We’re pleased to announce that, on Saturday, 23 July 2022, the Interpreter Foundation’s theatrical film Witnesses received the 2021 Film Award from the Association for Mormon Letters (AML).
The citation that accompanied the AML award praises Witnesses for its “powerful screenplay” and for the “polished and professional approach to the script” taken by director Mark Goodman, who produced “a period-accurate film with powerful dramatic performances, stunning scenery and cinematography, a moving orchestral score, and effective pacing and editing.”
Singling out Paul Kandarian, the Boston-based actor who portrayed the older David Whitmer, the citation says of his performance that it “adds weight and conviction to the entire story.” Moreover, observes the AML statement, the major characters all “have weight and realism” and the filmmakers “manage to present these early church leaders as both admirable and humanistically flawed.”
This isn’t the first honor that Witnesses has garnered. It received a 2021 Telly Award and it also took the Best Feature Film prize at the 2021 LDS Film Festival.
We express our appreciation to the entire team that created Witnesses. Our hope is that it will continue to find new audiences, along with its docudrama sequel, Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon; the continuing “Insights” series of witness-related short-video features; and the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon website.
I recently bought and watched “Witnesses”. In the the movie there were several snippets or scenarios I’ve not seen or read about before. Were all scenes documented by historical documentation or witnesses or was there artistic license of the writers and the director?
What is the difference between “Witnesses” and “Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon?” Or are they the same thing?
“Witnesses” is a full length feature film that was released in theaters and is now available on DVD and several streaming services. Go to https://witnessesfilm.com/ to learn more about it.
“Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon?” is a companion docudrama to Witnesses. It “provides a deep-dive into the lives of those who claimed to have seen and handled the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated,” and features interviews with historians and other scholars. It is available on DVD. Go to https://witnessesundaunted.com/ to learn more about it.
Thank you!