Hollywood celebrities have rented out movie theaters to support the documentary film, "Chicago: America's Hidden War," starred and produced by a pastor.
According to The Christian Post (CP), the stars who rented out movie theaters for the screening include Denzel Washington, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey of "The Bible," Charlamagne tha God, Willie Robertson, Darryl Strawberry, Dexter Darden, JoJo, Curtis Martin, Dean and Scott Winters, Angie Stone, BeBe Winans and Clifton Davis.
Released by CineLife Entertainment, the film premiered on May 12 and will run until June 15 in theaters nationwide. It was top billed by Ron Hall, and Pastor Dimas and Tiffany Salaberrios. The documentary exposed the "pervasive genocidal-like behavior," explained the cause of the so-called hidden war and the reason "why so little [was] done to stop it" and inspired the "clear path toward change."
The movie was produced by the Salaberrios couple, Mark W. Shaw, John Shepherd, A.R. Bernard, Lu-Shawn Thompson, David Pierce, Ron Hall, Eric Rojas, Richard Steele, Max Zoghbi and Mike Wildt, as well as Miss Muffet and Six+One Studios.
The documentary tells about Pastor Dimas, who took action on Chicago's gun war by going on a hunger strike until Illinois gets at least five days of peace. His initiative inspired gang leaders, a local community and more than 100 churches to join together for peace. As a result, more than 20% of the city's crime rates dropped in just a year.
The film's website stated that in 2020, gun violence caused 90.9% of deaths in Chicago. CP also said that according to reports, a person is shot every two hours and an individual is killed every 10 hours in the city.
The wait is over. Chicago: America's Hidden is officially playing in theaters. Get your tickets now ?? link in BIO.#ChicagosHiddenWar #Chicago #StopViolence #ChicagoViolence #NowPlaying pic.twitter.com/gJl4RdFWRo
"” Chicago: America's Hidden War (@Chicago_AHW) May 13, 2021
In a statement released to the news outlet, film director Daylight Supreme said that it is time for the nation to take action on issues that destroy the American people.
"America can no longer allow the war being waged in its Heartland to remain hidden. Playing political games over gun control misses the point. Instead of pointing fingers that 'they are just doing this to themselves,' it's time we as a nation move from apathy to empathy and into action over these dire issues devastating our fellow Americans."
Bernadette McCabe, executive vice president of CineLife, hoped to "educate" the public on gun violence.
"We are thrilled to be working with Dimas and Tiffany Salaberrios on bringing this crucial film to audiences across the U.S. Through bringing Chicago: America's Hidden War to theaters, we hope to educate audiences across the country about the origins and consequences of gun violence and shed light on a subject of great importance that their direct communities may not be as familiar with yet," McCabe said.
The Salaberrios couple stated that the film will help Americans learn how to address the "urgent crisis" and "take actions to stop it."
"Films have the power to shed light on untold stories and generate meaningful outcomes. For too long, violence in Chicago has been met with apathy and outrage alone is fruitless. This movie will help all Americans learn how to tackle the urgent crisis that is going on in America's heartland and take actions to stop it, regardless of where they are from or how they are different," they declared.
Pastor Dimas is the founder of New York City's Infinity Bible Church.
"Chicago: America's Hidden War" is now showing in theaters. Interested parties can check out their website to see if it's shown in nearby theaters.
