Last time we heard about Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s movie Jesus Camp, it was because Magnolia Pictures were trying to get it pulled from Michael Moore’s film festival. It seems that they didn’t want to associate themselves with a left-wing kook like Moore, because their film claims to be politically balanced and even-handed. It turns out Moore screened the film at Traverse City anyway, but it illustrates just how careful the film’s producers are being with the image of this documentary. Jesus Camp follows 3 kids who attend Becky Fischer’s evangelical Christian summer camp “Kids on Fire” in North Dakota. Here children as young as 6 years old are trained to be “soldiers in God’s army”.
The trailer has just gone online over at AOL Moviefone, and it looks quite intriguing. I can certainly understand why this movie would generate controversy, as these poor children seem hardly old enough to make their own decisions about faith, much less preach it to others. Still I am interested to hear the arguments from both sides on this one. Jesus Camp hits select theatres on September 15th.
After viewing the trailer, I’m really surprised there hasn’t been more buzz about this film. Looks to be very well done!