{"id":20848,"date":"2022-09-23T16:41:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T20:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=20848"},"modified":"2022-09-26T10:16:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T14:16:57","slug":"actor-describes-how-his-faith-informs-his-work-christianity-is-not-a-hobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2022\/09\/actor-describes-how-his-faith-informs-his-work-christianity-is-not-a-hobby.html","title":{"rendered":"Actor Describes How His Faith Informs His Work: \u201c\u2026 Christianity is not a hobby.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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s_bukley \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Actor Stelio Savante is making the rounds promoting his new movie, \u201cPursuit of Freedom,\u201d and talking about how his faith directs his career. In an interview with Movieguide<\/a>, he spoke of the true story behind the movie. \u201cI read [the script], and I couldn\u2019t put it down,\u201d the actor, who has worked on films like \u201cInfidel\u201d and \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d said. \u201cThe character spoke to my heart because I\u2019ve lived on four continents. What I have found in other countries, especially third-world countries, is that Christianity is not a hobby. It\u2019s how you survive. This story needed to be told.\u201d The story deals with an Armenian woman named Ana who is sold into trafficking by Russian gangsters. She is then helped by a several people of faith, including a pastor and missionary, to find her three children.<\/p>\n

Savante noted just how precarious the situation is for people of faith, particularly in third world countries, noting that names had to be changed in the film to protect people who are still on the missionary field. \u201cAmerican Christianity is lazy, if you will, we have it too good. Here, everything\u2019s at our disposal. The second things get tough, we panic,\u201d he said. Aside from telling a compelling story, Savante stated he hoped the film would push for a greater focus on victims of trafficking in other countries. \u201cFor us, the most important thing was, we feel that governments aren\u2019t doing enough to combat trafficking. We feel that there\u2019s a responsibility that needs to be added, integrity to tell compelling stories of what has happened. But if you don\u2019t have a law in place that can help avoid what\u2019s happening, you\u2019re always going to be playing catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the events of the film took place long before the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, the movie\u2019s setting is very timely to current events. In an interview with Faithwire<\/a>, Savante stated he believed God was behind the timing of the film. \u201cI get my news from the Bible\u2026 the Bible told us the earth was round when scientists told us it was flat. It is spiritual wisdom, and when you line up what\u2019s happening in the world with what\u2019s there biblically \u2014 the Bible already knows the story,\u201d he said. He discussed how his work on the film has put him in touch with anti-trafficking organizations. \u201cWe\u2019ve partnered with Hope for Justice International, who are at the very forefront of what\u2019s happening globally with trafficking, and specifically in Russia and the Ukraine\u2026 there\u2019s groups of men that come up to [Ukrainian refugees] and say, \u2018You must be exhausted, we have food, we have water, we have homes, we have everything they offer,\u2019 but you don\u2019t know what to ask for to make sure and have discernment that the people you\u2019re speaking with aren\u2019t going to kidnap you,\u201d he warned. He noted how Hope for Justice International is teaching refugees the kinds of questions they should ask to discern if someone is really there to help or is a trafficker.<\/p>\n

Trafficking, also known as \u201cmodern slavery,\u201d affects an estimated<\/a> 24.9 million people, with about 4.8 million of them being forced into sexual exploitation and another 16 million forced into labor in the private economy. 71% of all victims of trafficking are women and children. \u201cThese kinds of stories, specifically with missionaries, I think are taken for granted,\u201d said Savante. \u201cWith women\u2019s voices in a part of the world where they\u2019re censored, Lonnie and George have given Ana and her children a voice. And I\u2019m just honored to be able to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actor Stelio Savante is making the rounds promoting his new movie, \u201cPursuit of Freedom,\u201d and talking about how his faith directs his career. In an interview with Movieguide, he spoke of the true story behind the movie. \u201cI read [the script], and I couldn\u2019t put it down,\u201d the actor, who has worked on films like…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":20908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nActor Describes How His Faith Informs His Work: \u201c\u2026 Christianity is not a hobby.\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Actor Stelio Savante opens up about his new film "Pursuit of Freedom" and how his faith directs his career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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