‘Heaven Is for Real’ and ‘Unbroken’ recently received top honors at the recently concluded Movieguide Faith & Values Awards gala last Friday. The two films were recognized for both their theatrical quality and their inspiring messages based on Bible-related contents.
Based on the best-selling Christian book by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent, the film adaptation of ‘Heaven Is for Real’ received the award for best movie for families. ‘Unbroken’, which was directed by Angelina Jolie, had been recognized as the best film of 2014 for mature audiences.
As a Christian drama film, ‘Heaven Is for Real’ explores the experiences of Burpo’s four-year-old son Colton, who claimed that he has visited heaven following a near-death experience.
Directed by Randall Wallace and penned by Christopher Parker, the film garnered mixed reviews, but achieved success at the box office with a total gross of more than $101 million.
‘Unbroken’ was also derived from the non-fiction book by Laura Hillenbrand in 2010 - ‘Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.’ The film is centered on the life of Louis Zamperini, former athlete and prisoner of World War II, as portrayed by Jack O’ Connell.
Meanwhile, Stevie Wonder also made an appearance at the awards ceremony as he performed with other music artists as tribute to gospel singer Andrae Crouch, who passed away this January.
The 23rd annual Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Gala was carried out at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Universal City. The ceremony showed footages from a wide range of family-friendly and faith-based films, although several controversial movies such as ‘Noah’ and ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ were clearly snubbed. These two films made the global headlines as it stirred certain controversies for incorporating content that was inconsistent to the Bible.
Under the ‘family’ category, other movies that also received runner-up nods include ‘Son of God’, ‘God’s Not Dead’, 'Dolphin Tale 2', ‘Big Hero 6’, ‘Mr. Peabody & Sherman’, ‘Penguins of Madagascar’, ‘Muppets Most Wanted, ‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’ and ‘Bears.’
Other runner-up films in the ‘mature’ category include ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, ‘The Giver’, ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’, ‘Divergent’, ‘The Hunger Games- Mockingjay: Part 1’, ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’
Known for rating films based on a set of criteria, Movieguide was developed by Good News Communications, created by Dr. Ted Baehr in 1978.
