Film phase:Completed
SYNOPSIS
A political thriller from the inside of the Apocalyptic movement of fundamental US Evangelicals. As they interpret biblical scripture as fact, we see how they believe it is their responsibility to act out God’s plan for Armageddon in Israel–ushering the Second Coming of Christ.
Praying for the Armageddon investigates the fusion of religion and politics in the US, where the Religious Right not only threatens democracy but deeply influences foreign policy and support to Israel.
Praying for the Armageddon features people from the grassroots to megachurch empires in the US and those who live with the consequences of Evangelical right-wing projects in Jerusalem.
Praying for the Armageddon was supported through Tonje Hessen Schei’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Tonje Hessen Schei (she/her) is an award-winning independent filmmaker. She is the director of iHuman, a political thriller from the inside of the AI revolution. iHuman premiered at IDFA 2019, with sold-out theaters and a panel with Edward Snowden. Tonje directed Drone, a documentary on the secret CIA drone warfare. Drone was awarded the Most Valuable Documentary of the Year at Cinema for Peace in Berlin. Drone also received Norway’s national film awards, the Amanda and Gullruten awards for best documentary. She has been featured in international media, including television broadcasts, radio, and newspapers such as the BBC, CNN, The Guardian, VICE, Wired, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now!, and many more. Tonje directed and produced Play Again and Independent Intervention, which both won several international awards. The films have been screened on all continents in over 100 countries, and are used by schools and universities globally. In Norway, Tonje worked for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), and she was the Festival Director of Human Rights Human Wrongs Film Festival (2011). Tonje is a TEDx speaker and presented Gaming for War in 2016. Tonje is a director at Oslo Pictures in Norway.
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS
Christian Aune Falch (he/him) has been producing documentaries for the domestic and international market since 2003. His previous films have been screened at numerous festivals around the world, have won several awards and have been sold to more than 20 different territories. Among his previous titles are the feature films The Exorcist in the 21st Century, Blackhearts, The King and the Crook, Two Raging Grannies and Street of Dreams. His latest film Golden Dawn Girls premiered in the main competition at IDFA 2017 and has been selected for festivals such as Visions du Réel, HotDocs and many more. The film won the main award for the best documentary at HUMAN International Film Festival in Oslo and has been sold worldwide. Falch has also co-produced several feature documentaries with countries like Finland, France, Germany, Australia and Iran. Falch graduated from EuroDoc in 2013 and dok.incubator in 2017. In March 2018, Falch received the Norwegian University of Science and Technology`s Film Award for “his work in the field of international documentary production”. He has been a tutor and speaker at different documentary forums around the world.
Torstein Parelius (he/him) is a documentary producer and outreach producer for UpNorth Film. He attended the Young Nordic Producers Club at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, was a tutor at East Doc Platform in Prague in 2019, and has pitched films at CPH:DOX, Kosmorama, MOW, and more. His latest projects include iHuman (co-producer & outreach producer / 2019 / dir. Tonje Hessen Schei), School Of Seduction (co-producer / Danish Documentary 2019 / dir. Alina Rudnitskaya), Wars Don’t End (producer / 2018 / dir. Dheeraj Akolkar), Golden Dawn Girls (outreach producer / 2017 / dir. Håvard Bustnes), Patriotic Highway (co-producer / Auto Images 2019 / dir. Caroline Troedsson), Boys Who Like Girls (co-producer / Napafilms 2018 / dir. Inka Achté), Blackhearts (outreach producer & assistant producer / 2016 / dir. Fredrik Horn Akselsen) and Braving The Waves (co-producer / Mindocs 2016 / dir. Mina Keshavarz) as well as several upcoming projects as producer, co-producer and outreach producer. Parelius also has a background as a professional musician from different band constellations throughout the last 20 years, as a recording artist, songwriter, lyricist, and live performer.