One of the last people you might expect to see in a Christian comedy would be Nick Offerman, aka Ron Swanson of NBC’s Parks and Recreation. But Believe Me (in theaters today) isn’t what you’d expect from a Christian film, either.
Co-written and directed by Baylor alumnus Will Bakke, BA ’10, Believe Me is a film that playfully pokes fun at how Christians can sometimes appear to other Christians and non-Christians — challenging both audiences’ assumptions about who they’re following. Here’s the trailer:
“Believe Me is a story of four college seniors who start a fake Christian charity in order to make the money that they need for tuition for college,” Bakke explained to Beliefnet. “In the process of throwing this big fundraiser to tell people that they’re donating wells in Africa, they end up being asked to be the keynote speakers for a summer-long evangelical tour. And so they kind of get a little into their heads and they decide to sign on and do it and just sort of study the Christian culture in order to get away with it.”
[READ REVIEWS from The New York Times and Christianity Today]
Bakke is a Baylor film and digital media graduate originally from Dallas, now living in Austin. He first put what he learned at Baylor to use by launching Bearly There Productions, developing short comedy sketches for which he was named one of MTV’s “Top 25 Filmmakers on Campus.” He has won “Best Documentary” at the Maranatha International Film Festival, a nomination for “Best Feature Film” at the Pan Pacific Film Festival, and an official selection into the UK International Christian Film Festival, Chicago United Film Festival, and Toronto International Christian Film Festival. Bakke’s previous films include One Nation Under God and Beware of Christians.
Believe Me is now playing in select theaters across the country; you can also order the DVD or digital download. Besides Offerman, the film features Happy Gilmore‘s Christopher McDonald and Billboard chart-topping Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae. Bakke will follow up the film’s debut with a visit campus on Oct. 2, where he will speak in Baylor film classes about the movie and his experience in the industry.
Sic ’em, Will!
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