‘A Great Awakening’ Reminds America That Before Independence Was Declared, There Was Revival

Sight & Sound Theatres, in partnership with Roadside Attractions, has released “A Great Awakening,” a feature film centered on the relationship between evangelist George Whitefield and founding father Benjamin Franklin.

Set in the years leading up to the American Revolution, “A Great Awakening” tells the true story of how Whitefield’s preaching helped ignite a spiritual movement across the colonies—and how his unlikely friendship with Franklin played a role in shaping the nation’s moral and spiritual foundation.

Directed by Joshua Enck, president and chief story officer of Sight & Sound Theatres, the film marks the company’s continued expansion into feature filmmaking following the success of “I Heard the Bells.”

According to the film’s press release, “A Great Awakening” aims to remind audiences that before independence was declared, hearts were stirred.

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Enck told ChurchLeaders he cannot wait for people to watch this film.

“I feel like it’s providential because it’s coming out in the Easter season before the celebrations of July 4th when things get really loud and everybody might have their own different definition of the word liberty,” he said. “This really incredible story of this unlikely friendship between George Whitfield, a preacher, and Ben Franklin, a statesman and a scientist, it’s a really widely unknown story. I think it’s just absolutely the Lord’s timing in it. We cannot wait.”

Actor Jonathan Blair said he read journals to prepare for his role as George Whitefield.

“I started by reading his journals. We thankfully have access to his journals, his inner thoughts as he was living through the Great Awakening,” Blair said. “So we have like a moment-to-moment play-by-play of what he was thinking, what he was experiencing, and so I dove into that and really just tried to get out of my own way and let the Spirit work, as it did through Whitfield. I was like, if you can do it for him, Lord, you can do it for me.”

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Blair believes that if Whitefield were alive today, he would be preaching the same message he did during the 17th century.

“He’d be saying, ‘You must be born again,’” he said. “That was his bread and butter…I think he’d pick the highest balcony he could find and then he’d go viral because everybody would have their phones out filming him.”