The sign-language Jesus movie is coming to theatres next month
It's the second feature-length Bible movie produced in ASL by Deaf Missions, following 2018's The Book of Job.
Three months ago, I did a short newsbite on the fact that a Jesus movie produced and performed by deaf people—with all the dialogue in American Sign Language—was about to premiere at a deaf missions conference in Texas.
Now, today, comes word that the film is coming to theatres, at least in the US. (Don’t know about Canada.) Here is the official press release:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 14, 2024) — Deaf Missions and Iconic Events Releasing announces the release of the first-ever ASL adaptation for the silver screen, JESUS: a Deaf Missions film. Experience the story of Jesus and his ministry on Earth presented as a feature film entirely in American Sign Language in select theaters beginning June 20, 2024—a historic first for Deaf audiences.
Tickets for JESUS: a Deaf Missions film can be purchased online here and at participating theater box offices.
“I’m excited to see how the Deaf audience responds to this film,” shares director Joseph D. Josselyn. “They can finally watch a movie about Jesus without any language barriers and become fully immersed in it with their heart language!”
Deaf Missions, a ministry dedicated to communicating the Gospel of Jesus with Deaf people through their heart language, culture and identity, has partnered with GUM Vision Studio, along with numerous ministries and generous donors to bring JESUS: a Deaf Missions film to theaters.
JESUS: a Deaf Missions film aptly tagged “For Deaf by Deaf” is brought to life by Joseph D. Josselyn, a Deaf producer and director from Deaf Missions, and Michael Davis, a Deaf producer at GUM Vision Studio. The film will include English subtitles and a soundtrack.
“It was incredibly important to us to partner with Deaf actors and Deaf professionals to bring this story to life for the Deaf audience,” said executive producer and CEO of Deaf Missions Chad Entinger. “The Deaf community is one of the largest unreached people groups in the world, so we are praying that God will use this movie to ignite a movement of healing and heart change in the Deaf community.”
SYNOPSIS: For the first time in history, a Deaf audience will have the unique opportunity to experience the story of Jesus presented as a feature film entirely in American Sign Language. JESUS: a Deaf Missions film will take you on a journey with Jesus and his disciples. Witness His miracles, His transformative power, and His challenges to the religious elite in a time of high tension under Roman rule in Judea. The Jews were anticipating a Messiah, but Jesus was not what they expected. What the religious leaders orchestrated to be Jesus’ end instead changed the world forever. Immerse yourself in Jesus’ love as He offers hope, forgiveness, and eternal life. Don’t miss this historic film—produced for Deaf by Deaf—with a cast fluent in American Sign Language. Deaf producer/director Joseph D. Josselyn (of Deaf Missions) and Deaf producer Michael Davis (of GUM Vision Studio) bring the movie to life for Deaf audiences. The film includes a soundtrack and English subtitles.
I linked to an Instagram version of the trailer in my earlier post, but it turns out the trailer is on YouTube, too—so here it is:
If a lot of the images in that trailer are giving you a certain The Chosen vibe, that might not be accidental. I don’t know where the film itself was shot, but according to the Deaf Missions website, the project began with a pilot that was filmed in 2019 in Weatherford, Texas—the same place where The Chosen got its start.
(And note: the project was announced in February of that year—before the first season of The Chosen came out. This project may have been influenced by The Chosen, but it did not start out as a copy of that series. It exists for its own reasons.)
That pilot—based on the story about the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11)—was eventually released in 2021 as the short film Uncondemned. You can watch it here:
If the new film does remind people of The Chosen, well, that would be kind of fitting, as The Chosen has made a point of incorporating disabilities into its own portrayal of Jesus’ followers, from Matthew’s autism to Little James’s limp. (I spoke to Jordan Walker Ross, the actor who plays Little James, about this aspect of his character, and how the show has been dealing with it, shortly before Season 3 came out.)
Some of the shots depicting the arrest and torture of Jesus are more reminiscent of The Passion of the Christ, though—which makes sense, as The Chosen hasn’t gotten to that part of the story yet, so there’s no template to follow there, and The Passion is easily the most influential film about Jesus since the turn of the millennium.
Interestingly, Jesus isn’t the first feature-length film that Deaf Missions has made. In 2018, they produced an adaptation of The Book of Job, which you can check out on the Deaf Missions app. You can also watch a (silent) trailer for it here:
Anyway, back to the Jesus film. Here is the poster:
And the film’s IMDb page has over 30 publicity stills and other images, as well.
As noted above, the Jesus film is coming to select theatres on June 20. I hope to see it soon, and might have more to say about it then.