01/28/2006

First Motion Picture to Address Partial Birth Abortion Screens at 33rd 'March for Life' in Washington, DC
LA Daily News Calls A Distant Thunder 'Powerful' and 'Compelling' "I'd call A Distant Thunder a nightmare of a movie." – Steve McEveety, Producer of The Passion of The Christ, Braveheart and We Were Soldiers.

BURBANK, Calif., Jan. 27 /Christian Newswire/ -- As pro-life activists gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 33rd March for Life this year there were new faces among them – the faces of Hollywood. Jonathan Flora, an award-winning producer with Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment and his actress-wife Deborah, were invited by March for Life organizers to showcase their independent creation of A Distant Thunder, the first motion picture to address partial-birth abortion.

"We created this film in what many of those in the pro-life movement consider the belly of the beast – Hollywood. God knows it wasn’t made to further our careers or make money" , says Deborah Flora. "We made it so that through our craft, a terrible truth could be told so lives could be saved." (Deborah plays the lead role in the film.)

The Floras spoke at a Capitol Hill reception, premiering the movie to members of Congress and their staff. Flora’s film is receiving critical acclaim for its courageous story-telling and creative style. The LA Daily News calls A Distant Thunder, "A powerful thriller and a gripping legal drama."

The film is being claimed by some pro-life activists just as Brokeback Mountain was claimed by gay activists, inserting a hot-button issue into a compelling script in hopes that people will come away from the film thinking differently.

The film is reminiscent of supernatural thrillers by M. Night Shamaylan, with a nod to Alfred Hitchcock, and takes viewers through a maze of disturbing hints, twists, symbols, and flashbacks until at the end they are stunned at what they've been watching. Says Dr. Pia de Solenni, Director of Women and Life Issues at the Family Research Council, "One of the most powerful things about the movie is how the story of a soul is revealed. Jonathan has been able to illustrate the eternal element of the human being, the part that can't be captured in any sort of formula."

Flora is not reticent about saying that he intends for the film to change attitudes and lives and for this reason chose to confine it to 35 minutes, so it can be widely viewed by educators, school classes, religious groups, political leaders and lawmakers. Unrated, the film targets teenagers and adults on both sides of the abortion debate. "With A Distant Thunder I am trying to educate people with facts but also to entertain them. That’s why I wrapped this information in a compelling story with some great effects", says Flora.

A Distant Thunder is now available on DVD at www.adista ntthunder.com, Amazon.com and Netflix.com.