GEORGE NEWS - The futuristic look at how a young Christian has to defend his religion, is the main theme of a locally produced film The Trial of Mr Smith.

The dramatic court room scenes were shot mostly in and around the George Civic Centre; the film is meant to convey a strong religious message.

Last week, the extras who volunteered to feature in the film, learnt that film production is a serious business as on several nights filming went into the early hours of the morning.

Pastor Rodney Poplin of the Church Planters (Bapists) in George, wrote the script for the Agape Youth, as a way of reminding young Christians that religion is about a lifestyle choice and a conscious decision. He explained how his path had crossed that of the young film-making team of Marius van der Merwe, owner of Glory to God Motion Pictures of Sedgefield.

"After meeting up, we began brainstorming one evening, and we realized that with a little planning and some creative thinking, we could have something special. And that is how "The Trial of Mr. Smith", currently the working title, came into being. Poplin said "Their goal is to eventually be able to produce full-length Christian films on a par with those such as Facing the Giants and Courageous.

"The premise of the film is that in the future (2030), certain laws have been passed in the name of religious tolerance that have effectively made Christianity illegal. Mr Smith is the first person to be tried under this law. The question is: "Is there enough evidence to convict him?"

Van der Merwe, who quit his job as a metallurgical engineer to shoot documentary films, said he felt himself called as a religious person to make this particular movie in George. "I want to make an impact and help to restore and build the Christian faith by returning to the word of God as contained in the Bible," he said during an interview with the George Herald.

Last week, shooting of the protestors scene at the "courthouse" could not get underway, as the extras had not turned up. "Perhaps they had found the long hours involved in each shoot too exhausting," said a bystander who had been following the project.

*Van der Merwe plans to do a documentary on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS HERE.


The extras that featured in the short, locally produced film, The Trial of Mr Smith, learnt that shooting a film is not all about glamour and glitz but rather about patience and endurance, as filming went well into the early hours of the morning. Here Ross Stripp (a policeman in real life) takes a break, with Tina Poplin and Belinda Denysschen of Agape Baptist Church serving refreshments.

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS: PAULINE LOURENS, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST