Movie About Potato-Like Faith to Hit U.S. Market

A dramatic, little-known film about the life of Angus Buchan, a Christian farmer whose evangelistic crusades have drawn thousands to stadiums across South Africa, is coming to U.S. theaters this spring.

Christian retailers attending The Gathering 2009, a training and buying event held in the Orlando, Fla., last week, got a sneak peek of Faith Like Potatoes. The South African movie releases in U.S. theaters on April 7 and is being distributed by Sony Pictures.

Faith Like Potatoes tells the true story of Angus Buchan, an obstinate, hardworking Scotsman who leaves his Zambian farm in 1977 in hopes of offering his family better living conditions in eastern South Africa. He settles on a patch of land near Greytown, in what is now the province of KwaZulu Natal.

The film follows the Buchan family as they begin interacting with local Zulu, the largest ethnic group in South Africa. The Zulu are undeterred by Buchan’s wild temper and help him build a home, clear the land and raise a farm. The Zulu’s kindness toward him, coupled with personal setbacks, eventually cause Buchan to face his self-reliance and let God in.

“We really like this project because of its international storyline and universal message of God’s love and saving grace,” said Rich Peluso, an acquisitions agent at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “So many faith-based films are solidly American in their setting, story and style … Faith Like Potatoes shows God moving in a far-away land.”

Director Regardt van den Bergh, who directed adaptations of the books of Matthew and Acts for The Visual Bible, adapted Faith Like Potatoes from Buchan’s 1998 book by the same name. After its October 2006 release in South Africa, the moviebecame one of the country’s highest-grossing domestic films ever. It also won the Audience Choice award from the Sabaoth International Film Festival and the best feature award from Mumbai International FICTS Festival.

The DVD, to be distributed to Christian retailers by Provident-Integrity Distribution, will include a 60-minute documentary about Buchan. In addition to leading stadium events, Buchan today operates a 1,200-acre farm called Shalom that cares for orphans, houses a school and provides HIV/AIDS relief.