The Master's University has teamed up with film industry pros to produce its first feature.
Best known as the school headed by California mega church pastor John MacArthur, The Master's University is headed down a fairly well-trodden path, enlisting its own students to help make a faith-based movie. That's something that has been done previously by other Christian colleges, including Virginia-based Liberty University, which has produced four such pictures, including Extraordinary, a film that features Christian actors Shari Rigby and Kirk Cameron in prominent roles.
The students, however, are not flying solo, as it were, having teamed with a professional cast and crew. The Man From Nowhere called on Christian film veteran Chris Dowling to help write the screenplay together with Matt Green, who also directed this prodigal son-type picture.
It is the father, though, who is the prodigal in this one. Played by Hollywood actor Nick Searcy, the terminally ill character is a writer who's become a Christian and wants to reach out to his estranged son, portrayed by professional actor and alumnus of The Master's University, Seth Bowling.
To break through to said son, Searcy's character has written a final novel, The Man from Nowhere. It's a detective tale in which a father is likewise trying to reconnect with his estranged son. The movie jumps back and forth between the present-day setting and the book's story and, as the action plays out, Bowling's character finds himself interacting with both his movie father and the father character from the novel.
While Christian Film Blog has not seen the film, it would seem that it presents a hope-inspiring message. In an interview with Christian Headlines, Dowling makes clear that this picture can serve as a catalyst for reconciliation where relationships have been fractured.
"In our screenings, we've seen grown men crying. They'll say, 'That was my dad' or 'That's me.'... I think it's just a wake-up call."
The Man From Nowhere is now available on DVD, Blu Ray and digital, where it can be either purchased or rented. A companion book called Sins of the Father: Lessons from Bad Dads of the Bible is also on offer and you can find it all via this link to the movie's website.