You could say faith is a noble endeavor and should be the hope of every well-lived life. Hebrews 11:1 defines it as the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” But what if that faith must be pursued following a life-altering tragedy that causes one to lose everything?
That’s the central premise of “Finding Faith,” a new film written and directed by LazRael Lison, debuting in select theaters for a limited run on June 16 and 17. Starring Paula Patton, Keith David, Loretta Devine, Demetrius Grosse, Nadine Velasquez, and Stephen Bishop, the faith-based drama follows a woman, Faith Mitchell, rebuilding her life — and rediscovering her faith — after a profound personal loss.
Or as the official description puts it: “With the unwavering support of her family, pastor, and closest friends, she finds her way out of the darkness and into the light, and begins to rebuild her life one step at a time.”
But the film’s themes of spiritual searching and redemption are not confined to the screen. For many of the actors involved, “Finding Faith” became more than a role — it also served as a reflection of their own journeys toward healing, finding purpose, and embracing their beliefs.
“I always say when you write a script, you give it a preliminary soul,” Lison said during a conversation with Dr. Otis Moss III, senior pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ and host of the Film Notes podcast. “Then, when you cast the film, you get great enough actors, then they begin to take it to a whole other level. Once you cast anointed people like these, I don’t look at myself as the writer anymore because they have given it the real soul.”
Actor Paula Patton, who portrays the movie’s lead character Faith Mitchell, told Praise 102.5’s Neiko Flowers that she was struck by the script’s divine timing. The moment she let go of anxiety and handed her hopes over to God, she received a call about the film.
“I just said, God, I give it to you. I put it at your feet, I’m tired of being fearful,’ and I went for a walk. I felt this weight lift off of me,” Patton said. And then a neighbor called and told her about the script for “Finding Faith.” Patton said she “just thought it was like God had actually placed it there in my lap.”
Accepting the part came with its own set of emotional challenges. Without giving the story away, suffice it to say the character Faith Mitchell has a problem with alcohol. Patton, now in her seventh year of sobriety, said portraying a character battling alcoholism required her to draw from her own past with vulnerability and conviction. So with her new tools and knowledge of God, she fully embraced playing Faith.
Stephen Bishop, who plays Pastor Wesley in the film, also brought deep personal experience to his role. In an interview on The Tamron Hall Show, Bishop recounted the day he says he met God — at age 15, when a car accident could have ended his life.
“I was going skiing and I dropped my ski boot. When I picked up the boot, a Suburban hit me from behind and dragged me about 20-30 feet. Thankfully, someone was on the street and heard my screams,” Bishop said. ”I walked away without a scratch. That was the day I met God, and he put his hand on my shoulder.”
Bishop said the significance of that moment didn’t fully hit him until he was in his thirties. Since then, he’s developed what he calls an ongoing dialogue with the divine. “After that, when serendipity happened, I’d talk to God,” he explained. What would he say: “Uh-huh. I see you.”
The film is in theaters for two days only: June 16 and 17.
