‘The Forge’ Takes ‘Accessible’ Approach To Bringing Faith And Discipleship Back To Hollywood

'The Forge' takes a practical approach to bringing faith-based films back to Hollywood.

This special edition of The Culture Shift takes us to the Atlanta Symphony Hall for the red-carpet premiere of the new faith-based film The Forge.

Brought to us by The Kendrick Brothers, the new devotional film tells the story of Isaiah Wright (Aspen Kennedy), a 19-year-old who’s one year out of high school and still unsure about what he wants to do with his life. With a passion for basketball and video games, Isaiah can easily get lost with time while engaged in a serious game on the court or online.

But with no job, direction, or understanding of what it means to be a man, his single mom, Cynthia (Priscilla Shirer), is losing her patience and praying for a positive shift in her son’s life. As a last resort, Cynthia gives Isaiah a stark ultimatum: step up or move out.

Torn between the influence of his friends and the pressure from his mom, Isaiah lands a job at Moore Fitness, unaware of how profoundly the owner will shape his life. Guided by his mother’s prayers and the unexpected support of a new mentor, Isaiah confronts his past, lets go of his selfishness, and begins to uncover a greater purpose for his life through faith.

Speaking with BLACK ENTERPRISE, Kennedy cited the personal connection he felt with his character, having also been raised by a single mom.

“I was raised by my mom and I didn’t have my dad around so just being able to know who God has been in my life as a father,” he explained. “It’s the same journey Isaiah has been and it has been a blessing.”

Shirer hit the red carpet with her husband, Jerry Shirer, who plays a small role in the film, and one of their three sons, and explained how much she resonated with her character, Cynthia, due to her real-life role as a mother to young Black men. With a focus on the film’s underlying theme of discipleship, Shirer explained how important it is for adults to pay it forward in the form of mentoring a young and developing adolescent.

“I’m a mother of three young men, and so being able to remember the importance of not only being intentional about parenting them, but then the men outside of our family, they have a great father, but when they have a football coach or a basketball coach or somebody they admire that affirms them, the way that matters to my boys, to see that on screen is something that’s really exceptional,” she shared.

“I think it’s [the film] going to remind all of us that it matters when we affirm a young lady, or when a grown man affirms a young man in business or in sports or in their character, it matters.”

There was a lot of love and support on the red carpet for the Kendrick Brothers’ new film and how they’re taking a practical approach to introducing faith-based films and themes of discipleship in Hollywood. Believers and entertainers like Pastor DeVon Franklin, actress Yvonne Orji, and Braxton Family Values star Trina Braxton shared how the film resonated with them and will resonate with other viewers.

“The movie is about discipleship, and especially if you were raised in the church, I think this movie reminds us of the foundation of our faith, which is in discipling each other,” Pastor DeVon Franklin says. “Especially older men, discipling younger men, and I think they’re gonna get tips and tools on how to bring discipleship back into their life, back into their community, back into their church.”

As a practicing Christian, Insecure star Yvonne Orji praised The Forge for being a devotional film that’s participating in the “awakening” that’s sweeping the entertainment industry.

“As a Christian, it’s like we need more Christian entertainment,” Orji says. “I think there’s a Hollywood awakening happening and we’re here for it.”

As for the film’s practical approach to topics of religion and having a relationship with God, Orji applauded how the Kendrick Brothers tackle discipleship and compared it to the forms of ministering seen in the Holy Bible’s New Testament.

“I feel like faith should always be accessible,” Orji said. “You know, like, even Jesus was chilling. He told Zacchaeus to come down from the tree so he could go have dinner with him. He was doing stuff like, ‘I just want to break bread with you, bruh.’ And so I think when we try to separate the masses, it doesn’t work. That’s not accessible. But when you’re like, ‘Hey, let’s reach you, let’s serve, let’s be in community, let’s be in communion with one another.’ That’s when, like, Christianity is more accessible.”

Faith leaders, including two bishops from international churches who have hosted screenings for The Forge, also spoke with BE about the importance of films like The Forge and how it might be able to reach someone who’s struggling with their faith and looking for an answer.

“This is really a good movie for the Christian faith because it’s time for so many of us in the body of Christ to move beyond just Christianity to discipleship,” Bishop Neil C. Ellis of Mount Tabor Church in The Bahamas said. “I believe discipleship is the real strength of Christianity.”

Press play below for the full red carpet experience and be sure to check out The Forge, which hit theaters nationwide on Aug. 23.