“I grew up a Baptist preacher’s kid in the Bible Belt,” he shared. “I wasn’t ‘once or twice a week’ in church. I was [there] six or seven days a week. I loved going to the office with my dad and that kind of stuff. So it’s important for me to tell these types of stories.”
Footage at the end of “Faith of Angels” shows the real people who were involved in this story, including Dennis’ family members and search and rescue personnel. Person after person called Dennis’ rescue a “miracle” and said they believed God’s hand was involved.
“I think they were just kind of in awe…I think a lot of people’s reactions were similar,” said Finley, “just kind of like, ‘I don’t know how to explain this.’ You know, my character went in and found him in 20 minutes after they looked for five days—20 minutes.”
“Five days and five nights for a young boy in a 40 degree mine,” he emphasized, “that’s real, real, real danger.”
ChurchLeaders pointed out that while some movies take a lot of creative license, the faith portrayed in “Faith of Angels” seems to portray the actual beliefs of the real people the movie is based on.
“Once again, this is not my first time doing a true story. And I’ve heard many times that, you know, a lot of the little things are kind of what get changed,” Finley replied. “But the big things have stayed the same, the big, important things. I mean, there’s no point in telling the story and calling it a true story if we’re going to change the entire narrative to fit what’s convenient for us.”
He pointed out that the people depicted in “Faith of Angels” are still alive today. “All the adults [who] were in their 40s…they’re now in their 70s, and all the children [who] were…10, 11 years old…they’re all in their 40s now. So all these people [are] still around and were just happy to kind of celebrate with us.”
“Faith of Angels” was originally released in September 2024 and will premiere on Great American Family this weekend. Finley said he is excited to have “a greater audience to kind of spread this message to,” adding, “I think people love true stories. I think people love stories that they can get wrapped up in.”
“You know, this story made it all the way to the White House,” he said. “President [George H. W. Bush] made an announcement at the podium about this little boy and the miracles that took place.”
“The fact that this [received] national attention in a time before the internet and before cell phones and things like that, I think people will find powerful,” said Finley.
