The home school movement is on the verge of explosion in the nation of New Zealand. So is the film industry. It is not surprising to see a rising nexus between New Zealand home educators and a rising cultural influence in the area of film. But there, as in America, the goal is neither to replace Hollywood with a Christian Hollywood, nor is it to infiltrate and syncretise with Hollywood. The goal for Christians is to transform culture for the glory of God by creating a distinctively and presuppositionally biblical approach to visual media.

Of course to do this, one must have some sense of the difference between good and evil. One must have a biblical standard capable of communicating a distinction between that which is holy and that which is pagan, and thus unholy. One must reject aesthetic neutrality (including the myth of musical neutrality) and subjectivism. One must believe that the Bible definitively and authoritatively speaks to everything including aesthetics. One must think like a true biblical presuppositionalist.

This can only happen if one refuses to allow bad personal morality to dictate theology.
The home school movement is far from perfect. It is not an end, but the means to an end. What is “perfect,” however, is God’s law to parents which commands them to home educate their children in the law of God and its application to all of life through a walk-along, talk-along, relationship based, character driven method of discipleship and education which is inherently holy (“set apart”) from the world’s methods. Many home educators share a deep abiding passion to use these God ordained methods to achieve God-ordained outcomes of strong character, personal holiness, and a victorious culture transforming perspective.

It is not surprising, therefore, that we are seeing many of the greatest cultural leaders emerge from the ranks of America’s home school movement, especially from those households which place clear emphasis on holiness, character, training in the law of God, and a vision for biblical aesthetics. It is from these ranks that the best and the brightest of the new independent Christian film movement are emerging.

One such example is Isaac Botkin, son of SAICFF judge Geoff Botkin. At the ripe old age of 24, Isaac is a much sought after filmmaker in the nation of New Zealand. In the following article first published in a New Zealand magazine, Isaac discusses why now is the time for Christians to advance the cause of the Lord by making distinctly Christ-honoring films, and why worshipping at the golden calf of Hollywood is not the answer for Christian film producers. The Birth of an Independent Christian Film Industry.