Actress, Roma Downey speaks to the Sanford Herald about new film, “Resurrection”
By Susan Wenner
Herald Publisher/ People Editor
Longtime actress, producer and author, Roma Downey spoke to the Sanford Herald recently about a new production called “Resurrection” that she and her husband, Mark Burnett have launched via their company, LightWorkers.
The former lead of “Touched by an Angel” shared about the global premiere of the MGM and LightWorkers film that debuted on March 27 on the discovery+ Channel. The 90-minute feature motion picture comes after the record breaking ratings of Downey and Burnett’s hit mini-series, “The Bible.”
According to Downey, “Resurrection” follows the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ crucifixion in the view of the disciples perspective. She cited that, in “Resurrection,” Jesus’ followers are hunted, leaderless and desperately searching for understanding, but when Jesus rises from death, they realize that hope didn’t die on the cross. It lives on in them.
Downey said, “With this challenging year that we have just come through, my husband, Mark and I were eager to create a film that would bring hope. We felt that now more than ever stories of hope were needed. We were able to go back into our library and pull from stories we have done in the past and shape this beautiful movie about the resurrection of Jesus.”
She added that the movie is set in that first century world, that was a very dangerous world with the Pontius Pilate regime that was cruel, ruthless and ruling with an iron fist with tension and conflict. Downey describes the movie as a thriller but says that deep in it’s center and the power of the story is that we know that hope didn’t die on the cross and the story is a triumphant story of overcoming.
As they discussed the film around Christmas time, their hope was that the movie would be available for play in the theaters since it is an epic drama but they said it became clear that the theaters would not be open yet. Downey stated they were thrilled to partner with discovery+, a fairly new streaming platform with many faith and family movies.
“By partnering with discovery+, this allows families to gather during the Easter holiday in the safety and comfort of their own home to watch this Easter movie together as we enjoy this season,” she said.
“We are honored to premiere Resurrection on discovery+ and shine a light on perhaps the most important story ever told,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery, Inc. “The film is emblematic of our ambition with discovery+ to provide a subscription service for everyone, including premium storytelling for the entire family. We are thrilled to partner with Mark and Roma on this powerful film.”
To view the “Resurrection” movie go to www.discoveryplus.com/resurrection and you will find a link to press and download. You will be offered a free trial.
About LightWorkers Media
Celebrated Emmy-nominated actress and producer Roma Downey launched LightWorkers Media (LightWorkers) in 2011 along with her husband, award-winning producer Mark Burnett. LightWorkers is now an MGM company, with Downey serving as its creative lead. LightWorkers.com, has become an online destination for uplifting and encouraging short-form digital and social content with over 300M monthly video views. Additionally, under the LightWorkers banner, they have produced the 10-hour hit miniseries “The Bible” which was viewed over 100 million times in the U.S. and was nominated for three Emmy awards. Additionally, LightWorkers has produced the series “A.D.: The Bible Continues” for NBC, “The Women of the Bible” for Lifetime, “The Dovekeepers” for CBS, “Answered Prayers” for TLC, the feature films “Little Boy” for Open Road Films, “Woodlawn” for Pure Flix, “Ben-Hur" for MGM and Paramount, and "Messiah,” and "Country Ever After" for Netflix. LightWorkers is also producing the upcoming feature film “On A Wing And A Prayer” for MGM.