Sound of Freedom from Angel Studios was the shock movie hit of 2023. The independent breakout about child trafficking was a box office sensation around the world, with box office figures putting it as the 20th biggest film of the year to date.
Angel Studios’ latest release is The Shift, a love story set in a dystopian world and directed by debut director Brock Heasley.
Angel Studios
The anticipation for The Shift is high and has already sold more than 100,000 presale tickets ahead of its December release.
The Shift is the first feature film released by Angel Studios since Sound of Freedom. Last month it premiered After Death, a feature documentary based on near-death experiences. It had its own success, becoming the most successful documentary since 2018 and hitting the top four at the box office on its opening weekend.
Heasley understands the blessing of following two such huge hits, but admits it has come with added pressure too. His movie is being released ahead of Cabrini, made by Sound of Freedom’s director Alejandro Monteverde. Hitting theaters in March, that movies tells the story of the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint by the Vatican, Frances Xavier Cabrini.
“Here we are sandwiched between Sound of Freedom and Cabrini, and we’re a very different film, we’re sci-fi. And to Angel’s credit they are releasing very different films, so they’ve made a big statement on who they are,” Heasley tells Newsweek in an exclusive interview.
“So for us to be following Sound of Freedom, I’ll be honest that it came with its own stress. I became aware very quickly that all eyes were going to be on us.
“Which is great, which is what you want as a filmmaker, but also means that the expectations have got that much higher, that people will be expecting a certain kind and quality of film from that studio.”
Heasley added: “And as a first-time filmmaker, at that stage when Sound of Freedom was released our film was still not complete. So I was hoping our film would be worthy.
“It was a blessing and a curse, I was very grateful but very aware of the pressure.”
Based on the book of Job in the Bible, The Shift follows Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha), who travels across worlds to reunite with the love of his life, Molly (Elizabeth Tabish).
But The Benefactor (Neal McDonough), aka the Devil, threatens Kevin’s survival by putting him through unbelievable hardships and tests his faith in God.
Heasley came up with idea for the movie eight years ago, spending $500 on a short film.
It came after facing his own hardships in his life, including his father being shot twice on separate occasions when he was young, the second time killing him. Heasley and his wife also both lost their jobs within 24 hours of each other “and just couldn’t find any work.” Also they have faced trials as parents of a daughter with disabilities.
“I had passed through a few things… and there was this awareness that we do all pass through times of trial and as somebody who does have faith it was one of these questions, ‘why do we go through these things?'” he says.
Heasley added that just because a person has faith does not necessarily mean that get a free pass from experiencing hardships, and wanted to highlight by telling the story of Job.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.