Nooma today announced the release of its 23rd short film, Corner. The film, featuring Rob Bell, focuses on God's unfair grace, as reflected in Deuteronomy 24:19. Underwritten by Compassion International, it is the first collaborative effort between Nooma and the world's leading holistic Christian child development organization that releases children from poverty.
"I was first exposed to the Nooma films in 2001 and thought they were thought-provoking and eye-opening. If we could capture this message about children in poverty, this would be a powerful tool from a child advocacy standpoint," states Mark Hanlon, Vice President of the USA Group at Compassion International.
Nooma is a series of 23 short films that probe questions of Christian faith. The title of the films, NOOMA, is an English variation of the Greek word pneuma, which means wind or spirit. The films have been received as influential communication tools, which challenge Christians to live out their faith in a real and powerful way.
"We are proud to partner with Compassion on NOOMA's Corner," says Steve Carr, Executive Director, Flannel/NOOMA. "We appreciate the impact Compassion has on releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. We hope that this film will cause people to see others in need and to do something about it."
This Nooma video was filmed in the United States and the Dominican Republic, and features a Compassion-assisted girl who benefits from many people tearing off a corner to create something beautiful. The film explores the emptiness of a life lived for selfish reasons, and asks if sharing our success can enhance our own lives while saving the lives of others.
Hanlon says that churches are now embracing issues that they've never touched in the past, so this collaboration is a wonderful attempt to further fuel the passion of the church for issues surrounding poverty, justice, health, AIDS and others.
"Without the church, all of the avenues of solution will be ineffective in fighting global poverty for children," he says. "Compassion wants to come alongside missions leaders, pastors and others in the church to become the trusted experts in Christian holistic child development. I hope this video helps us achieve that."
Since 1952, Compassion International has touched the lives of more than 1.8 million children. As one of the world's largest holistic child development organizations, Compassion International works with more than 65 denominations and 4,729 indigenous church partners to serve more than 1 million children in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Compassion tackles global poverty one child at a time by meeting spiritual, economic, social and physical needs. Compassion International's programs range from prenatal care and infant survival efforts, to individual child sponsorship and assistance with college education and job placement. In addition, Compassion's Crisis Intervention program provides immediate assistance to international communities devastated by natural disasters. Compassion has been recognized for its financial integrity by America's largest charity evaluator, Charity Navigator, earning seven consecutive, four-star ratings.
