Real Life Film Festival presents Christian-themed fare

Want to treat your family to a night of insightful movies, but aren't interested in exposing them to content you find questionable?

The Real Life Film Festival, which runs this week until Oct. 25, features a full slate of G-rated, Christian-themed fare.

“Often in the commercial theatres, the films may have good stories, but they have the language, the nudity, the violence,” said Lina Madore, director of The Water Gate, which puts on the festival.

The films being presented at Real Life are good quality as well as family friendly, she said.

“We don't go for low-budget films or very amateurish films,” Madore said. “We shy away from that. We really strive to present good quality films, with good cinematography, good stories, and so on.”

Tonight (Oct. 21), the featured film is “Meant to Be,” about 20-year-old Nathan Burr, who questions his purpose in life after losing his career and girlfriend.

The issue of homosexuality from a Christian point of view will be tackled in the films presented Oct. 22.

That includes the documentary “Desire of the Everlasting Hills,” about Catholics who “try to navigate the waters of self-understanding, faith and homosexuality,” and “The Third Way,” which explores why “the fruit of Catholic thinking regarding homosexuality needs to be embraced by the whole Church.”

The films shown Oct. 23 also have a theme — the right to life.

The documentary “The Gift of Life,” hosted by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, “explores the sanctity of life as a moral issue and looks at the lives of
individuals who were nearly the victims of an abortion, but through God’s grace were spared.”

Another documentary, “The Gift – To Live Fully and Die Naturally,” offers “a positive look at palliative care and end-of-life experience to enable viewers to oppose possible legislation of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada.”

The Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada will also make a short presentation on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.

On Oct. 24, the festival screens “Gimme Shelter,” about a troubled teenager who finds out she's pregnant, and is kicked out of her father's house after she refuses an abortion.

The closing film, to be screened Oct. 25, is “Abel's Field,” about troubled high school senior Seth McArdle who finds an unexpected friend in Abel, his school's groundskeeper.

All of the films start at 7 p.m.

Tickets to the festival, which cost $5 for one ticket or $20 for a book of six, are available at The Water Gate, located at 1534 Pioneer Rd. Children 12 and under get in for free when accompanied by an adult ticket holder.

The festival is capped off starting at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 with a dinner and the announcement of the festival's winning film. Tickets to the closing dinner cost $12 for adults and $5 for children.

To learn more, phone 705-523-1437 or email [email protected].