“Promises to Keep does a good job of showing how messy life can get, but how one can always come home to God." — Dove Foundation
“A Jew, a Christian, and an agnostic walk into a historic church and make a Catholic movie…”
Founder of St. Michael Movies says his films are decidedly Catholic, but not all the players behind the scenes can say the same
For Immediate Release (Cincinnati, OH) — St. Michael Movies’ founder Mike Mergler served as both Executive Producer and Screenwriter for his latest movie, Promises to Keep, which has just been released to multiple streaming platforms including Amazon Prime and IMDB TV. The main protagonist of the story is a devout Catholic and his faith plays a key role throughout the film. Like previous St. Michael Movies’ offerings, Promises to Keep was filmed with a decided bent toward the role of faith in everyday life, but Mergler says that doesn’t mean the cast and crew share the same values.
“The director for Promises to Keep, Marc Leif, is an avowed agnostic,” says Mergler. “But Marc has said to me that everything good he knows, he learned from his Italian Catholic grandmother, so he understands faith on a certain level. The main lead is played by Mitch Teemley, who portrays a mild-mannered Christian character who turns out to have a backbone of steel, opposite Chuck Gillespie who is a non-believer. They essentially play themselves in the movie as it turns out. David Baum, who plays a Catholic priest, is actually Jewish. It has always been my intention to find the most talented people possible to be part of our projects, and I trust the Holy Spirit to bring us those people, regardless of their religious affiliations or lack thereof. Over 95% of the people who have felt called to work on our films have fallen away from the Church, come from a different faith, or never had any religion at all. We welcome everyone to work with us without any litmus test.”
Promises to Keep is the first movie filmed at two historic Catholic institutions: the Grotto at Bergamo in Dayton, Ohio, which is a scale replica of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, and Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Cincinnati, the oldest Seminary building west of the Alleghenies. Even before its release, Promises to Keep earned honors from two prestigious film festivals, winning the Platinum Remi Award from the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival as well as garnering the Audience Award from the Lucky Strike Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Mergler says the film’s central story is an uncommon one. “The film portrays two people who had a romance early in life and reconnect after their spouses pass away and their respective children fall in love,” says Mergler. “The story is fictional, but the kernel of it is based on a true story of a couple I knew who reconnected because of their kids and danced at my wedding as if it was their own. But that’s where the similarities end. Promises to Keep is a struggle between the irresistible force of one man’s love and the immovable object of one woman’s indifference to faith in Christ, and the chasm it creates between them.”
Another film from St. Michael Movies entitled Healing River garnered over 35,000 views via streaming services in the month of July alone, and is one of Amazon Prime's highest-rated faith-based films. Mergler says Promises to Keep, like previous films from St. Michael Movies, has a pre-defined purpose.
“We want to reignite men to lead their families in the faith,” says Mergler. “Early on, we realized we needed to make movies that appealed to women because men aren't always as interested in this subject matter, and our only hope of getting men to watch them was if their women brought them along to see them. So that's what we do. We make chick flicks for men who love women.”
The film can be viewed at the following links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Keep-Christine-Jones/dp/B08HGQMRNX
IMDb TV: https://www.imdb.com/tv/watch/tt6709724
Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/415669819
About St. Michael Movies:
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Michael Movies has produced seven feature-length films which have garnered 20 major awards from various film festivals across the country. Founder Mike Mergler was a successful rock concert promoter early in his career, and later traveled on the road with the legendary comedian Red Skelton as his assistant. Mergler started St. Michael Movies in 2011 to serve the New Evangelization by producing stories that reflect a Catholic viewpoint on moral and ethical issues facing individuals in today’s culture.
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“The director for Promises to Keep, Marc Leif, is an avowed agnostic,” says Mergler. “But Marc has said to me that everything good he knows, he learned from his Italian Catholic grandmother, so he understands faith on a certain level. The main lead is played by Mitch Teemley, who portrays a mild-mannered Christian character who turns out to have a backbone of steel, opposite Chuck Gillespie who is a non-believer. They essentially play themselves in the movie as it turns out. David Baum, who plays a Catholic priest, is actually Jewish. It has always been my intention to find the most talented people possible to be part of our projects, and I trust the Holy Spirit to bring us those people, regardless of their religious affiliations or lack thereof. Over 95% of the people who have felt called to work on our films have fallen away from the Church, come from a different faith, or never had any religion at all. We welcome everyone to work with us without any litmus test.”
Promises to Keep is the first movie filmed at two historic Catholic institutions: the Grotto at Bergamo in Dayton, Ohio, which is a scale replica of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, and Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in Cincinnati, the oldest Seminary building west of the Alleghenies. Even before its release, Promises to Keep earned honors from two prestigious film festivals, winning the Platinum Remi Award from the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival as well as garnering the Audience Award from the Lucky Strike Film Festival in Los Angeles.
Mergler says the film’s central story is an uncommon one. “The film portrays two people who had a romance early in life and reconnect after their spouses pass away and their respective children fall in love,” says Mergler. “The story is fictional, but the kernel of it is based on a true story of a couple I knew who reconnected because of their kids and danced at my wedding as if it was their own. But that’s where the similarities end. Promises to Keep is a struggle between the irresistible force of one man’s love and the immovable object of one woman’s indifference to faith in Christ, and the chasm it creates between them.”
Another film from St. Michael Movies entitled Healing River garnered over 35,000 views via streaming services in the month of July alone, and is one of Amazon Prime's highest-rated faith-based films. Mergler says Promises to Keep, like previous films from St. Michael Movies, has a pre-defined purpose.
“We want to reignite men to lead their families in the faith,” says Mergler. “Early on, we realized we needed to make movies that appealed to women because men aren't always as interested in this subject matter, and our only hope of getting men to watch them was if their women brought them along to see them. So that's what we do. We make chick flicks for men who love women.”
The film can be viewed at the following links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Promises-Keep-Christine-Jones/dp/B08HGQMRNX
IMDb TV: https://www.imdb.com/tv/watch/tt6709724
Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/415669819
About St. Michael Movies:
Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Michael Movies has produced seven feature-length films which have garnered 20 major awards from various film festivals across the country. Founder Mike Mergler was a successful rock concert promoter early in his career, and later traveled on the road with the legendary comedian Red Skelton as his assistant. Mergler started St. Michael Movies in 2011 to serve the New Evangelization by producing stories that reflect a Catholic viewpoint on moral and ethical issues facing individuals in today’s culture.
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