A new animated film telling the story of Jesus’ ministry through Mary Magdalene’s viewpoint has attracted a large audience.
According to Movie Guide, “Chosen Witness” was released in April by the Jesus Film Project (JFP), highlighting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The film was created by Cru, formerly Campus Crusade for Christ, and was made available during Easter weekend in 38 languages. It garnered 250,000 views in the first three weeks after being posted to YouTube. The film will soon be available in an additional 250 languages.
“It is significant that this woman was the first of Jesus’ followers to encounter Jesus after he rose from the dead,” Executive Producer Elizabeth Schenkel told The Christian Post. “Jesus sent her to the Apostles as a witness to His resurrection. For this reason, historically, Mary Magdalene is known as the witness to the apostles, even in some traditions, as the Apostle to the Apostles.”
Schenkel pointed out that the message of the gospel is revealed in Jesus choosing Mary.
“Yet, God chose a woman, a woman who had experienced affliction and redemption, a woman who had dedicated her whole life to supporting the ministry of Christ on the earth, as his first witness,” Schenkel explained. “This choice speaks of God’s heart for the world, of his desire that everyone might see Jesus. No one is excluded. Anyone could have a special place and calling in God’s mission to the world.”
The viewership of the film has spanned around the globe.
“We had local staff in the Far East, Southeast Asia, and South America who also launched the film on their sites with encouraging results,” she said.
“We were careful to populate our Palestine and Jerusalem (footage) with the people one would have found there at the time of Christ,” Schenkel added. “Particularly at Passover, Jerusalem was filled with Africans and Asians as well as Middle Easterners. We want our viewers to find themselves represented in that world so they will be encouraged, again, that everyone is welcome, everyone can have a place in God’s Kingdom.”
Barry Cook, director of Disney’s “Mulan” and Dom Carola, special effects director of Disney’s “Aladdin,” helped design the animated project.
Chosen Witness is available for streaming at JesusFilm.org, the JFP app, and on YouTube.
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