Cinematical

I don't think that the association with Moore will significantly effect box office, but I could be wrong. While my politics tend to be liberal, I have family memebers and friends who are evangelical Christians, and my impression is that they would automatically read the film as "liberal" (or at least as looking at evangelical culture from the outside).

In fact, the more the film is discussed as controversial, the highre the box office is likely to be.

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Anything that is associated with the name "Michael Moore" or anything that he promotes, will most certainly be seen as anti-institutional and anti-Christian. I have no knowledge of Jesus Camp or what message it hopes to communicate, but if its purpose is to mock Christ and Christianity, Michael Moore's film festival is exactly where it should be. As is Michael Moore, this film most likely is full of circumstantial nonsense and heresay arguements. Maybe the film claims that Jesus was responsible for 911, and that Christian summer camps are terrorist cells waiting to attack and kill the helpless liberal left? I guess there is one way to find out...see Jesus Camp, just don't support Moore to do it.

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I've actually seen the film and while it critically depicts ministers in the camp using their positions of authority to encourage children to get involved in the anti-choice movement, it also tries to be even-handed. The subjects of the documentary participated willingly and (thus far) have done little to suggest they are critical of the filmmakers' intentions.

Perhaps you should give the film the benefit of the doubt before slandering it with the association with Michael Moore's festival (and it might be worth looking to see what other films are playing at the festival to see teh diversity of movies that are showing).

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It's prudent to keep in mind that some of the loudest opposition to this film will come from adults who've already been raised in the way the film shows. They're not likely to give it the benefit of any doubt, since it comes from the culture they've learned to mistrust.

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As a Traverse City Film Festival volunteer and as someone who attended one of the screenings of Jesus Camp, I'd like to make a few points:

1) Joe's speculations are completely wrong, but at least he prefaced it by admitting he has no knowledge of the film. Jesus Camp was surprisingly even-handed, and did not overtly critisize. This film will appeal to real Christians who feel their faith has been hijacked by extremists preoccupied with holy war.

2) Michael Moore is one of three co-founders of the Traverse City Film Festival. As such, he has a large voice in the festival and its direction, but it is not "Michael Moore's Film Festival".

3) The Traverse City Film Festival screened a diverse array of films - films that do not usually come to the Traverse City area, as we are monopolized by the Carmike Theatre chain.

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