Faith through film

Paulo Reyes is one of the winners of Faith Shorts. The global competition is run annually by the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and gives 14 to 18-year-olds the opportunity to express what their faith means to them through a three-minute film.

It's a chance for people of faith to demonstrate that their faith is a force for good in the world and not the force for evil that some of the popular negative stereotypes would suggest.

Paulo's film, First Steps to Recovery, is a worthy winner. In it, a journalist interviews a young boy with an unwavering faith in God despite being gravely ill. Although their conversation is brief, the journalist discovers the faith she lacked through the boy's testimony.

At the heart of the three-minute clip is the sense that faith can bring solace and comfort to people in extremely difficult circumstances.

There is a clear message Paulo, a practising Christian, would like viewers to take away from his film.

"Faith is not just believing that God will pull through for you. It’s also putting your complete trust in Him even if He does not pull through for you," he says.

As films often are, Paulo says the project was very personal to him.

"I was going through a tough period in my life and I was really clinging on to God with everything that I had. I wrote the character of the little boy around the idea of the person who I wanted to become during this period in my life, which is a little boy with big faith.

"Before making the film I would have to admit that I was Yasmin (the journalist). I was really unsure about the future and what it holds for me.

"But making this film helped me to realise that God really is in control over everything and in order for me to have true joy in my life and recover from this situation, I have to surrender everything to Him."

With his film delivering such a strong message of hope to people going through tough times, it's little wonder that all the suffering in the world is not a challenge to Paulo's faith.

"I don't believe that man should blame all the suffering on God," he says.

"I believe that it's not in His nature to bring suffering. In fact I believe it is He who gives life and gives it abundantly. It is the enemy that comes to steal, kill and destroy.

"But even if men suffer I do believe that this suffering should bring them closer to God and not away."

If these ideas are challenging to some people, that fits well with how Paulo sees himself as a filmmaker.

"I wrote the film hoping that it would make people think. My role as a filmmaker is to challenge people and I believe I have accomplished this."

It's this potential to challenge and change perspectives that excites Paulo about film.

"I do believe that film is such a powerful medium in todays world. The youth are easily drawn to what they see on television and on cinema. It's such a powerful medium that if it's used properly it could bring so much glory to His Kingdom. However if used incorrectly it could be very dangerous."

Naturally, as a Christian, Paulo sees the potential of films to communicate the message of the Bible.

"I believe that there is power in the smallest details and how it is communicated. I believe that the film was able to touch the hearts and lives of people regardless of their religion or belief because I used a universal medium to communicate the Christian faith."

But Paulo also understands how vast the audience is out there and for him, it's an important part of the filmmaking process for Christians to understand who that audience is.

"I believe that we should be well versed and have a deep understanding of the Bible, but it's also necessary that we know who we're speaking to.

"Even as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 9:20, 'To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.'

"The ultimate goal is to bring people to Christ. I believe that we should be aware of who we're talking to so we may better communicate God to them. And yes, let's keep it simple and let's keep it real."