By Marisa Zeppieri-Caruana
The Good News

What do you get when you combine a driven, God-loving, 22-year-old with a desire to make an independent Christian film that stands apart from the rest? You get the movie Standing Firm. Now available on DVD, Standing Firm deals with a subject that everyone has either dealt with already or will deal with at some point in his or her life – death and suffering. Viewers will watch as the main character Dave loses control of everything around him after his wife’s death as the movie explores how he seeks to answer the one question that haunts him day and night….WHY?
Kyle Prohaska, the film’s director, co-writer and co-producer describes the movie as a story of suffering, seeing God’s purpose through suffering, and being joyful despite the circumstances. “I feel that we have had such a great response to the movie because the theme of suffering and death is universal – everyone can relate to it. The movie touches on real situations that people will endure throughout their life,” he explains.
After writing the script and wrapping up pre-production, Kyle was gearing up for the first day of production when he was faced with his own tragic loss – the death of his grandmother. Her death gave him an up close and personal look at the very theme he wanted to convey through his film. In addition to his grandmother, Kyle tells how more than 12 other people passed away during filming including the actor Michael Cooper. As he attended one funeral after another, Kyle realized the importance and gravity of his film’s message.

Although there are humorous and casual moments in the film, Standing Firm dives deep below the surface to explore the struggles people face. Kyle’s desire was for this this film to help bring understanding to one of the most misunderstood areas of life for Christians – suffering. In a recent press release, Kyle stated, “The last thing this world needs is another self-help book or government program to ease the pains of life. What the world needs is Christ, because only He will bring the kind of peace and comfort in suffering that I think we are all searching for, and that is what we are aiming to present in this film.”
Kyle began to write the story at the age of 18. Kyle says, “It was something that I always wanted to do. There were times when I couldn’t see the light at the end of tunnel, but I knew what God wanted me to do and He got us all through this film. We wound up doing it on a Flywheel-like budget and we had a lot of people in the community who just wanted to be part of something special. In the end, we accomplished what we set out to do – to win souls for Christ.”
Standing Firm was filmed by Kyle’s production company, Praise Pictures, in Ransomville, N.Y. – a small town near Niagara Falls. The motto at Praise Pictures is to make Life Changing, Engaging, Impacting, Soul Winning, Christian Edifying and God Glorifying films for His Purpose – and it looks like they have produced a home run that accomplishes all of the above with Standing Firm. For churches that want to show the film, Praise Pictures has a church screening kit available on the website for a nominal fee which allows the church to screen the film unlimited times for an entire year. There is even a feature which allows the church to charge for the movie to enable it to be used as a fundraising tool.
Kyle, who is engaged to be married, is thankful to God for the positive feedback the movie has received. “People aren’t just enjoying the movie, they are also learning from it. The message really hits home for a lot of people – and God is using this film to draw more people into His Kingdom,” he shares.
Kyle’s prayer for 2011 is that more and more Christians will watch Standing Firm and take advantage of its important message by sharing the film with their friends and loved ones.  “The gospel is all that matters. Life is fleeting, Christ is king and time is short,” he concludes.

To learn more about Praise Productions and for more information about church screening kits, please visit: www.praisepictures.com
 To watch the trailer of Standing Firm, learn more about the movie and order the DVD, please visit: www.standingfirmmovie.com