Standing Firm Tells Compelling Story of Suffering
August 24, 2010
Rock Rapids, IA - Bridgestone Multimedia Group™, a leading distributor of family-friendly Christian movies, proudly announces that Standing Firm is now available on DVD at gobmg.com. A heartfelt film filled with hope, Standing Firm is an emotional story of suffering, finding God's purpose in it, and being joyful in the face of grief.
The film follows Dave Corwin, a businessman and widower who is working himself to death. However, the bills keep piling up and a foreclosure on his home seems inevitable. Blaming God for his wife's death, he ends his relationship with the church, despite his son's position in the ministry. Meanwhile, his son Steven struggles to reach his father any way he can. With the help of his friend Maggie and his grandfather, Steven realizes that he must be the Christian example his father needs, and Dave begins to move back towards God, seeking an answer to the question that has haunted him since his wife's death.
Standing Firm is not only the film debut for its entire cast, but it is also the first feature film of Praise Pictures, Inc. Headed by 22-year-old director Kyle Prohaska, Praise Pictures is an independently owned and operated production and distribution company with a goal to win souls and be a Christ-centered presence in the independent Christian film market.
With only a few YouTube and high school videos under his belt, Prohaska felt called by God to tell a story on film. Inspired by Christian films from Sherwood Pictures (Fireproof, Flywheel), he and co-writer Kevin Michael sat down to brainstorm plots.
"I kept trying to find a common and relatable topic that we could wrap the movie around," Prohaska said. "Eventually, after many ideas shifted and merged together, we ended on the issue of death. Death is something that reaches a relatable level that marriage, family, and friendship can't touch. It's all secondary to one ultimate truth: one day everyone will die."
After working in some semi-autobiographical material from his own childhood, Prohaska assembled his cast and crew, all of whom worked on a volunteer basis. In fact, actors regularly pitched in to haul equipment, and nearly 85% of Standing Firm was created with three or fewer crew members on set.
When Prohaska sees the film today, he's amazed.
"When some folks have looked at the footage we have available, they guess our budget off by a ton, and that from the get-go is what I was hoping to accomplish," he said. "It seems the Lord has helped us achieve our goals."
Getting the word out about the film was another challenge, but Prohaska networked night and day. Just a few months prior to the DVD release, the film's Facebook page had attracted 13,500 fans and notched a nationwide release for its young writer/director, who also shot, edited, and produced the film.
"It isn't easy being a one-man band," Prohaska admitted, "but I see God's favor in me doing a lot of jobs on this film. I've learned so much on this project that I can't wait to get started on another."
Standing Firm stars Eric Stevenson, Dave Gifford, Maggie Whitton, and Rob Reisman. The movie is a recipient of the Dove Family-Approved Seal for all ages and retails at gobmg.com for $19.95.