Faith, Film, and Finding Your Purpose | Alexandra Boylan | EP 123

about the impact of prayer in God's Word. Welcome to another episode. It is my delight to have in person with me a dear friend that we just met actually recently. And welcome, Alexandra. It's so good to have you. Thank you. It's so good to be here in person. How amazing is that? I love this. It's so good. So we met at the Hollywood Prayer Network and at the Summit. And And in that, okay, so Alexandra Bolin is an author. She's a filmmaker. Wait, have you directed? Writer. I've directed some things. I've directed, writer, producer, author, done it all. A little bit of everything. So it is so fun for me because my son being an actor and now is getting ready to produce. So I'm like, you guys have such a lot of things in common. But what I love and not only in your book here, but in the movies that you've been producing, it is family friendly and a value that we all can really appreciate. And it's something you have a conversation. Yes. After that. Yes. Yes. But your journey, what I was inspired by in your book that I've read about, is how you never gave up when you knew God's calling. Tell me, like, give us an understanding of what you did that, like, you would—why you wouldn't quit. Why I wouldn't quit. I know. I know. I looked back at why God called me to do this, because when God calls you to do something, it's scary. And especially when it's big, and you're like, why me, God? Okay. Right. I always say, God does not call the equipped, he equips the called. That's so true. And that has been so good, because sometimes I'm like, God, I'm not ready. And he's like, I'm ready, you just have to go. And so, yeah, I moved to LA when I was 19 years old. My father's a pastor in Massachusetts. And I really wanted to pursue acting. I thought it was what God had called me to do. So I packed up my bags and I moved to Los Angeles. And I spent 10 years really pounding the pavement as an actor. But it wasn't going well. And I was not—it was roadblock after roadblock. And I became homeless. And finally, in 2009, I was 29 years old. It was 10 years from the date of moving to L.A. I was like, okay, God, I don't think this is what you want for my life anymore. I'm willing to give it up. And I was thinking about moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I heard the industry was booming, but I actually think I just needed a break from Los Angeles. Because that town is tough, right? And it was... I've been in there. And it is a lot of prayer and overcoming discouragement. Yeah. And being rejected. Being rejected. I think actually I see now that God was preparing me for rejection because as an actor you're rejected, but you're rejected in every part of the film, just like anything in life. When you're putting something out there, you're setting yourself up to maybe be rejected by somebody. So I actually look back and go, oh, God was just preparing my heart. I wasn't really being rejected. It was that he had a big calling on my life and he's like, let's get used to this for a little while, you know? Right. And it gave me a thick skin. And especially, even more so than dealing with rejection as an actor, I have so much confidence when I go into a meeting because I'm working for the creator of the universe. So when I go into a meeting, I just think, I'm working for God, so it doesn't matter what you have to say, because if God wants this, it's going to happen. And you're inviting God into that conversation. So I think that's what's so beautiful is that you allow God to equip you and help you. And all those journeys, it's a new perspective. I love that you have used that as perspective of it really it's when God's trying to refine us and cause us to lean into him and trust him in our journey when we don't understand it in the moment. Yeah. But the fact that you were willing to keep on trying and that you stopped and like, okay, God, you yielded your will for God's will. Yeah. And that's what he's really looking for. Yes. And I say that all the time because I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2009, and I really actually just resurrendered my life to the Lord. And I was like, okay, my will is not going well, and I want to be in your will, God. And I will give it all up if you don't want me to do this anymore, which is a tough thing to say when you love something so much. But I really had hit that rock bottom part of my life where I was like, and I have learned that, let me tell you, being in the will of God is so much better than being in your own will. And I didn't know that God had all these talents that he had put in me that I had put under a bed and shoved it away and only was pursuing acting. And when I moved out to Albuquerque, I started writing and producing and creating stuff. And I was like, oh, well, this is awesome. And also, you know, as an actor, you can't work hard enough for someone to pick you. And I have a very strong work ethic. And so it was making me crazy because I would work so hard, but I had no control over the outcome. But, you know, I saw that same thing with my son. We would go into the audition room, and really what we would find out is who had already been cast. Mm-hmm. We would look at their ethnic background. And then we realized when we walk into the room and we saw the age bracket and what the competition might be. But really what it was, it was nothing about his abilities. It was more about what they were still looking for. Whatever... color, race, gender, whatever they still needed on the other side of the different shows that he was auditioning for the film. And you're like, it wasn't based on always talent. No, it didn't matter how good you did. You're at how good you did. Even when the casting director said, oh, that was really great. You know, and you get a callback and you still it's like you don't know what's on the other end of that, which, you know, it's. It's amazing, like you said, especially when you have that hardworking ethic. I'm like, my son was doing the same thing and doing his studies and memorizing nonstop. And you're like, wow. So we would always go in with the attitude, okay, you're practicing and you're working. This is your job is to audition. But I think it's great, though, that you continue to walk through it with the perspective that you have. Yeah. And then God called me to the other side of the camera. Opened up a new world. Exactly. And if I had never started writing and producing, I would have never found out this love I have for something that is totally different. And I'm so grateful that I moved to Albuquerque and I opened up my hands and said, okay, God, whatever you want for my life, I'll do it. And that's what's key because, you know, I, before we even had the connection is I remember watching Catching Faith and I've got to show this up on the screen is one of the first films I saw actually on Netflix. And I'm like, oh my gosh, that's a long time ago. Yeah. So before we knew each other, I thought, oh, that's really good. And I thought. I love that there's a family faith movie that I would want to watch. Yeah. You know, and and then you and so I love for you even to tell what I like about this, too, is you're you're sharing something that is it's, you know, what we have in the Christian filming. Sometimes you call it cheesy. Yeah. Or it just it's almost but it's not quite. And I am grateful for the way that you were able to share stories that were not so over the top where you welcome more than just a Christian at, you know, arena or you're looking beyond just the Christian. Yeah, I guess users or people would view it. Well, I think we looked at it like we are not telling a sermon. We're telling a story. Yeah. And within that story, and I think a lot of faith-based films have in the past come a little bit from a sermon perspective. And I'm a filmmaker first. Not a filmmaker first before being a Christian, but a lot of times Christians will step into making movies to make stuff, but I'm actually a filmmaker who makes Christian movies. So I'm always coming from the filmmaking side of how do we make this excellent quality, not cheesy. I mean, it's hard to portray a relationship with a supernatural being on a screen, and that's why it can be so cheesy, because he's not in the room, and yet we're trying to talk about him or pray to him, and that can be hard because movies are a visual medium. So how do you portray a relationship with a supernatural being in a visual medium? So that is not an easy task. It's not an easy task. Wow. Like, seriously. Because a good story, I mean, until you have, and then the right actors that can really feel it and sense it and really move into it. There's so many dynamics. Or I've seen, you know, a story could have been good being like, gosh, I wonder if that was the director. You know, is able to get the gifts and the actors their very best to be able to share the story in a way. Like when somebody can get me to tear up a little bit, I'm like, okay, that was a good director, moving with a great actor to really pull together a good script. Yes. Yeah. And it is because, I mean, we've had our actors pray on screen and we've worked really hard, really directly with our actor to make that not cheesy because A, you're not really praying, you're acting like you're praying. And that can come off so cheesy. So when we're casting actors, we really look at the authenticity of that person. And when they pray, even in an audition to see if you're pushing it to push it or just pray. We're just having a conversation with God. It's not, but I think sometimes an actor might push it because they don't know how to authentically do that when you're not actually in the midst of a prayer that's for you. So there's a lot of things that go into it. But it's been my goal, and that's one of my favorite compliments, thank you, is that, so many people watch our films and be like, wow, I can share this with non-believers and they'll love it because they feel like one of another really big compliment we've gotten from viewers is that, Sometimes faith-based films feel like they're coming out to the audience and making them a non-believer feel judged or feel this. And a lot of people say, I watch your films and I feel like it all stays on screen. I'm watching a story and it doesn't come at me or preach at me where then I can actually enjoy it. And then I can walk away and think about what the message is. And that's a talent to be able to do that because the second you sound preachy, the second someone's going to turn it off. Because they're like, well, I'm not in a story anymore. Well, I think definitely, you know, I mean, I think there's always those judgments as it is right now, you know. And I have to say, I really want to highlight, too, and the card, I love what you're doing here. I love, like, the two stories that we're talking about are the movies called Switched and Identity Crisis. Yeah. Now, I was watching it again the other day here. And what I'm going to say, if you haven't seen one of her films before, is if you thought Disney, but it's Disney in a way where like I really always enjoy the teen movies, to be honest with you, because I'm like, it's safe. And like, you know, when my boys were younger, I'm like, if they walk into the room, it's a safe place. Right. And it's not that way always today. But what I really appreciated this is the stories you had behind these movies. And so I'd really like us to highlight even like we'll start out with Switch. Okay. Let's identify for them who's never seen your movie yet, which we'll tell them how to get that. What was the theme that you were trying to allow for conversations with families? Yes. So Switched is, oh, I love Switched. It's my love letter to young girls. I was bullied really bad as a young girl. And bullying stays with people. all throughout their adult life. And I thought, how can I speak into young girls about the impact that bullying has on another person? And we were also looking at cyber bullying. There's a whole new thing about how to bully. You know, we were kids, you got bullied in a couple of days that blew over. Well, nowadays people are putting it on social media. And even if you think you're deleting it, it can never be taken away. So we were like, we really need to speak into this of that. When you put something out there, you can't ever take it away. And we need to be really careful about how we talk to people. So I think when I was, thinking about this idea for Switched, I was actually thinking about when I was a kid, I was a minister's kid. I lived in a very affluent city, but I was a minister's kid. So I would go to school with all these kids who had a lot, and I didn't. And I used to have to go to the basement of the church, and I'd pick out my clothes from all the hand-me-downs. And I'd go to school and everyone would make fun of me and torment me. And I remember thinking, well, if you knew what it was like to walk a day in my shoes, you know how bad it is to walk down in the basement and pick from other people's clothes? Like, I want to go to the mall and I want to go shopping. Maybe you'd have empathy for me. And that was sort of... And that was part of your line in the movie. Yes. And it really resonates. Yeah. Because I'm like, how many times have we... growing up, I think a lot of people that never talked about it have been bullied. Yes. And embarrassed and shamed. Right. And you didn't even earn it, you know? I mean, some things you didn't even do to earn that position. Right. Yeah. I felt like I could resonate like that because I remember having issues and being called names and stuff. And I'm like— It stays with you. Like if you let it, it will go throughout the rest of your life. And you're like, what it is. And this story is so powerful. And give them a highlight. Yeah. Yeah. The movie. So you see it. Switch is about two girls in high school. One's the bully and one's the girl she bullies. The girl she bullies prays that the other girl wouldn't know what it's like to walk a day in her shoes. and they wake up switched, and they go on to find empathy and love and compassion for each other. We find out why the bully is a bully, and the girl who gets bullied learns about her life, and I think a big thing in this movie, too, that's really important is we want to talk about if we could heal the heart of a bully, we could stop the chain reaction that that bully of going on to bully other people. Usually, it's because they're hurting in their life, whether their home life or whatever's going on, and then that whenever we go and talk about Switched and we talk to students or people, we're always saying, if someone's bullying you, they actually probably just need some love. They need some love and to be heard. And then, of course, the bully finds out what it's like to go to school and take all the pain that they have caused that person. And that was really like the biggest thing for us was the illustration of we don't know what anyone is going through until we walk a day in someone else's shoes. And the best way to do that was to use the model of switching bodies. And like, because I thought if somebody, if that girl, like the scene in the movie when she walks down the hallway and everyone's making fun of her, it's the other girl. And it's the other girl who caused that to happen. And she's like, it doesn't feel so good to be treated that way, does it? And then the bully realizes what it feels like, which can change her heart. And both girls' hearts are changed in a lot of beautiful ways in the movie. I agree. You know, I love how it really creates opportunity for conversation. Yes. I mean, I would really highly recommend that this would be something that you would even share. you know, read this, buy it, actually. I bought it. Thank you. And so this is something I would watch again. I'm a collector of movies. I know it's an old school thing. But the one thing I think is important, though, is it creates an opportunity, especially as young girls maybe be going through it. And you may not even know that someone's going through a really difficult time. That movie would be such a way to open up a conversation. That's our goal always is to hope in conversations with parents and their kids. And we try to present it in a way that asks questions. We want to ask questions and then let our viewers go back and talk about it. Sometimes, I mean, that's what Jesus did. He asked questions. And that's what we're always doing in our films, too. You know, we might not always have the answer, but we're going to ask you the question. And how are you going to deal with it? And we provide companion materials. We have high school curriculums for Switched, and we'll have high schools show the movie and then do the curriculum. And what is it like to lead with love and to love your neighbor as yourself? What does that actually look like? Because I feel like that's another point that we're doing in our movies is that there's a lot of—we hear a lot of the same Bible verses over and over and over growing up in the faith. I grew up as a minister's kid. But what does it really look like to live like that? And that's what we're doing with our films. We can say, love your neighbor as yourself, but we're trying to illustrate about what does it look like to actually live your life loving your neighbor as yourself? And same with identity crisis. We hear your identity lies in Christ all the time. But what does that actually mean? And that's where we're trying to dive into that, to open that up for parents to be able to talk to their kids about what does it look like to have your identity be in Christ? So powerful. I love it. Thank you. I also want to do another thing you told me earlier is the Identity Crisis movie, which it is really sweet. I enjoyed that. Thank you. You also said you have a curriculum and a book. And a book. Yes, we wrote a novel. So we definitely need to get the book. We're going to give you in our show notes, and we'll be giving you links. So how you know how to get all these things, we'll identify that at the end. But tell me about Identity Crisis. So Identity Crisis is about a shy science whiz in college who struggles with confidence and imposter syndrome. and not feeling good enough. And she figures out how to clone herself to create what she thinks is the perfect identity. She gives her bravery, outgoing, and she sends her off to do all the things that she's afraid of, only to discover that God already created her the perfect version of herself. And he gave her all the courage she just needed to try. And it's a beautiful illustration of, especially for right now, what's going on in society with So much confusion for young people about where their identity lies. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, knitted in the womb to perfection. And we are created on purpose for a purpose. And we talk a lot about that in the movie, that on purpose for a purpose. God has a purpose for our life. And we need to rest in that identity to be able to walk out what God is asking for our lives on earth. So good. You know, I think that what happens when life doesn't go the way we thought they were going to go. Yeah. I think that's where sometimes we get that idea like, OK, maybe I thought I heard from God and maybe the direction like I'm hearing from you. And when things don't go smoothly, we expect. There to be no storm. And then we go to the mountaintop and see the great view. We've succeeded. But it is really, if you had succeeded early on in acting, you would never have arrived at being a filmmaker, a writer. I mean, and yet you get to still act. And the thing is, is God wants to give us more than what we asked for. And that's where I see is God's given us more, even in the midst of the conflict. is he always has something in store if we don't quit, that we keep moving forward and trusting him in our journey. I totally agree. And I do think he is looking to see if we're trusting and if we're willing to go. So for Catching Faith, I got an opportunity. I believe I was called by God to make female-driven faith-based films when my executive producer, Sales Asia, my first film said, I want you to make a faith-based film. I was like, whoa, I felt like God struck the table, was like, this is what I want you to do. And he said, their only requirement was football. And I looked at the landscape of the faith-based industry and I didn't see a lot of women being represented in the leading roles. And I thought, okay, I think God wants me to tell it from the female perspective as a woman. And I also wanted to do it excellent. I was like, okay, God, if you want me to do this, I'm gonna not do it cheesy. I'm gonna do it better. I'm gonna do it awesome. And, but I only had a very small budget to make the movie. And I could make, I made a choice. I could either keep my Los Angeles apartment or I can make Catching Faith. And I said, okay, God, I'm in this to win this with you. I know you want this. Gave up my apartment, put everything I owned in storage. And I lived out of one suitcase for one year. to make catching faith a reality. That's huge. That is huge commitment. Huge commitment. Like, I mean, there's like only a couple people that you would think that would even go that, I mean, a whole year. A whole year. From the time that I left my apartment to the time I returned to LA, it had been one year. And in that year, we were able to produce catching faith. And it's, to me, I think also God sees what we're doing. He's like, okay, she'll look up her apartment. Well, I'm going to give her more. You know, it's like, you know, when it says God will trust you with a little, then he'll trust you with a lot. That's not just about money. That's about everything. everything he entrusts in us, whether that's a small movie to a bigger movie, whether it's a, we went to a small community and worked with a small community in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He gave us a little, and we were good with that. And then fast forward eight years, he gives us an entire university to shoot at because he knew, I could trust you with a little, I will trust you with a lot. And we have seen God multiply what we're doing because we have continued to show that we are trustworthy. And the one thing I want to highlight, too, that you've mentioned to me is when you had opportunity to get funding for identity crisis. Yeah. Yeah. it was asking you to compromise. Yes. And so what's the backdrop on that? Yes. So Switched was the one that we— Yeah, that's all right. Switched, we actually—because of Switched, it opened the door for identity crisis. So, you know, so thank goodness for Switched. But we got offered a very large sum of money from a studio if we would do two things—remove God and make it raunchy and have the girls do inappropriate things— And I actually walked away from that deal and said, no, I will not compromise the message of the story. And I will not remove God because if I remove God, then nobody will know that God is love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. I can't cut that piece out of this story. You can only love your neighbor as yourself if you first are loving the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. So it'd be like cutting off the, you know, cutting off a limb. You can't do that. You have to have it. So we walked away from a very large deal to not compromise our values and not compromise for God. And I was like, God will bless this. I don't need to worry about that money or that studio because I'm working for God. And everything I do, I work for the creator of the universe. It gives me so much confidence to be like, it's all God's anyway. So if he wants it, it'll happen. If he doesn't, it won't. And if it doesn't happen in our timing, it's because his timing is so perfect. And I've been able to see that throughout the course of my career. Yeah, that's so important. You know, I would like, as we're just kind of closing, is we talk to our audience and just really share with them what you feel like is a great, important takeaway of the things that you've done, the patterns in your life, one of not quitting. But in the midst of those storms, what can you do to encourage our audience? Yeah. Well, I always like to say what's impossible for us is possible for God. So when God calls you to go, you need to go and you need to know that he will take care of the rest. I am not equipped to do a lot of the things. When we were called to Catching Faith, I was like, this is impossible. We can't make a football movie on $75,000. We can't do it. But God provided. God showed up. So I just, when God calls you to do something, don't look for the forest for the tree. Just take a tree at a time, take a step at a time, until you have finished what you were called to do. And then watch God multiply your work beyond your wildest dreams. We were invited to Cuba on a movie tour and book tour for Catching Faith. that's all God. He made that happen. He's the greatest marketer. So we put our movies out, we hustle marketing it, but we also pray that God will get it into the home of the person who needed to see it. And he will. And I've always, when, especially switched, I kept feeling that God was like, go, go, go with switch. We didn't get the budget we wanted, but I felt like God was like, do it now. And I'm like, there's someone God needs to speak to through this. So we actually pulled production up two months, went ahead of time. That's amazing. And then we said, okay, we're going to go faster because we just felt like God was like, I've got a plan. And then you see all the reasons. We get to actually see the reasons why He calls us to do things because— the principal of the school that gave us the entire high school, right after we showed up for filming, he was let go from the school. And he was like, if you had waited any longer, you wouldn't have been able to shoot here. And we were like, oh my gosh. So it's like, and there's so many other of those stories. So that's why I say, when God says to go, go, and you might not have what you think you need, he will provide. And you just have to take the steps that you need. that he's asking you to do because we have to be his hands and feet on earth. We have to bring the kingdom of Evan here. And it is an urgent calling on our lives. And we have to do it now. That's so good, Alexandra. Do it now. It's so good. You know, as we're closing here, I just wanted to highlight something. She's actually has, we'll put it on our screen up close. But she's got it where it's called Million Moms. And I'd like you to explain what you're trying to do with that. Thank you. So we're doing a Million Mom campaign. If a million mothers gave us $1, we could green light our next movie. We definitely get a lot of pushback from studios. A lot of the content that we're putting out is not their direction they're going for their YA because they want to program our kids together. to think horrible things, and we are the alternative. We are doing the Disney for Christians, and we are speaking life-giving truths into your children and creating conversation for you. So if you believe in what we're doing, support us, because we actually are going to go directly to our audience to create content for you, and we won't be stopped by the studio system. We will not wait for them to pick us. We will pick ourselves, and we will let God multiply. So we actually prayed about doing this, and then we partnered up with a nonprofit that wanted to work with us on this. So it's all a tax donation write-off, and every dollar goes into Andrea and I creating the next movie, the next curriculum, because we write all the books ourselves. We write the novel ourselves. We do everything ourselves. So we need the support. And, you know, we hear from parents all the time how, you know, we're going to how deplorable the content is. So we're like, okay, support us because we are getting the alternative. So. Excellent. Now, for those who didn't know, Andrea is her sister. We didn't really clarify that. So it's two sisters that are coming together and they work remotely quite often. And that's where I think is the best thing too, is there's no barrier. Like there's no wall that you're like, we're not going to knock it down. We're just going to go forth and we're going to see what God has in plan. Yeah. So, you know, I'm not one to always like push certain things, but I'm like, this is a strategic method in which we can open up a conversation with our family. And when it's awkward and not knowing how to create those, this is a great family night, movie night that we can... find it. And it's going to be where you can do it a couple of different places that we'll, we'll add to the shows because it may change by the time you're actually listening to this podcast. But for now we can say your website is theboilandsisters.com, theboilandsisters.com. And you can find us everywhere on Instagram and Facebook. And, you know, I just wanted to add to what you just said about the conversations. So right now we've had a lot of parents come to us and say, I am trying to teach my children. that their identity lies in Christ. And they're getting a lot of mixed messages out there, but we are trying to teach them. And when they watch Identity Crisis, it's so hip and so cool, because that's our thing, is we want it to be hip and cool. We want the kids to be proud of it, say, this is for me, I'm proud of it. And a lot of parents have said, thank you so much for the messaging in this movie, because they might not listen to me, but when they see it in a movie, and it validates what we say, they turn back and go, okay, mom, maybe you were right, and let's talk about that. So that is like our number one goal, is that we are equipping parents to actually back up biblical truths that you're trying to teach your kids in a way that the kids will want to watch it and then hear it and be like, okay, you're right, mom. Let's go to the Bible and find out what that means. So powerful. So thank you, Alexandra, for coming and sharing such incredible, hope-filled messages for all of us and a way for us to open up conversations with our loved ones. Thank you.