Gospel Movie market
Staff Writer
2008-11-24
.bugnews.bloggieblog.com .
With the success of Tyler Perry and others, the gospel movie theme is growing. With millions of people in America alone being Christians, any production company should not have a problem finding an audiences. Finding a fan base may not be a problem for some, A distribution deal may be a bigger problem.
Gospel movie pioneers DESSELB Productions had a sleeper direct-to-DVD hit with "A Shepherd of Pure Heart". The story of an up-and-coming pastor and his attempt to reach out to at-risk youth in his community, it was the flagship feature on Maverick Entertainment Group's new "Spirit" label in 2005. The movie continues to be among the movie distributor's stronger sellers. "It was a good deal for a first-time producer such DESSELB," writer/director Keith Garside says of that initial deal. "We knew there was a market for the type movie that we'd made, and we were gratified Maverick had the foresight to recognize the market potential for 'A Shepherd of Pure Heart'."
Fast forward to 2008, DESSELB has a new Gospel Romantic Comedy, "Sister Sonya's Prayer Group", a movie about what happens when an attractive single father joins an all women's prayer group. "Sister Sonya's Prayer Group" is a story of reconciliation, understanding, truth and compassion which alludes to the tradition of David Talbert and Tyler Perry. Sparks fly, traditions fall, love blossoms and everybody gets their groove back as a group of friends deal with relationships, children, and a predatory preacher. Boasting 1970's Black Cinema icon Antonio Fargas, best known for his role as "Huggy Bear" in the TV series Starsky and Hutch, DESSELB seemed on track for a second deal with Maverick with a bigger and better product.
"The collapse of the commercial credit market left movie distributors without the resources to license new movies. Based on the response to 'A Shepherd of Pure Heart', we knew there was a strong market for 'Sister Sonya's Prayer Group', and we had to satisfy that need, whether the distributors were able or not."