Not only has he written, directed and produced the feature film Standing Firm on a shoestring budget, he’s also an accomplished website designer. However, things haven’t always come easily for this self-taught man. While making Standing Firm he and his crew faced many challenges, and found themselves on their knees more than once.
God always came through—take, for example, the day their entire camera setup fell over in the mud and an important adapter quit working. Miraculously, after everyone prayed, it was fixed.
With a ministry model similar to Sherwood Pictures, Kyle and his team at Praise Pictures believe church involvement is a must. Though their company is run independently from the church, all the actors in Standing Firm but one were church volunteers.
Inspired by the Casting Crowns song “American Dream,” Kyle wrote the script for Standing Firm based on the idea of a father struggling with what happens when worldly things overtake what’s really important. The movie focuses on a man working himself into the ground after the death of his wife. Foreclosure looms, and his son Steven is desperate to reach him in any way possible.
But what’s really important to Kyle is proclaiming the Gospel in his movies. “I don’t intend to be a ‘filmmaker who’s a Christian’,” he says. “I fully intend to be a Christian filmmaker. While media is incredibly powerful, the Gospel wins in that fight. The Word of God pierces the heart of man in a way no amazing story ever could, because it’s eternal truth. It has the power to leave an eternal impact The Blind Side would never leave on someone.”
