“Paul: Apocalyptic Prophet” by artist and filmmaker Robert Orlando

Some readers may remember the interview with filmmaker Robert Orlando which was published on The Paul Page in 2006. As of last month, with the help of some Princeton Theological Seminary graduate students and through Orlando’s production company, Nexus Media, the project has been resurrected with a target release date of the 2010 Christmas Holiday for the first screening in the New York / Princeton area. It has been, and will be, shot in HD.

This “traditionally incorrect” filmmaker (raised Catholic, converted to Evangelical, evolved into mainstream Protestant, and then beyond) has explained to The Paul Page that the documentary is still searching for the right distributor and marketplace for this independent film. In order to retain the integrity of his vision and resist being squeezed into a narrow agenda, Orlando has avoided partnering with certain TV networks, film producers, and publishers. However, he remains open to a potential partnership with someone willing to help complete the project with the hopes of reaching a wider audience, both religious and nonreligious. Most of the interview content, graphics, and images have been assembled, but a final series of interviews and a shoot of sites visited by Paul throughout the Mediterranean is planned on a scale appropriate to the partners involved.

The working title of Orlando’s documentary is also evolving to more accurately reflect the apocalyptic focus of his work. At this point, it will likely be called either “Paul: The Apocalyptic Prophet” or “The Resurrection of Paul.” Using a well-investigated narrative, Orlando hopes to demonstrate that Paul’s apocalypticism makes the most sense of his deepest convictions.

Was Paul a conservative or a liberal, an observant Jew or an anti-Semite, a defender of the imperial status quo or a neo-Marxist anti-imperialist (or none of the above)? To answer these questions, Orlando has turned to a wide variety of scholars and sources.

To contact Orlando and learn more about his upcoming film, visit www.thepaulstory.com or www.nexusmediasite.com or write to him at robo@nexusmediasite.com.

Leading Pauline scholars are already weighing in on Robert Orlando’s documentary:

“Robert Orlando is by far the most knowledgeable and probing filmmaker I have dealt with in connection with films on Jesus or Paul. He has read widely, knows the different perspectives on Paul, his letters, and the cast of scholarly characters. While maintaining a broad spectrum of views on Paul, he will surely produce the most ‘down-to-earth’ Paul that we have yet seen on film.”

Richard Horsley
Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion
University of Massachusetts Boston

“Robert Orlando is the most well-read, knowledgeable, and passionate film-maker ever to tackle the Apostle Paul. Because Orlando combines mastery of his subject with such eye-catching artistry and creativity, he succeeds in making a film that both illumines its subject and pleases the eye.”

Pamela Eisenbaum
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins
IIiff School of Theology, Denver Colorado

“Robert Orlando combines a thorough knowledge of Paul’s letters with a deep sensitivity to the issue of Jewish-Christian relations in the first century. His movie promises both to bring the historical setting to life and to draw the viewer into it. No doubt so compelling an experience will enable us all to read the texts with new eyes and thus better grasp their true significance.”

Gerd Lüdemann
Professor of the History and Literature of Early Christianity
Geor-August-University Göttingen, Germany

“Robert Orlando promises a breakthrough film on Paul. He combines real expertise and creativity in film-making with a sophisticated knowledge of the New Testament and the Pauline literature within it. No one has previously been able to combine these talents before. His film will be the first to capture an audience and still remain accurate and informative.”

Alan F. Segal
Professor of Religion
Barnard College, Columbia University