Church produced low-budget film on depression premieres in Taipei Cinemark

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3122 Edition

December 26, 2011-January 1, 2012

Headline News

Church produced low-budget film on depression premieres in Taipei Cinemark

Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

Written by Lydia Ma

Passion 99 Harvest Church is a church with a calling to minister to people 
struggling with depression. The church located in the glitzy, eastern district 
of Taipei City is very concerned that national statistics have revealed an 
increasing number of young people afflicted with clinical depression in recent 
years.

In response to these statistics and as part of its outreach ministry, Passion 
99 Church recently filmed “Smile At It”, a low-budget film, which premiered at 
18:30 on December 20, 2011 at Cinemark in Living Mall. The church made a point 
to invite senior high school students from various schools to come to the 
movie’s premiere after class and managed to fill every seat in the room for the 
viewing.

According to the film’s producer, Pastor Hsiung Chin-sheng of Passion 99 
Church, 3% of Taiwanese are struggling with depression right now. Medical 
journals have concluded that besides medical treatments, smiling can also 
dispel depression and keep a person healthy. This revelation inspired her to 
produce a film that would make people smile, let them experience the power of 
smiling and tell them about the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Most of the actors starring in this movie are members of Hsiung’s church. Her 
hope is to use ordinary people, sense of humor, and heart-warming script to 
change widely held stereotypes in Taiwanese society. 

When asked about challenges encountered during the filming process, Hsiung 
admitted that there were obstacles and hardships, but her team was able to 
resolve every problem one by one with an optimistic outlook – reinforcing the 
core message of the film. “If you can remain positive and smile at whatever 
problem you stumble upon, you will find that you can overcome every challenge!” 
she said.

After the film’s release and premiere, the church plans to hold public viewings 
at various schools until January 13, 2012. Hsiung said that the church is 
currently applying for some government funding to make the movie available in 
DVD. If all goes well and the application is approved, more people will be able 
to see this movie, and learn about the power of a smile in warding off 
depression. 

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