Mary Magdalene's viewpoint on Jesus' ministry is shown in a recently released animated film that has attracted a large viewership.
When the film "Chosen Witness" was released in April by the Jesus Film Project, its executive producer, Elizabeth Schenkel, said that it is a retelling of Jesus' ministry leading up to his death and resurrection "through the eyes of Mary Magdalene."
"It is significant that this woman was the first of Jesus' followers to encounter Jesus after he rose from the dead," she 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."
Noticeably, the film features Mary Magdalene's emergence to that status without diluting the fundamental importance of Jesus' mission while He walked as a man on earth.
"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 reasoned. "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 film was reportedly made available in 38 languages during the Easter weekend, with an additional 250 languages set to be released soon.
Schenkel claims that in only three weeks, they had over 250,000 views on YouTube in the United States.
"A number of national Cru teams around the world launched the film on their own websites and built online strategies around that launch," she added.
During the Easter season in Poland, she reported that the country's website had over 6,000 visits. Their local personnel from the Far East, Southeast Asia and South America have also introduced the movie in their respective countries and the reception was likewise promising.
"We were careful to populate our Palestine and Jerusalem [footage] with the people one would have found there at the time of Christ," Schenkel noted. "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."
Few facts about the film
In order to create their newest animation projects, "Chosen Witness," according to jesusfilm.org, they used original audio from the "JESUS" film as well as the "Magdalena."
Director Dominic Carola and a team of highly talented animators have brought the narrative to life on screen.
A significant element of the animation process is also the use of live performers, who contributed in the recording of realistic movements for the film's major characters.
"Through our motion-capture sessions, footage of an actress stumbling across a patio in Orlando, Florida, later becomes Mary Magdalene, stumbling down the streets of a first-century village in Palestine," explained a statement in the Christian website.
The animated film could be viewed via the Jesus Film web page, the JFP app, and the Jesus Film YouTube channel. Prospective sponsors are also encouraged to give.
