'Til Kingdom Come

Ventureland and Passion Pictures Present… ‘TIL KINGDOM COME Feature documentary by Maya Zinshtein RT: 76 min www.tilkingdomcomefilm.com Publicity Contacts: Falco Ink. | 212-445-7100 Erica Abrams, [email protected] Allison Lambdin, [email protected] International Sales: MetFilm Sales Vesna Cudic, [email protected] LOGLINE Pastors encourage an impoverished Kentucky community, “The forgotten people of America”, to donate to Israel in anticipation of Jesus's impending return. The film eXposes the controversial bond between Evangelicals and Jews, in a story of faith, power and money, revealing how Trump’s America was led by an End-Times apocalyptic countdown. SYNOPSIS Millions of American Evangelicals are praying for the State of Israel. Among them are the Binghams, a dynasty of Kentucky pastors, and their Evangelical congregants in an impoverished coal mining town. They donate sacrificially to Israel’s foremost philanthropic organization, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, because they fervently believe the Jews are crucial to Jesus’s return. This film traces this unusual relationship, from rural Kentucky to the halls of government in Washington, through the moving of the American Embassy in Jerusalem and to the anneXation plan of the West- Bank. With unparalleled access, the film eXposes a stunning backstory of the Trump and Netanyahu administrations, where financial, political and messianic motivations intersect with the apocalyptic worldview that is insistently reshaping American foreign policy toward Israel and the Middle-East. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT I came across the story of Christian Evangelicals’ influence on Israel 3 years ago and was stunned by the eXtent of their impact on my life as an Israeli. I went to meet some of them. I was somewhat taken aback by the Evangelicals I met who told me they loved me. I was fascinated, and wanted to eXplore this ‘love’. Evangelical doctrine sees Jews as the "chosen people." Their return to the Promised Land, the State of Israel, and Occupation of the territories of Judea and Samaria fulfil Biblical prophecy that says: Once all Jews return to their land, Christ will return to earth. The Jewish people's role in history will thus end and they will perish unless they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Thus, for millions of fundamentalist Evangelicals, strengthening the Jewish State to eXpedite Christ’s return eXpresses deep religious aspirations for the End Time. In the face of this unsympathetic prophetic scenario, the Israeli right, my current leaders and especially the Jewish settlers, choose to ignore it and cooperate with the significant Evangelical power in order to advance material goals such as financial aid and political influence. Together they unite and succeed in influencing United States policy in Israel and the Middle East. There are two sides here, who in the name of God, and with full confidence that they represent His will, are engaged in mutual eXploitation that actually shapes the destiny of millions of human beings. In light of the central -- yet tragic-- role the Jews play in the Evangelical prophetic script our identity as Israeli Jewish filmmakers played a crucial part in our relationship with the subjects. It allowed us to pursue questions of legacy, how Evangelicals, both adults and children, eXplain their support of Israel and their financial and political activities on its behalf, and how religious Jews think about the support they receive from Evangelicals. We have been in places where the Evangelical faith is a lifeline for people whose world has been destroyed by drug addiction and poverty. Where their longing and preparation for redemption can become a tool in the hands of the political echelon whose policies determine the fates of people thousands of miles away. As Israelis, we were allowed to eXplore how the two religious sides bridge the impossible gap where the eXistence of the one contradicts the eXistence of the other and repeatedly choose to ignore the "elephant in the room." For me this is a bigger story, about the role of religion in the seemingly secular world we live in today. We hope audiences will ask the questions we continue to ask ourselves as they view this film that probes the nature of religious beliefs and their circles of influence. What are the deeper consequences to our societies, when avowedly secular leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald J. Trump are empowered to act as divine messengers on both sides of the Atlantic? - Maya Zinshtein FILMMAKERS BIO Maya Zinshtein - Director, producer Maya Zinshtein is an Emmy award-winning Israeli documentary filmmaker and journalist with a BA in Cinema and French studies and an MA in Security and Diplomacy from Tel Aviv University. Her last documentary “Forever Pure” won an Emmy award for Outstanding Politics and Government documentary in 2018 (Independent Lens/PBS). An alumna of Sundance Institute, for the last ten years she has directed and produced documentaries broadcast on Israeli TV and abroad including by NetfliX, BBC, ARTE/ZDF, and PBS, and screened at over 100 festivals around the world. Abraham (Abie) Troen - Producer, Cinematography Abraham “Abie” Troen is an award-winning documentary filmmaker & D.O.P. He has led doc projects in Israel, Kenya, India, MeXico and the US, his work screened at TIFF, SXSW, Doc NYC, IDFA and online for National Geographic, Vanity Fair, CNE and Out Magazine. Abie studied at the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem and Brandeis University before receiving an MFA from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. There he was awarded the Annenberg Fellowship for specializing in documentary filmmaking. He currently resides in LA and films on both sides of the Atlantic. John Battsek - Producer John Battsek is one of the most successful producers in feature documentary filmmaking. Starting with Academy Award winning One Day In September, which Battsek conceived and produced, he has since been responsible for some of the most acclaimed documentaries in recent years. Battsek’s most notable credits include Academy Award® & BAFTA-winning Searching For Sugar Man, Academy Award®-nominated Restrepo & Winter On Fire, Primetime Emmy®-winning Manhunt: The Story Of The Hunt For Bin Laden & Forever Pure, BAFTA winners The Imposter and Hillsborough, Grammy- nominee Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars and BAFTA nominated & Peabody winning Listen To Me Marlon. His most recent credits include RJ Cutler’s Belushi (Showtime), The Final Account (Venice International Film Festival), Rising PhoeniX (NetfliX) & AACTA-award winning The Australian Dream (Telluride & Toronto International Film Festival). In 2020, Battsek launched his new production company Ventureland. Battsek is currently producing films on Charlie Chaplin, the Thai Cave Rescue mission and the iconic Abbey Road Studios. About MetFilm Sales Based in London’ Ealing Studios, MetFilm Sales specializes in international sales of documentary features and series. Our slate includes Sundance 2021 Competition title MISHA AND THE WOLVES, Sundance 2020 Audience Award Winner THE REASON I JUMP, Sundance & Berlinale 2019 title SHOOTING THE MAFIA, Emmy 2019 nominated THE OSLO DIARIES, and a streaming hit of 2019, LAST BREATH. MetFilm Sales is run by Vesna Cudic who joined MetFilm from Dogwoof where she was in charge of international sales from 2011 to 2017. About Abramorama Abramorama is the preeminent global theatrical distribution and rights management partner for documentary and music films and is recognized for the consistent high quality of its work on award winning features. An innovator in the focused, personalized form of film marketing, promotion, distribution and live, event and digital cinema, Abramorama provides invaluable alternatives to filmmakers while continuing to trail-blaze eXciting new pathways to defined audiences. Over the course of 20 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of films, including Ron Howard’s Grammy Award®-winning The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years; Stanley Nelson’s Miles Davis: Birth of The Cool; Atlantic Records and Melanie Martinez’ K-12; John McDermott’s Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church; Amir Bar-Lev's Long Strange Trip – The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead; Tabbert Fiiller’s The Public Image Is Rotten; Danny Clinch and Pearl Jam’s Let’s Play Two; Corbett Redford and Green Day’s Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk; John Scheinfeld’s Chasing Trane – The John Coltrane Documentary; Roberta Grossman and Nancy Spielberg’s Who Will Write Our History; Brett Bern's BANG! The Bert Berns Story; Brett Morgen and National Geographic’s seminal Jane; Asif Kapadia’s Senna; Neil Young’s vast catalog of Bernard Shakey Productions; Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam Twenty; Sacha Gervasi’s Spirit Award-winning Anvil! The Story of Anvil; Banksy’s Academy Award® nominated & Spirit Award-winning Exit Through the Gift Shop; Laurie Anderson’s New York Times critics’ pick, Heart of a Dog; Showtime’s National Board of Review Winner Listen to Me Marlon; Academy Award®-nominee and IDA Best Documentary Winner The Look of Silence; and the episodic multi-platform series Deconstructing The Beatles. Abramorama is a founding partner of The Seventh Art Stand program, an act of cinematic solidarity against Islamophobia, that ran in more than 50 theaters across the United States in May of 2017. Abramorama launched a conscious films imprint, Mangurama, in 2018 alongside its music-centric film fund focused on the global release of iconic music documentaries. In January of 2019 the company launched the live multicast streaming enterprise ABCinemaNOW.com with the global live introduction, interstitial programming, and Q&A from Paris, France for the 55-country release of Who Will Write Our History. ABCinemaNOW events are powered by Abramorama’s virtual remote live streaming studio with the collaboration of live streaming event producer Susan Jacobs and director George Barnes. In 2020 Abramorama Selects was launched providing a gateway for select films across global VOD platforms. For more information visit abramorama.com.

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