Curry’s sermon on the power of love at the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In addition to Curry, prominent Episcopalians featured in the 100-minute documentary include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, weatherman Al Roker, author and historian Jon Meacham, actor Sam Waterston, theologian Kelly Brown Douglas, and former Senator John Danforth.
But mostly, it tells stories from everyday people. “We have, I think, 250 man-on-the-streets where we just pulled over on the Brooklyn Bridge, or Indianapolis downtown, or an LA homeless shelter, or a farm in Pennsylvania. And just ask people about unselfish love, like, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Where have you seen it in the world?” said Brian Ide, the director.
Curry was interviewed for the documentary after most filming had been completed, and he helped “land the plane,” Ide said. In the film’s trailer, Curry says “We will either learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we will perish together as fools. … We were made for each other. And I believe we were also made for the God who made us. And that’s the ultimate community — all of us together in the God who made us.”
Ide is an active parishioner and former vestry member at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, with more than 20 years experience as an actor, producer, and director. He’s the founder of Grace-Based Films, a non-profit dedicated to telling “stories that reveal the complexity of living a life in hope and faith,” according to its website.
Ide told TLC he hopes the documentary can serve as counterprogramming to what will be a contentious election year. “No matter where you are on the spectrum, the start of the year could be a conversation about hope and bringing people together to be a little more resilient,” he said. January 23 is the day of the New Hampshire primary, and eight days after the Iowa caucuses.
The showing is intended to launch “this month of unselfish love,” Ide said, for people “to be intentional for 30 days to seek out some act in that day, to take part in some form of unselfish love, and then journal about it and see if that starts to create a habit.” The film’s website has adult and youth-oriented study guides and other resources for parishes, or for any religious or secular group interested in the message.
“The film is built in a way that’s birthed from our faith, as filmmakers, as people, but it is not exclusive to people that walk into sanctuaries. And I think that was really important,” Ide said. When the film has been screened for small sample audiences, “people that are not faith-active in any way have come to the screenings, and they walked away feeling like, okay, clearly this is connected to your all’s faith. But you didn’t do and say things in a way that we expected.”
“I think there’s power in what film can do for the church,” he said. “My goal has always been that somebody would watch the film, and we raise the question enough that then they would go, okay, this is the church that’s having those kind of conversations.”
The pandemic-delayed project has been in the works since 2019. It was filmed in 2021, edited in 2022, “and then this year has been preparing it for distribution. And we were offered this opportunity that we never expected, which is a theatrical release. And that almost never happens for films, and rarely for faith films, and then even more rarely for progressive church-based films,” he said.
Ide explained that distribution is handled by a company called Fathom Events, which is owned by some of the major movie chains. Theaters have the vast majority of their traffic on weekends, and “this is how they can create engagement during the weekdays,” he said. January 23 is a Tuesday.
Advance ticket sales begin December 1 via the film’s website. Ide said there are 1,000 theaters already planning to participate, and more will be added between now and January 23. Ide said he’s confident it eventually will be available on a streaming service, but those arrangements will be made after the initial showing.
“I don’t personally own any proceeds from it, Curry doesn’t own any proceeds from it, any proceeds that come go to Grace-Based Films, and it funds the next story,” Ide said. “It’s very different than the normal Hollywood model.”
