Randall Murphree
AFA Journal editor
July-August 2013 – “I believe the creative arts have always been and should always be a part of the church,” said actor Robert Amaya. “Through artistic expression, we glorify Him who is the Creator. We are the image bearers of a creative God.”
AFA Journal interviewed Amaya and script-writer Davis Bunn in the context of their work on Unlimited, a Chad Gundersen film to be released in September. Amaya stars alongside Fred Thompson. Gundersen is producer of earlier hit Christian movies including Like Dandelion Dust and The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.
Unlimited is a fictional story, though it has roots in the real life of Missouri octogenarian and Renaissance man Harold Finch (played by Thompson). It reflects Finch’s experience as a young man discovering the courage to believe in his own unlimited potential, a courage that he found through his early realization of the need for God in his life. Finch went on to become a successful educator, engineer, businessman, motivational speaker and missionary. (See AFA Journal, 1/13.)
“So far as I know,” Bunn said, “it is the first time such a story has been told on film. In that sense, it is quite unique. There has never been a time or culture where story has played a more vital role than here and now.”
He believes that if the church is to be fully engaged with the people in the pews and wants to share in what most touches their lives, it will recognize how powerful the element of a good story can be. After all, Billy Graham began successfully producing movies for evangelistic purposes decades ago. And Jesus Himself is the ultimate example, as He taught most often through the use of stories.
Amaya believes a well-done movie can entertain and minister to Christians and, at the same time, reach out to others with the gospel. Of Unlimited he said, “Certainly it displays the life-transforming power of a faith in Christ. However, I like to think of it as a fun, suspenseful journey made only more rewarding by its faith elements.”
As an award winning novelist (The Great Divide, Lion of Babylon, Rare Earth, et. al.), Bunn sees today’s growth in Christian film production reflecting the prolific growth of Christian publishing in the 1980s and 1990s. “Churches need to see themselves as playing a vital role in this process, and accept that together, we can make movies into a powerful force for good and for growth,” he said.
Jeff Chamblee, director of American Family Studios, agrees that movies have potential to reach the lost. “That’s exactly why AFA is beginning to produce family friendly, faith-based movies,” he said.
“I believe Unlimited brings the Scripture and its truth to screen in a very relatable way,” Amaya said. “If we believe God’s word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11), we will never be able to fully measure the impact of this film until we are in heaven.”
“Any such project will be created with the faith community in mind,” Bunn said, “but the hope is that the film’s sheer entertainment value will make it appealing to a wider audience. That is our fervent prayer.” 
Unlimited: The Movie
Scheduled for release in October, Unlimited is a fast-paced, family friendly story set in Mexico. When a struggling U.S. research scientist goes to Mexico looking for a former professor, his search leads him to a fictional orphanage run by a character named for and based on Harold Finch. Government corruption and drug traffickers provide the conflict which makes the story line a clear struggle between good and evil. Watch for more information in the October issue of AFA Journal.
