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Slamdance Review: ‘Kidnapped for Christ’ Unmasks Christian Reeducation Camps

By Adam Leipzig on January 22, 2014 in Film

4

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One of the most compelling, enraging and ultimately inspiring documentaries of the past few years, Kidnapped for Christ pulls back the curtain on Christian reeducation camps where parents forcibly send their supposedly wayward teens to learn to behave with greater obedience and faith. Director Kate Logan, who began the project as a student at Biola Univeristy, was granted considerable access to one such camp, Escuela Caribe in the Dominican Republic. There she recorded candid observations and revealing interviews with teens and school leaders alike, and began a filmmaking odyssey that lasted more than five years.

Logan, who at the beginning of the film describes herself as an Evangelical Christian, started shooting with a predisposition to support the school’s program. Within the first few days, however, she met David, a 17-year-old from Colorado who had been abruptly awakened one night and dragged from his bedroom as his parents watched and approved. His “teachers” continued to drag him through Miami airport to Escuela Caribe, where escape is impossible and small infractions result in social and corporal punishment. (The filmmakers were not permitted to document the barbed wire and armed guards that surround the school.) Early in the film, David reveals that his parents had sent him here because he is gay. His desire to regain a relationship with his parents, coupled with his admirable self-assuredness and openness, form the emotional core of the story.

As Logan continues to make her documentary, her attitude about the school changes, and she begins to distrust its leaders and even question her own faith. After six weeks of documenting psychological abuse and worse, Logan becomes a character in the drama by smuggling a note from David to his friends in an attempt to secure his freedom. What follows is suspenseful and emotional, edge-of-your-seat material, with a denouement that is unexpected and completely earned.

The project halted for several years as Logan battled legal challenges, and waited until David, now a college senior, was prepared to share his story fully.

None of the parents appear on camera, nor have they seen the movie, and the filmmakers take pains not to vilify them, contending that parents are duped about what goes on at these Christian boarding schools. But it is impossible not to be angry at the parents for their lack compassion and proper guardianship, and for their failure to demonstrate heartfelt remorse for what they did to their kids.

One of the most remarkable elements of Kidnapped for Christ is the fact that the teens, and Logan herself, do not blame religion for this travesty; in fact, they retain their Christian faith. Logan’s personal transformation is fundamental and moving. At a Q&A after the screening, she explained that she had been brought up to believe that to be gay is to sin. Today she is changed, and her next film will be about a Methodist pastor who was defrocked for performing gay marriages (watch for the Kickstarter campaign coming soon).

A smart distributor like HBO or Netflix should kidnap this film. It deserves a qualifying theatrical run, which will be followed by sustained VOD life. DVD sales to institutional audiences, advocacy groups and yes, even churches, will also be viable. (Pic is being repped by WME and Preferred Content.)

 

Image: David in ‘Kidnapped for Christ.’

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TagsChristiandocumentariesEscuela Caribeevangelicalindependent filmKidnapped for ChristSlamdance

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About the author

Adam Leipzig

Adam Leipzig

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Adam Leipzig is the founder and CEO of MediaU, online career acceleration. MediaU opens the doors of access for content creation, filmmaking and television. Adam, Cultural Weekly’s founder and publisher, has worked with more than 10,000 creatives in film, theatre, television, music, dance, poetry, literature, performance, photography, and design. He has been a producer, distributor or supervising executive on more than 30 films that have disrupted expectations, including A Plastic Ocean, March of the Penguins, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Dead Poets Society, Titus and A Plastic Ocean. His movies have won or been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, 11 BAFTA Awards, 2 Golden Globes, 2 Emmys, 2 Directors Guild Awards, 4 Sundance Awards and 4 Independent Spirit Awards. Adam teaches at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Adam began his career in theatre; he was the first professional dramaturg in the United States outside of New York City, and he was one of the founders of the Los Angeles Theatre Center, where he produced more than 300 plays, music, dance, and other events. Adam is CEO of Entertainment Media Partners, a company that navigates creative entrepreneurs through the Hollywood system and beyond, and a keynote speaker. Adam is the former president of National Geographic Films and senior Walt Disney Studios executive. He has also served in senior capacities at CreativeFuture, a non-profit organization that advocates for the creative community. Adam is is the author of ‘Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers ’ and co-author of the all-in-one resource for college students and emerging filmmakers 'Filmmaking in Action: Your Guide to the Skills and Craft' (Macmillan). (Photo by Jordan Ancel)

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