A Hollywood director and producer is offering a lens into a truly unique profession, showing audiences what it’s really like to be a military combat chaplain.
Richard Hull’s new film, “Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey,” releasing in theaters Nov. 8, gives audiences a chance to better understand these unsung heroes’ experiences.
“I knew nothing about military chaplains,” he told CBN News. “I didn’t even know that that existed as a profession.”
Hull, who ended up directing, writing, and producing the project, said he became personally invested as he started to explore the backstories.
“The more I got to know the subject matter, the more I fell in love with it, and I thought, ‘This is a movie that, not only do I want to produce, but I also want to direct and be the storyteller behind it,'” he said.
Listen to Hull break it all down:
Before long, Hull was diving into combat chaplain stories and learning more about their experience on the battlefield. The project quickly and easily came together, with actor Chris Pratt — an outspoken supporter of veterans — joining forces as an executive producer.
“He’s a big military supporter,” Hull said of Pratt. “He’s a very faith-forward guy. He really has a true heartfelt interest in telling these stories, most of which have never been told.”
Hull is hoping “Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey” helps open eyes to the experiences chaplains have “in the chaos of war.” He shared that 419 chaplains have died throughout U.S. history, explaining that the roots of the chaplaincy date back to George Washington.
“On the one hand, chaplains go into combat wearing a uniform, but not carrying a weapon,” he said. “It’s a profession that … you do it for some higher calling.”
Chaplains do everything from saving lives on the battlefield to offering comfort to those who need it. Hull said they’re “revered” within the military — for a reason. Chaplains’ impact helped him realize just how much of a difference one person can make.
“They’re just present and they’re dealing with these moments of life and death with soldiers, young and old — and families,” he said. “And it’s really intense, and it’s really powerful, and it’s very existential, and a chaplain may come from a particular faith, and all faiths are represented in the chaplain cores of all the different military branches.”
While chaplains have incredible experiences, Hull said there are also downsides and struggles, which are explored in the film. Some chaplains have even expressed facing “compassion fatigue” and other related issues.
“When you go to war, you’re going to come back a very different person,” he said. “And war can leave scars on your soul.”
Ultimately, the movie offers what Hull said is a “true look at what these people, as humans, go through and the power that they have.”
Find out more about “Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey” and get tickets here.
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