Lights, Camera, Sic’em: Alum’s film to screen on campus tonight

Baylor graduate Will Bakke will be on campus for a free screening of the movie “Believe Me” at 6:30 p.m. today in 101 Castellaw Communications Center.

Bakke is the film’s writer and director, and will participate in a Q&A with the audience following the movie.

The movie centers on four college seniors who find themselves in need of tuition money. They begin a fake Christian charity to raise the funds and eventually get swept up in their lies.

Though the movie has a Christian backdrop, Bakke insists it is not a Christian film.

“Sometimes you can make movies and talk about things in religion that don’t push an agenda above story, and that’s where we think our movie is different than other films that deal with faith based issues,” Bakke said. “Rather, we sought to tell a really great story, and we want the story to be first and foremost.”

Bakke graduated in 2011 and has since directed two award winning documentaries, and now a feature film. He worked on all three films with friend and co-writer Michael Allen.

Bakke and Allen came up with the idea for the movie while touring for their documentary “Beware of Christians.” After spending a lot of time on the inside of the Christian entertainment circuit they felt like they knew the culture very well.

“My cowriter and I came up with the idea of what would happen if someone tried to take advantage of that culture,” Bakke said. “We spent so much time with Christians and inside the Christian entertainment industry that we thought that would be a pretty fun idea to explore.”

Bakke said he initially hopes audiences will find the film entertaining, and any thought that it provokes about the power of platforms will be considered icing on the cake.

“It kind of helps people take a step back and think about, ‘Why do I believe the things that I believe?’” Bakke said.

Bakke, raised in Dallas, grew up in the Bible Belt. As a Christian himself, he wanted to make sure that the jokes did not target Christian beliefs, but rather the culture of believers.

“I think anytime you talk about religion and politics you’re going to get backlash,” Bakke said. “You’re going to get people that disagree with your view point but just like the saying goes there is no such thing as bad press.”