The First Biblical Epic Feature Film Shot in Israel and Saudi Arabia at the Real Mount Sinai
GOLAN HEIGHTS, Israel, June 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of the acclaimed documentary series 'Covenant and Controversy' and 'Sheep Among Wolves,' FAI STUDIOS' tenth feature film shatters the mold and recreates the Book of Exodus and life of Moses as they have never been seen or heard before: through the imagination of a dying boy and the ballads of his father.
BALLADS OF THE EXODUS breaks new ground on several fronts. It is the first Christian film with an entirely Israeli cast and crew, shot exclusively in Israel and Saudi Arabia. This watershed film was produced against the political backdrop of the "Abraham Accords," the normalization of multiple Arab states with Israel, with budding friendships between longtime enemies in the Middle East. The crew was the first group to enter Saudi Arabia weeks after the Saudis opened the country in 2019 to international tourism for the first time in history.
Much of the stunning footage was captured around Jebel al-Lawz, the mountain in northwest Saudi Arabia believed by many to be the real Mount Sinai. Among the various candidates considered by archeologists, Jebel-al-Lawz is the only mountain with an unbroken ancient Jewish, Christian, and Muslim tradition that identifies it as the historical Mount Sinai.
Unique among cinematic retellings of the life of Moses and birth of the Israeli nation, BALLADS OF THE EXODUS was shot and produced on location where many of the events of the Book of Exodus actually took place. Opting to forego any use of visual effects or CGI, Thomas, Director of Photography Ryan Tidrick, and their Israeli crew sought to accomplish every scene with practical effects on location where the events actually happened.
With only a few short minutes of dialogue at the beginning of the film, BALLADS OF THE EXODUS is something akin to a silent film and a Broadway Musical that is ironically neither silent nor a musical. While defying traditional categories and genres, the film is driven by a one-of-a-kind musical soundtrack.
The original soundtrack and score of BALLADS OF THE EXODUS was written in the Golan Heights, composed and produced in Warsaw, Poland, and features some of the most talented musicians around the world today, including renowned Israeli artists and members of Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir. Visionary producer Pawel Bzim Zarecki composed what is nothing short of a groundbreaking achievement. With COVID-19 restrictions hindering normal production practices, Zarecki scored, produced, and engineered three-and-a-half hours of music by collaborating remotely with artists all around the world. The music genres of the ballads that undergird the weaving storylines of the film are as diverse and eclectic as the international collective of singers and musicians who contributed to them. From sweeping orchestral arrangements to classic reggae, from Americana folk ballads to heavy industrial rock, from aggressive rap to rapturous Gospel choirs, each ballad draws from a different musical heritage and opens up new ways of considering the implications of the story of the life of Moses. The album is sure to be recognized as a watershed in Christian music.
The cinematography, music, costumes, make-up, set design, and authentic locations set BALLADS OF THE EXODUS apart as the most unique Biblical film ever produced. Subverting expectations of what Biblical films should look and sound like, FAI STUDIOS is attempting to open new frontiers of storytelling through filmmaking.
The film will premiere in Tel Aviv on June 4 and in Dallas on June 24. It will be available for streaming exclusively on the Frontier Alliance International App (available on all major App stores). The official worldwide release date will be announced in June on the FAI APP.
MEDIA CONTACT
ABOUT THE FILM: BalladsOfTheExodus.com
For more info, email: [email protected]
Official IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13224844/
ABOUT FAI (Frontier Alliance International): FAImission.org
Since launching in 2011, FAI teams have been laying foundations in strategic regions throughout the 10/40 Window. Like Hudson Taylor's China Inland Mission, our teams are laboring together in a concentrated and coordinated advance into the "interior" regions of our generation where today there is still no witness.
Stephanie Quick
+1-833-FAI-1040
SOURCE FAI STUDIOS
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