"A Great Awakening" Being Released In Movie Theaters Easter Weekend

The friendship between the Reverend George Whitefield, who helped spark the first Great Awakening in the British colonies that would become The United States of America, and Benjamin Franklin, one of the USA's founding fathers, signer of The Declaration of Independence, and first Postmaster General of The United States of America, is the subject of the forthcoming motion picture, "A Great Awakening". A movie produced by Sight and Sound films that specializes in feature films that "tell true stories of historical figures who changed the world because Christ first changed them." With "A Great Awakening" being set for release in movie theaters nationwide on April 01st, just in time for Easter.

The plot of "A Great Awakening" focuses on the unlikely friendship between the Reverend George Whitefield, a man of faith, and Benjamin Franklin, a man of reason. As the Reverend George Whitefield was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement who preached at least 18,000 times to an estimated ten million listeners throughout the British empire in the 1700s. Despite being cross-eyed in appearance, Reverend Whitefield was known for being able to enthrall large audiences through drama, religious eloquence, and patriotism. He preached to crowds as large as eighty thousand at a time while traveling on horseback from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina. Making him one of the first celebrities in the American colonies.

Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, was doubtful upon hearing about the legendary Reverend George Whitefield. As a man of reason he simply couldn't believe that someone who was so short of stature and had a "lazy eye" could impact audiences for Christ in such a fashion. As a man of reason who couldn't believe without evidence, Benjamin Franklin, then ventures to hear this Reverend George Whitefield. Only to find out that the impact of Whitefield's sermons was undeniable. His message of freedom through salvation in Christ was inspiring people everywhere. Leading to the two forming a professional friendship with Benjamin Franklin telling Whitefield in the film that, "You are the lightning bolt George, I am just the lightning rod." As Franklin publishes Whitefield's sermons in his popular newspaper, "The Pennsylvania Gazette". Declaring to friends in the film that "George Whitefield was The Revolution".

Jonathan Blair, who also appeared in Sight and Sound's, "I Heard The Bells", portrays the Reverend George Whitefield in "A Great Awakening". Benjamin Franklin is portrayed in the film by the actor John Paul Sneed. While the movie is directed and written by Joshua Enck, who also directed the well done 2022 historical drama by Sight and Sound Films, "I Heard The Bells", which focused on the inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Carol, "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day".

While the Reverend George Whitefield was friends with the Wesleys and handed over his entire ministry to John Wesley, he differed from John Wesley on his views regarding involuntary servitude. Whitefield advocated for such an institution that was contrary to his preaching of the era and even played a pivotal role in reintroducing slavery into the state of Georgia, along with the English merchant, James Habersham. John Wesley, on the other hand, denounced slavery as "the sum of all villainies".

The theme of the Pg – 13 film, "A Great Awakening", is that "One tiny candle, illuminates a thousand." With Sight and Sound Films releasing "A Great Awakening" in honor of America's upcoming 250th anniversary. A preview of the film is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4-rMC88yIQ with the movie's official website being https://www.agreatwakening.com.

Luisa Reyes is a Tuscaloosa attorney, piano instructor, vocalist, poet, reporter, and columnist.