A groundbreaking new film will give the deaf community the chance to experience the story of Jesus in a whole new way after Christian organisations came together to produce and release 'Jesus, a Deaf Missions Film' in American Sign Language.
Premiering this month, the movie was written and produced by deaf professionals, ensuring the Gospel story is presented through a deaf lens while remaining true to the Biblical account of Christ's life.
Deaf Missions joined with Jesus Film Project and several other Christian organisations to produce the film, which features a cast of deaf actors and native signers and will also include English subtitles for non-signing viewers.
Jesus Film Project have already made their Christian films available in over 2,000 different languages as part of their mission to 'reach everyone, everywhere', with a special focus on those with the least access to the Gospel. This film marks a historic moment in their efforts to increase inclusivity and representation and find new ways to share the Gospel in a changing world.
"At Jesus Film Project, we believe everyone, everywhere should have access to Jesus' life-changing love and forgiveness. We break language and literacy barriers to ensure that anyone, anywhere can watch Christian films," Josh Newell, Executive Director of Jesus Film Project, said.
"We are excited to come alongside Deaf Missions to connect with the Deaf community, who remain largely unreached by the gospel, directly in their heart language."
With more than 400 sign languages used across the world, Deaf Missions is currently testing sign-dub technology to make this film available to deaf people worldwide, and across multiple sign languages.
"I'm excited to see how the deaf audience responds to the film. They can finally watch a movie about Jesus without any language barriers," Joseph Josselyn, Chief Media Officer and Producer at Deaf Missions, said.
