But I didn’t even score these films. It was fun to say, “I’m not doing the music, but here’s recommendations of a couple [people] that would be good.” The guys who [scored the films}—Jim Daneker and David Hamilton—knocked it out of the park in my opinion.

CMP:  What influence do you think film exerts on moviegoers?

Ryan:  In a survey the Barna Group conducted recently “nearly one-third of adults (29 percent) contend that movies have had a substantial impact on the development of their personal morals, values and religious beliefs.”

People are impacted by what they see whether they realize it or not. Sometimes it’s subconscious. I think that’s the kind of filmmaking we’re interested in, something that’s a little more under the radar, something subtler. We’re not interested in making message movies.

Michael:  Not interested in the fluff. I think these guys write stuff that requires you to make a decision. I think the two shorts really make you think.

Ryan:  They’re not really “Christian” films. You could watch either of these shorts at any film festival and not automatically think, “Oh, a Christian must have made that.”

It’s not that we’re trying to be something we’re not. It’s just about telling a good story, and if in the midst of that you find out that you actually have something to say in the story, then that’s great. But if you’re starting with, “I’m gonna’ get this message across” then it’s just an advertisement.

CMP:  Do you think as Christians study the C2 curriculum the films might encourage some to go watch movies they may not have otherwise because of content or rating?

Michael:  I hope and think that they would.

Ryan:  Somebody recently asked me, “What would you tell somebody who objected to seeing a movie because of content?” The best answer I can give is, “Everybody is different.” Certain things affect people in different ways. You have to decide for yourself where that line is.

A lot of people have made the mistake of assuming that because we are trying to encourage people to “take their Christian worldview to the movies” that means it’s about a content thing. That’s just not it. We’re not trying to teach you what not to watch. We’re not saying, “go see everything” either. It’s a broader thing. Artistically, what are you looking for when you go to the movies?

The Bible itself is full of sex and incest and crazy violence. It’s definitely an R-rated book. So if you want to tap into the human condition at all, glossing over the messier stuff is, I think, an untrue view of reality. It’s not that you have to have a lot of objectionable stuff in [the movie], but others tend to kind of sugarcoat things. It’s very black and white, “This is bad. This is right.”  There’s no middle ground, no gray zone.