In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Latter-day Saint film maker, T.C. Christensen, shared experiences in his film-making career and what he looks forward to with his newest film, “Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story.”
Christensen’s newest film follows the life of Alma Richards, his great-uncle. While many of his past films are about historical stories from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christensen said “Raising the Bar” is a sports film with spiritual elements.
“It’s a different kind of film for me because most of my films really have been spiritual in nature, sometimes Church history oriented,” Christensen said. “This is not. This is a sports film, really. It has a little bit of faith in it, but that’s kind of a leap.”
Christensen said he puts in an effort to ensure his films are as accurate as possible. He says there are certainly times when he will need to take creative liberties, like when crafting dialogue, but he tries his best to stay true to the story and its characters.
“And of course, I have to make up some things. I really try to tell a true story,” Christensen said. “A lot of times you’ll see movies that say, “based on a true story” or whatever, but boy, they really take some huge liberties, and I don’t want to.”
During a time when the members of the Church of Jesus Christ are a mainstream interest, and sometimes shown in a negative light, Christensen said he hopes his film can bring a positivity to the intrigue.
“Alma Richards was the first person who put the Church, small town, Utah on a world stage,” Christensen said. “It made a difference 112 years ago … he’s done some great things, and it had a positivity connected to it. I hope to have a revival of that with the movie. Even though this is not a film that deals directly with church issues, it does deal with church principles.”
To listen to the full interview with T.C. Christensen, go to BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.