The team at Sherwood Pictures doesn't work like other filmmakers. They never have.
After the surprising success of "Fireproof" -- the third film for the group comprised of pastors and staff at the Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. -- most film companies would have rushed back into production to maximize their profits.
At Sherwood they stopped and prayed. They have prayed for more than a year, seeking God's direction for their next endeavor.
Sunday, they announced what the direction will be for their fourth film, "Courageous."
"The movie is about fatherhood and the title is one word: 'Courageous,'" director Alex Kendrick said. "Four fathers who are all in law enforcement -- who protect and serve together -- go through a terrible tragedy. They begin looking at their role as fathers. and they begin challenging one another to fulfill God's intention for fathers."
Kendrick's brother, Stephen Kendrick, is the co-writer and producer of "Courageous."
"God led us," Stephen Kendrick said to the audience of church members Sunday morning, many of them volunteer crew, cast, or catering in earlier Sherwood movies. "We believe God is calling men to rise up with strength and with leadership in their homes, with their families and with their children."
According to producers, more than one million children a year experience their parents' divorce and almost 25 million children live without their biological father.
Children without their biological fathers, on average, are more likely to be poor and have educational, health, emotional, and psychological problems, suffer child abuse, and engage in criminal behavior, than peers living with their married, biological mother and father.
One of the main ways Sherwood Pictures differs from others in the industry is the seamless production and marketing efforts.
"We partner with the pastors at Sherwood from the time there is an idea until the film is released," said Kris Fuhr, vice president of marketing for Provident Films, an agency that supports the Sherwood films. "Most films are handed to us after they are made and we have to develop a marketing plan. With Sherwood, we see how the script will play out and develop a battle plan for how to take the movie and turn it into a ministry tool for people and churches across the country."
Fuhr is a good choice for the establishment of a battle plan. She is a Westpoint graduate who reached the rank of Captain before retiring from the Army to start her family.
