Only 22 sleeps to Christmas, and it cannot come soon enough if you are young at heart. Can you remember how long it used to take to get to Christmas when you were a child? When I was ten, it took forever.

That’s why it is good to have something to pace yourself and your children on the journey. I have just the very thing for you and your family.

The good news is, Journey to Bethlehem is now showing in cinemas across the country! Journey to Bethlehem is a Christmas musical movie about Mary, Joseph, Herod, the Magi, and of course, the birth of Jesus!

Watch my introduction to the film and the trailer below!

Journey to Bethlehem takes the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and repackages it as an upbeat and joy-filled family-fun musical adventure.

Its marvellous musical score combines with an uplifting message that a baby born in the backwater of a vast Roman Empire is destined for His eternal throne. No wonder Herod “was deeply disturbed”!

The film is produced by Affirm Films, who’ve put out the previous releases of Fireproof, Moms Night Out, War Room, Overcomer and Courageous. We have featured all five of these low budget high box office films in our Dads4Kids newsletter. Affirm is backed by Sony, and they know how to produce a good movie!

The star-studded cast features Antonio Banderas (Shrek, Puss in Boots, The Mask of Zorro) as King Herod, Joel Smallbone from For King and Country as Herod’s son Antipater, and rapper Lecrae as the angel Gabriel. Key characters Mary and Joseph are played by Fiona Palomo and Milo Manheim.

Lecrae puts his thoughts on the film this way,

“It is a story that has been important for thousands of years. It needs to be told and retold. What an amazing opportunity to be the first musical offering of a story this significant.”

Kurt Malhburg, a friend of mine, writes, “The live-action musical Journey to Bethlehem puts an upbeat, joyful and unexpected spin on the Christmas story, making it the must-see family movie of this holiday season.” Read the rest of Kurt’s review article here.

“Affirm Films has this year released a world-first live-action nativity musical,” writes Cody Mitchell, “Directed by the musical heavyweight, four-time Grammy® Award nominee, two-time Golden Globe® winner and two-time People’s Choice® Award winner Adam Anders.” Read Cody’s complete review here.

As a former full-time musician who now does a lot of work in video, I appreciate high-quality, low-budget films. Journey to Bethlehem, at $6 million, is competing very favourably with the average Hollywood mainstream movie at $65 million.

This is in itself a staggering achievement. Producing a high-quality musical is three times as hard as a normal movie. Did I mention also that Anders is a musical genius?

I am passionate about supporting and promoting high quality family-friendly entertainment. We need it, and our children need it. This movie is a breath of fresh air for one and all.

Journey to Bethlehem is playing in cinemas across the country. It is critical that we fill the cinemas over the next four days. This will be the ONLY way that this family-friendly movie stays on the big screen for another week. Tell your friends and go yourself. Click the green button below to find a cinema near you!

And as Kurt, my fellow co-author, points out in his article, if the cynical, anti-family New York Times hates Journey to Bethlehem, then it’s absolutely a film worth seeing!

Lovework

Billy Joel said, “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” Billy’s right. That is another reason you should take the kids along and check it out for yourself.

Yours for More Family-Friendly Movies,
Warwick Marsh

PS: Thanks to my friend Samuel Hartwich for some of the inspiration behind this article. One more thing! Occasionally you come across something that puts a smile on your face and makes your heart sing. This 2:51 second video has clocked up 5.3 million views, so I am not alone. It is called, “Bullied Boy Knocks on Neighbour’s Door in Search for Friends.” Check it out for yourself!