Elgin church to host premiere of film 'For Prophet' Sunday

It's not often you get to watch the debut theatrical release of a movie in the same building in which most of it was filmed.

That will happen Sunday in Elgin as the film “For Prophet” will have its first public screening at First United Methodist Church.

The faith-based dramedy was shot almost entirely in Elgin in June 2019 by filmmaker Mark Stewart Iverson, who at the time lived in Elk Grove Village.

“Every day for the last five years this has been my life,” Iverson said. “I may be a little biased, but I think we made a solid flick here.”

The story follows Damon Fisher, a struggling entrepreneur, as he encounters the Archangel Raphael, who reveals him to be chosen by The Most High God as a part-time prophet and tasks him to save his crumbling and corrupt hometown of Mt. Zion.

Iverson said it was only right that the first public showing of the film be at First United Methodist.

“They were incredible,” he said of the church. “It's a beautiful, beautiful church and they have incredible space, so we ended up turning that church into eight different locations.”

Iverson got connected to the Elgin church through a former pastor of his from his Schaumburg church.

“I'd say we shot 50% of the movie in that church, and not only did they open their doors to us, but they didn't charge us,” Iverson said. “It was a literal godsend.”

There are two first-come, first-served showings on Sunday at noon and 4 p.m. The event is free, but donations are welcome, with all proceeds going to the Elgin church and its pandemic relief effort.

“We've been waiting forever with the pandemic, and I'm so excited to have an actual screening with people and hear their responses, see where they're laughing, see where they're really engaged,” Iverson said.

He said he hopes people don't judge the film based on their preconceived perceptions of faith-based movies, which frequently are made by former pastors instead of experienced filmmakers.

“The faith-based genre has gotten a bit of a bad rap because, unfortunately, some of those films aren't the best written, they're not the best shot, they're not the best acted,” he said.

“I'm all about bringing people to spirit. I have strong faith myself,” Iverson said. “But I'm a filmmaker. I was a filmmaker before I was a disciple.”

“It was very important to me to make a great film.”