Kyle Portbury on THE HOPEFUL

Kyle Portbury is one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve met, and his zest for life is matched only by his passion for film. Portbury is a filmmaker with vision—and it shows. He’s an Emmy Award-winning, three-time Australian Directors Guild nominated writer/director and has credits spanning film, television and animation. His most recent project is The Hopeful. The story begins with New England farmer William Miller’s miraculous escape from the brutality of the War of 1812, which leaves him searching for purpose in the midst of violence. Determined to uncover the truth, he sets out on a quest that would end up becoming a movement. Along the way, he encounters Ellen White (née Harmon), a young woman whose life is forever changed by his words. Each, in their own way, navigates the challenges of 19th-century America, standing up against societal norms and facing formidable adversaries.

The film is a human story with real-world impact

This time period gave birth to what we now know as “The Second Great Awakening”. Existing denominations like Presbyterians, Anglicans and Baptists rose significantly. As well, many brand-new denominations were formed like the Churches of Christ, Latter Day Saints and yes, Seventh-day Adventists.

In case you didn’t catch it, The Hopeful is unapologetically all about the origins of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. I recently sat down to speak with Kyle Portbury to ask him why he was so passionate about telling the story of his church’s founders.

going public

“I’ve never talked about being Adventist before publicly. I’m just not that guy,” said Portbury. “So, it was fascinating to find myself promoting this film in its public release in the US and Australia and suddenly have to be talking about Seventh-day Adventist faith publicly. I’d be working in post-production with industry professionals on a scene where someone’s talking about Sabbath and they would say, ‘So tell me more about this Sabbath business, because I’ve worked seven days a week and I’m burned out but you seem to show up on Monday morning looking fresh.’ Suddenly I was in a position I’d never been in before, being asked to explain the Sabbath. These aren’t amateurs. These guys were working on The Fall Guy or Elvis or Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. And so, I sat there thinking, how do I articulate [the Sabbath] to someone who’s never engaged with an Adventist before?”

approaching the edit

“I approached every decision in the edit with one question: ‘How am I as an Adventist going to feel when someone who isn’t an Adventist watches this?’” This may seem like a strange approach but if you’re not aware, Christians don’t always make high-quality media. Portbury was determined to make a film that could be appreciated not just by other Christians, but those without a faith background. “It’s gratifying to see how non-Adventists have responded to the film’s themes, whether it’s the empowerment of women, the health principles that many people today accept as scientific fact or rediscoveries like the Sabbath.”

The release of The Hopeful in Australia isn’t its first viewing. The film has already premiered in the United States. Though the US is a much more overtly “Christian” nation (though I’m sure some would disagree), there are still many sceptics. I asked Portbury how The Hopeful was received in its initial US release.

“If you look at Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 93 per cent positive audience rating. Most of those responses from what I can tell aren’t Adventists. The way Rotten Tomatoes works, you can’t game the algorithm. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the response and I think the reason it’s done so well is because the film is a human story with real-world impact. We all anticipate, and we all get disappointed. Likewise, we all must figure out how to deal with that disappointment. This is first and foremost a great story with great characters.

“One of the great things the film has done is dispelled some big misconceptions about the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In our research, we found that many people (particularly in the United States) think the church is an offshoot of either The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And so, we’ve been able to clearly differentiate for people what those three denominations are, that they’re unique to each other and that Adventists are not derived from either of the two. One of the other fascinating things I’ve seen is people researching Seventh-day Adventism and discovering things like, ‘There’s a huge hospital down the road that both my kids were born at, and I had no idea it was an Adventist hospital.’ People are beginning to better recognising Adventists’ existence in their community, which they didn’t before.”

more than just a good story

Clearly the film has made an impact in the US market. However, I knew that for Portbury, telling a good story wasn’t just an end unto itself. So, I pressed him a little harder. Why this story in particular? 

“For me, it was personal curiosity about who these people were and why they did what they did. It’s not a safe way of storytelling but it is more honest. It’s okay to see Ellen and James with a crying baby. Just because you’re a prophet of God doesn’t mean you don’t argue with your spouse. Just because you feel called by God doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes.” 

Portbury is referring to the role of Ellen White as a prophet. Seventh-day Adventists believe Ellen White had what scholars call the “prophetic voice”, but this has led some to elevate her to the point of losing her humanity. Portbury is a faithful Seventh-day Adventist, but he also wanted to show how Ellen and James White were people, too.

I didn’t want to downplay the spiritual truth of these events—but I did want to tell a human story because that’s what we all connect to

“I didn’t want to downplay the spiritual truth of these events—but I did want to tell a human story because that’s what we all connect to. None of us can relate to receiving visions from God, but we can all relate to the human struggles these characters went through. What’s fascinating is when I’ve spoken with people who have never heard of Ellen White before. They’ve said to me, ‘Wow, there was a woman in the 1800s with agency who was listened to by men and whose legacy is celebrated by 22 million people worldwide? This woman is amazing!’

“If you go to watch The Hopeful expecting to be dictated to, the impact’s going to be negative. My encouragement is to go see it for yourself. Whether you’re a Christian or not, the film has something of value for you. It’s one of the few films getting a general cinema release this year that truly is a family movie. When I walked into a cinema in America, there would be people from the age of five to 95 and they all had a fabulous experience—but totally different experiences. You don’t have to be an Adventist to enjoy a good story. Biopics are getting a renewed interest in cinema if Oppenheimer or Elvis is any indication. Plus, if you’re into it, this is a great period drama. Most of our post-production team moved on to Furiosa two weeks after they finished with us. When they said, ‘This is a really good movie, Kyle. This is what our expectations of cinema are,’ I thought, wow. You realise this is an Adventist story, right? It was then that I realised our stories are on par with the stories general cinemagoers are wanting to see on the screen.”

THE HOPEFUL is coming to cinemas across Australia and New Zealand in October 2024. Click here to find a cinema near you.