December 2, 2016
Amir Shehata
This blog series is my attempt at chronicling my adventures while making this web series. I'm going to try and write down my experiences while making season one of Turning Point; what went well, where I made mistakes and how I learned from these mistakes.
To start off, Turning Point, was the original title of the series. I went through the entire filming of the show referring to it as Turning Point, so the name grew on me and I'm going to continue using it here. But, I got a bunch of feedback stating that Turning Point is an over used title, and it would be better to go with a more unique title; feedback that I agreed with, and so Eternity Tomorrow was re-born.
I always find it encouraging to hear how others went about their projects and how they got over the obstacles they encountered, makes me feel like I'm a part of a community, so I'm trying to contribute, even if it's in a small way, to this community.
I've often asked myself why do I want to make moving pictures? It's a lot of work; extremely time consuming, and you're sure to encounter lots of obstacles and frustrations. Some people do it because it's their career, others say they love to make movies. Of course I love to make movies too, but I was watching an interview with Mel Gibson about why he made "The Passion of the Christ", and his answers resonated deeply with me. It's because I have to. It's something that needs to get done.
To me it's not only about the career or the money or the passion for the art, but about telling a story which I believe in; a story that I believe matters. And as a Christian, I find that my faith and beliefs always make it in some form or another in the stories I tell. I attempt to make these ideas as an integral part of the story, and not the purpose of the story. Movies that do the latter, I believe, intend to tell a sermon in the form of a movie, which is good, but not my goal. I'm trying to tell a story which is interesting to me and at the same time stays true to my beliefs.
Now Turning Point may seem like a straight up action story, but it is more than just that. It's about a divine plan. Lots of people think that everything happens for a reason, and that at some level is true. But I believe things happen because we put them in motion. We're constantly making decisions. These decisions do not only impact us, but impact the people around us as well, It's like throwing a rock in the water. The ripple effects are felt in ways you may not even understand.
If you believe in God, then these decisions can align with His thinking, or it may not. He is not going to force your hand either way, since we are free agents in this world, but God is an active and free agent as well. He is constantly working for the benefit of His people, the people that put their trust in Him. When we complain that He is not working, it's mere short-sightedness on our behalf. We're unable to see the big picture, but since He exists outside of time and space, he is able to see things way beyond our limited mental capacity can comprehend.
Turning Point is about Sam who finds herself in the middle of a situation that is not entirely under her control. She is given a gift, one might say, a divine gift, to see into the future. But instead of relying on the One who gave her that gift, she decides to take matters in her own hands. The events of the story unfold in ways she doesn't expect,
The question she struggles with is how do I know God's will? How should I act? What decisions should I make? The problem with Sam, is that she's asking the wrong questions. She thinks God already has predetermined her path, and she just needs to find what this path is. She fails to see that her decisions, personality and preferences are indeed factored in God's plan. So the Plan is no longer only a divine action only, but it is a cooperative action on God's and Sam's parts. Unfortunately, Sam is too wrapped up in her own struggles, that she fails to recognize this truth. This lack of understanding leads her to make questionable decisions, even against her own conscious and most definitely against her core beliefs.