The MENNONITES, A People Apart

A DOCUMENTARY IN PRE-PRODUCTION. Check out the film’s website: (Click Here)

 

Why this Documentary?

1. Why make any film on any topic? Especially on the faith stories of a people? Such projects inspire, form a backdrop to current dilemmas, point the way forward. The more we understand the diversity of faith experience in our settings, the stronger we are as a society when faced with difficult choices.
2. Mennonites have something unique to add to the public dialog that determines our national values. That dialog is mostly carried on through electronic media representations. If the Mennonite emphasis on peace is not present in the media, it will not be part of the conversation.
3. Peacemaking is difficult, even for those strongly committed to its principles. This documentary will be instructive to the macro culture where there remains a current of peace in the ocean of violence and war.
4. It will serve as an educational piece that will inform others, but even more important, to be a mirror from which we ourselves can view our role in the life of our several societies.
5. It will tell the story of a minority in North America that has influenced society in subtle but meaningful ways and to do so in a universal medium that can be transported between the social mediums of our day. Through picture and sound, it will bring the story to life for today’s media savvy citizens.
6. No one else will tell this story. If we really think our theology, our way of viewing the world, has validity for more than a hundred thousand or so souls, it is up to us to make the world aware of our story. If we believe that we have a narrative worthy of the sacrifices we have made over time to keep it alive and that it has relevance today, we are obliged to share this story. Telling our story is what it means to be evangelical.
7. It will stand as an important visual historical document for generations to come.
8. It will educate our own youth.
9. It will enable the public to better understand and appreciate a particular and unique way of life. This film would be made for much the same reason documentaries are made on any of America’s subgroups. The more the public understands and appreciates the diverse society that makes up North America, the more secure our democracy becomes. We fear the unknown. We protect the known. Minorities, even Mennonites, need to be part of the public consciousness.

Press Release:

Click on this link that was published in the Mennonite Weekly Review: Filmmaker envisions documentary on Mennonites’ place in American culture

Brochure

Email burton@themennonitesfilm.com for more copies of the brochure to display or pass out.

Outside

Inside