Is God Made Man a religious film?
No, not really.
Elloborate?
Is GMM a movie about faith and Jesus that should be watched in church groups? No, definitely not. But it does deal with characters questioning their belief in a higher power.
If you dig deep and read into the symbolism of the film it could break down like this (but we’re also happy with other interpretations):
Rhett, Doyle and Ted (our three leads) could be trapped in a “Purgatory.” Each of them crave redemption and desire to escape this Purgatory but ultimately they are stuck in an evil city and between “Heaven” (a better life) and “Hell” (a worse life, death, pain).
Anything else?
The title, “God Made Man” refers to the religious belief that an almighty being, a God has created man (and woman, people) in His image. Our film takes three very disparate and lonely individuals who all have various connections to a higher power. And throughout the film they question the notion that man was created in the image of a higher power. For instance, Rhett not only questions his own identity but also questions how a higher power could be so cruel in pitting people in such despair. Doyle, a Catholic, struggles with making choices that are in opposition to his religion. He wants to make the right choices but life seems to keep holding him down. And finally, Ted is consumed by anger and pain and lives a conflicted life as a seemingly devout Christian man but in actuality deals in many illegal transgressions. He questions, if God made man, how could He make men do such horrendous acts.
Is God Made Man a family friendly film?
No, absolutely not. GMM is for mature audiences and deals with some serious and sometimes disturbing subject matter.
Do you have to be religious to understand and/or like God Made Man?
Not at all. Regardless of your belief system, religious, not religious, atheist, agnostic, or undecided you can still enjoy GMM. The religious aspect is really just a backdrop. It’s more about these tortured characters trying to feel acceptance and find peace.
Our crew and cast were made up of all types of people with all types of belief systems. We respect and admire everyone to believe or not believe how they choose. Even though our characters struggle with thoughts of a higher power we never judge anyone or put these characters or situations above anyone else.
“Initially, I decided to write the story of God Made Man because I wanted to see something on screen that I felt I could relate to- “Queer Cinema.” But more importantly, I wanted to realistically and dramatically showcase some of the issues that are destroying our society and ruining humanity. In doing this, I hope that this film will help shed a light on these horrible atrocities and create and/or enhance a dialog towards change.
HIV-Aids:
Human Trafficking in the United States:
I know these are startling statistics (and this barely scratches the surface), but that’s why they’re important! Yes, God Made Man is intended to be a dramatic and entertaining film but it will also make you think and be a film that is not only for the LGBTQIA+ community but all types of people. In addition, I hope the film and the topics raised will spark your interest in researching into these issues and help bring change.”
It’s so important to tell gay, lesbian, transgender, bi-sexual, gender non-conforming and overall diverse stories and tell them in a real and honest way. The word “queer” has been a very polarizing term. To some it’s a term of hate and oppression, while to others, who are, “taking it back,” it’s an all-encompassing term for a community of people who know humans don’t all have to fit into gender norms, sexuality stereotypes or even “traditional” body identities. For too long has “queer” been looked upon as something different and therefore “bad.” When instead it should be celebrated. The God Made Man team supports the LGBTQIA+ community: gay, lesbian, trans, bi, queer, questioning, gender non-conforming, non-binary, intersex, asexual and even allies. So raise that rainbow flag and tell your stories.
God Made Man is about a transgender man, a gay drag queen, and a bi-sexual, “masker”-like lawyer. The story also holds a series of other unique individuals: lesbians, gender neutral people, drag queens and more. We as filmmakers had a duty to make sure these characters were represented truthfully and not in a stereotypical, or stereo-negative fashion. We did our research and hope it will show in the story of these lovely humans.
Our entire filmmaking team was made up of everything from gay men, to lesbians, to transgender people, cisgender people, gender-neutral people, non-binary people, heterosexual people and more! We all worked together and we all respect and love each other. And we hope you will enjoy our film regardless of your gender identity or sexual orientation.
The following is a note, director Nate Locklear wrote for crew and cast on the intent of God Made Man. The actors/crew definitely helped pull this off!
“Just wanted to fill you in on what exactly we’re trying to get with, God Made Man:
We want the audience to be fully engaged and even exhausted (in a good way) after the film is over. Every character and bit part is important to the story and builds upon the overall theme and emotions.
The majority of the film will be handheld camera or steadicam. We’re shooting mostly in close up. We intend to use strong colors, neon, and streetlights.
The story takes place all in one night, 10 days before Christmas. Decorations will be adorning the sets. Characters may have on holiday attire. And we’ll even have some holiday music.”
As we’ve already stated, God Made Man is featured in the Spring 2016 issue of MovieMaker Magazine and now is listed on the site too: MovieMaker.com. GMM was selected among 4 other films for a section titled, “Numerous Projects in Various Stages of Development” and in the article, “Five Easy Pitches.” This section is dedicated to showcasing indie films in development, production or post production that are still seeking funds, equipment, crew and/or other types of completion materials. God Made Man is in post production and currently seeking $18,750 for post services, DCI print costs, film festival submission fees and travel, color grading fees, sound mixing and more! We’re looking for potential investors, donations, trade (as in, give us a discount or free service and we list you in credits) etc. We plan to have another fund raiser, we’re applying for grants and we’ll possibly run another crowd funding campaign.
MovieMaker Magazine can be picked up on shelves or can be ordered online either by individual issues or yearly subscriptions. They also have an online digital subscription option too. visit: MovieMaker.com
After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with his degree in Radio-TV-Film, Nate went on to create several award-winning projects. Nate won two Emmys® for his work as Producer, Cinematographer, and Editor on the first two seasons of the hit PBS show The Daytripper. Then, he went into production on the four-hour web series and transmedia story, Once You Leave. The series won multiple awards in editing, cinematography, drama, acting and People’s Choice, among others. It was also an official selection for the aGLIFF Film Festival, the LA WEBFEST, and the HollyWeb Festival. Nate is the co-owner of Missing Hill Productions, LLC, and has several projects in various stages of development. He is also the owner of For Now Productions. Besides filmmaking Nate teaches film/video editing at Austin Community College.
Nate was thrilled to step into such a creative role for God Made Man. Taking on so many hats can be stressful but Nate has been doing it for years. He knew he had something special with Kayla’s original story and wanted to dig deeper to get the intense story out into the world.
Kayla (pictured with GMM Executive Producer, Robert Barnhart) studied musical theater at the University of North Texas for two years. Shortly after, she moved to Austin, TX to study Radio-TV-Film at Austin Community College. She received certificates in both Production Management, and Technology. While enrolled, she interned for the hit PBS show, The Daytripper where she met Nate Locklear. After graduating, Kayla co-created and starred in the award winning web series, Once You Leave for which she achieved a Best Actor award and several nominations. Besides filmmaking, Kayla continues her acting studies with multiple coaches around town. And has worked on a number of short films, commercials and in many roles such as Assistant Director, Production Manager and Editor.
Kayla originally wrote a draft of God Made Man as a short film back in 2009. Over the years she worked on transforming the script into a feature length film. In 2015 she handed the partially written draft over to co-writer, Nate Locklear who took the script and re-wrote it while trying to stay true to Kayla’s original intention, overall story and core characters. She also handed the direction and cinematography over to Nate, knowing and trusting his style. She felt she could better serve in a Producer function.
[Be sure to Like Kayla’s Facebook acting/directing page for updates and news, click here]
Robert (pictured with GMM Co-Producer, Kayla Olson) has a BA in comparative religion from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He has been a strong advocate for the study of psychoactive materials in spiritual and nontraditional healing practices for many years.
He sits on the board of both the Heffter Research Institute and The Multi-Disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. He further sits on the board of COSM, supporting the visionary art work of Alex Grey. Mr. Barnhart is active in caring for the well being of our planet’s environmental ecosystem.
He has been a producer of the award-winning film Sushi: The Global Catch. His latest film, A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin has been very well received, and he is involved in producing several more films. His producer credits include: From Shock to Awe, Huxley’s Exit, Time is Art, Mantra – Sounds into Silence, MDMA: The Movie, God Made Man, Changing of the Gods and Imaginatrix: The Terence McKenna Experience.
He lives in Austin, Texas where he enjoys being a father to his eleven year old daughter.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: Michele Ziller
Kayla Olson met Robert while she was doing some transcribing work on his documentary, A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin. Then, when it came time to run the crowd funding campaign to get production funds for God Made Man, Kayla asked if Robert would be interested in donating. Luckily, he agreed and decided to contribute a hefty amount therefore becoming an Executive Producer and having a role in the film. He had a blast on set.
Gregg (pictured with GMM actor, Lee Dawn Hershey) went back to college in his forties to pursue his first love, FILM! Two of his films, Speed Dating and the documentary, Challenger Street Newspaper, were shown at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival as well as the 2015 Hill Country Film Festival. He recently finished post production for two other documentary shorts and has several projects in development. He also is the owner of Gregg Baethge Films production company.
James earned his Master’s of Fine Arts degree in Film and Television production from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with an honors degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago. He has studied filmmaking at New York University and screenwriting in the Writer’s Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. James has made several short films, and his musical film Step Fast was selected for the new filmmakers’ showcase at the Director’s Guild of America. Professionally, James has worked as a music video director for Warner Brothers and Elecktra Records as well as independent labels; and as an editor for Austin’s CBS news affiliate. He currently is the co-owner of Missing Hill Productions LLC and has several projects in various stages of development. His short film, Braver Than You Believe was the Winner of the Month for the DOSFF Film Festival and was an Official Selection for the Tenderheart Film Festival and TMFF Film Festival. Another of his short films, Recesses of Heart was a Finalist for the Sight of Sound International Film Competition. And he has just completed work on his latest short, Cheap Tattoos. James also teaches as a Professor at Austin Community College in the Radio-TV-Film department.