Case Study
The deepest stories of hope often begin in places of unimaginable loss.
We have partnered with Global Disciples in telling their Kingdom Impact stories since 2013, and it was a dream to travel to Uganda to tell the story of Alex — a church planter whose life had been marked by war, displacement, and unimaginable loss.
After losing two brothers and three sisters to rebel violence, Alex carried a deep desire for revenge against those who had caused his family so much pain. But God… when he met a team from Global Disciples in a refugee camp, everything changed. Alex came to follow the Lord, and over time, the bitterness that once defined his pain gave way to surrender, gentleness, and deep conviction.
When we met him, Alex was not a man hardened by his story. He was a man transformed by Jesus — gentle in spirit, full of conviction, devoted to his family and community, and passionate about sharing the hope of Christ in least-reached places throughout Uganda.
As storytellers, we knew this film needed to hold both the weight of Alex’s past and the beauty of what God had done in his heart through the work of Global Disciples. We focused not only on the larger moments of testimony, but on the quiet moments of reflection — the pauses, the grief, the memory, and the honest ache that still remained.
Alex gave language to something deeply human when he said, “Sometimes, those wounds go slowly.” That line became central to the emotional heart of the film. It held the truth of grief without rushing past it, while simultaneously pointing to the lifelong journey of healing in Christ. Alex’s hope in the Gospel led his team to establish 44 churches as of 2019. We can only imagine how much further he has gone.
In order to capture the breadth of locations that his work and ministry had touched meant that we needed a nimble documentary approach that allowed us to move quickly and capture with confidence in unpredictable environments. We were only on the ground filming for about five days, often jumping in and out of vans, and driving long distances in the African countryside to visit the churches and communities that Alex had impacted. We chose the RED Gemini 5K paired with a Kippertie Revolva ND system, giving us beautiful dynamic range, speed, and flexibility across a wide range of available-light conditions.
Some of the most powerful images came in the least controlled environments — including scenes of Alex praying at night in a car interior, lit only by passing streetlights and headlights. Rather than over-shaping those moments, we allowed the natural limitations to create a more honest documentary texture. The Gemini’s ability to handle lowlight ISO up to 12,800 when needed was a great asset.
The final film became a portrait of a man whose pain had not been erased, but redeemed — a story of loss, surrender, and Gospel conviction that reflects the heart of Global Disciples’ mission in the least-reached places of the world.