Latest Kendrick Brothers’ Film Highlights Power of Mentors

Cameron Arnett, who has gone from Haiti to Hollywood, is co-starring in The Forge, the latest movie from the award-winning Kendrick brothers (also known for War Room, Courageous, Facing the Giants). It opens Friday at theaters nationwide.

Playing the role of Joshua Moore, a seasoned, Christian CEO, Arnett was thrilled to have the opportunity to step into a character so near and dear to his heart. A pastor for nearly two decades, Arnett knows transformation comes when someone befriends and believes in you – maybe even before you believe in yourself.

In The Forge,  Arnett’s character encounters Isaiah Wright, a meandering and drifting 19-year-old who spends far too much time playing video games in his mother’s house.

“You are not going to sit around here living off of your mother, not when you’re fully capable of taking on some of this responsibility yourself!” hollers Wright’s exasperated mother, who is played by Priscilla Shirer.

Isaiah is Aspen Kennedy, who is making his debut in a lead role.

Speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists, Kennedy described his character this was:

He doesn’t have a sense of direction in his life right now. He doesn’t want go to college, he’s heading on the path where he could get strayed away, but he’s blessed to meet some mentors in his life who help him go down the right path.

At the core of it, even from the filmmaking process, everyone wants people to understand the love of God without forcing it just to show, ‘Hey, this is you at this age.’ It supersedes generations, age, race, to the point where it shows no matter what you’re facing we’re always looking for answers, looking for hope, and if you trust God he does more than we could ever experience.

This powerful and redeeming movie about mentorship highlights the value and power of a caring person – and the critical role discipleship plays in the development of the rising generation.

While Cameron Arnett has acted in 35 films, the Caribbean émigré is selective in the roles he now accepts, acknowledging that it was his faith in Jesus Christ that has made all the difference in his life.

“Putting Christ at the center of my career has been the key to finding purpose and fulfillment in the entertainment industry and in my life,” Arnett reflected. “It’s about using my talents to serve a higher calling and inspire others to prioritize their relationship with God.”

Plugged In’s Paul Asay describes The Forge as “An exhortation for Christians to go deeper … From an aesthetic viewpoint, The Forge is probably the Kendrick brothers’ most complete and polished work.”

The Forge is an inspiring family film that will especially resonate with mothers and fathers struggling to launch their young adult children. It might even convict those teenagers and twenty-somethings languishing without a goal or strong Christian faith.

In compelling and redeeming fashion, Alex and Stephen Kendrick have delivered their ninth full-length film. This accomplishment and milestone are all the more impressive given their humble beginnings with just $20,000 as staffers at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.

In his role as Joshua Moore, Arnett implores, “The Lord doesn’t need more lukewarm churchgoers. We need more believers who are wholeheartedly following Jesus.”

In The Forge, Cameron Arnett models this type of believer and shows audiences the kind of man we need more of in society.

Image credit: Sony Affirm Films