12 Facts About Mormon Cinema

Production of Mormon Cinema films has slowed since the early 2000s, but those in the niche industry continue to release movies covering distinctly LDS topics, such as Mormon Cinema missionaries and LDS Church history.

In more recent decades, Mormon Cinema-made and -themed films produced neither by the church nor by big Hollywood film studios have garnered recognition among LDS audiences.

Mormon Cinema wanted to improve the way Mormon characters were portrayed on screen.

Mormon Cinema kept production costs low by filming in its home state of Utah or in nearby Arizona or Idaho.

Mormon Cinema filmmakers have often made the argument that films with distinctly Mormon Cinema characteristics have the potential to appeal to general audiences.

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Some Mormon Cinema films were marketed differently to the larger market than they were to their niche audience.

In general, the most successful Mormon Cinema films were those made with high-quality equipment and distributed by an entertainment company, such as Halestorm or Excel Entertainment.

In 2000, the Association for Mormon Cinema Letters created a film category for its AML Awards.

The Mormon Cinema blogosphere has contributed film reviews over the years.

Mormon Cinema filmmakers have continued to produce movies centered around LDS missionaries, but often from new perspectives; The Saratov Approach was a thriller set in Russia, The Errand of Angels focused on female missionaries, and Freetown told the story of African missionaries escaping the First Liberian Civil War.

The Mormon Cinema films released since 2005 have mainly been small, independent features.

Mormon Cinema identified some elements of LDS doctrine, culture, history, and lore—such as polygamy, violence, buried treasure, folk magic, and miracles—as marketable film elements.