Pop stars, influencers — why not Jesus? Memphis filmmakers create 'vertical' faith content

"Vertical content" is a new term and a hot trend. The phrase refers to media designed to be viewed primarily on a mobile device, particularly a smartphone. The pictures and videos are narrow or "vertical" in dimension, to fit the frame of an upright cellphone screen, rather than horizontal, to fit the wider format of a television or movie theater screen.

According to some studies, so-called "millennials" (individuals born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s) and "zoomers" (generally defined as those born between the mid-1990s and 2012) spend more time with "vertical" forms of entertainment than they do with traditionally presented programming. They consume TikTok and Snapchat videos, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, often while on the go, and in bite-size portions.

This new reality has provided inspiration for a team of Memphis filmmakers, who asked: If pop stars, online influencers, podcast hosts and cartoon characters can attract millions of followers via short-form vertical content, why not Jesus?

"Vertical is ideal for spiritual content," said veteran Memphis filmmaker Jordan Danelz. "Vertical content is something you can share with people, but you mostly watch alone. It's an individual experience. It's on your personal device, so it's easier to find a spiritual dimension."

Danelz is a producer on "The Jesus Broker," an episodic short-form dramatic serial, or "micro-series," shot in the vertical format in late June and July by a pair of Memphis companies, Gravity Productions and Harris/Sepe Films.

Inspired in part by the incredible drugs-music-and-bagels "born again" story of the series' Miami-based writer-director, Kevin D. Sepe, "The Jesus Broker" is intended to mark the companies' entry into the ballooning vertical market and to tap into what Sepe describes as the format's massive yet underserved Christian or "Christian-curious" audience.

On a more symbolic level, the project connects timeless biblical themes and values to cutting-edge technology and what Sepe calls "this digital space that's exploding."

A vertical 'void'

"Exploding" is not an overstatement. A 2024 survey by the media company Broadpeak found that 50% of respondents ages 16-23 in the U.S., France and Brazil answered "smartphone" when asked, "What device do you use most to watch your favorite shows?" Only 10% chose "TV." 

According to DataReportal, a company that tracks digital trends, the average American spends 6 hours and 40 minutes looking at a screen each day (like the one you likely are using to read this story), with smartphones accounting for more than half that time. Meanwhile, Marketing Dive, an online marketing and advertising journal, reports that users hold their phones vertically close to 94% of the time, and rarely tilt or rotate phones to enable horizontal videos to fill the screen.

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Such figures explain why even such long-established media institutions as The New York Times and, yes, The Commercial Appeal largely have pivoted to vertical video for their online pages. "We think this is an opportunity," said Sepe, 63, discussing his venture into what he called the "void" in Christian-themed vertical content.

"We have a philosophy on how to approach this," he said. "We want to be a little different right out of the box. Too many films made for the 'faith' audience are timid, but we're bringing an edgy, raw approach, to show life how it really is."

"The Jesus Broker" stars Atlanta actor Jason C. Louder — who played a recurring character on "Black Lightning," a DC Comics-based superhero series on The CW network — as a former stock broker and cryptocurrency financier who makes a commitment to God after narrowly avoiding a steep prison sentence. Like David Carradine in "Kung Fu" or Michael Parks in "Then Came Bronson," his questing spirit inspires a literal journey that takes him to Memphis (sequel "seasons" would take place in other cities), where he confronts what Sepe calls "violence and pain and shootings and addiction" while trying to assist various characters in need of healing and redemption.

Louder previously worked with Gravity Productions when he portrayed a street-smart former drug dealer in "Elijah Peel," a "faith"-centered feature film shot in Memphis last winter. That movie's most familiar face belongs to "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" star and Christian activist Kevin Sorbo, who plays the manager of a reckless English rock star (Robert Malcolm Cumming), who suffers a heart attack in Memphis that leads to a fateful friendship with a cancer-stricken little girl (Evelyn Kite).

Written and produced by Sepe, "Elijah Peel" is near the end of its post-production process, and is being readied for release later this year. Highlighted by impressive and convincing performances, the movie will represent Gravity's most ambitious attempt yet to reach "faith" film fans, who — like horror buffs and comedy connoisseurs — can transform modestly budgeted entertainments into massive box-office hits (as happened with "The Chosen" films, based on the life of Jesus, and the "God's Not Dead" franchise, also starring Sorbo).

'Faces and emotions'

The "Elijah Peel" experience was so enjoyable that Gravity and Sepe — partnering with Memphis investor and producer Terry L. Harris — re-teamed for "The Jesus Broker," which reunited much of the previous film's collaborators, including cinematographer Danelz, production designer Yanni Manousakis and locations manager Nicki Newburger. In addition to Danelz, Gravity principals and producers include Mark Williams and Princeton James.

Not all the participants are committed Christians. Nevertheless, "Our company's compass is pointed toward content that tries to make humanity better," Danelz said. "As it happens, just now we have a client that is born-again and faith-based. Others might be different, but our theme is always to show people there are ways to heal. We don't want to leave people hopeless."

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Danelz said that a vertical project such as "The Jesus Broker" can be completed much more rapidly and economically than a traditional production, such as "Elijah Peel." "Broker," in fact, was shot over six days, from late June to July 3, in various Memphis locations, including such iconic spots as the Lamplighter Lounge and Barksdale's restaurant. During that time, the cast and the small eight-person crew captured about 45 minutes of drama, which will be edited into episodes ranging from about 90 seconds to 3 minutes in length. The brevity is typical of vertical content, which recognizes that short content is more likely to be watched to the end and shared by viewers.

A longtime filmmaker, Danelz — who used a Sony FX8 digital "cinema" camera to shoot wide images that will be cropped to the narrow format — said he initially was skeptical of the esthetic and storytelling values of the short-form vertical mode. But he said he soon realized its limitations were inseparable from its peculiar value. 

"It's all about the human emotion," he said. Because of the narrow image, "the background is almost ancillary. You lose the outside world and cut into humans acting, their faces and emotions. It's people relating to each other." 

This also makes for an economical production, since it reduces the need for extensive set design, background actors and so on. "We were quick and efficient," said producer Williams.

Drugs, bagels and God

Sepe based his "The Jesus Broker" concept in part on his own experiences as a successful Miami marketer, advertising executive, jingle composer (for Budweiser and Jiffy Pop, among others), pop music creator (he wrote hit songs for the band Will to Power), business innovator (he created "Funny Bagels," a 1990s "Lunchables"-type product) and — on the dark, flip side — drug-and-alcohol addict who in 2012 reached a settlement with the federal government to avoid a prison sentence after he was charged in an illegal stock scheme. As a result, Sepe said, he lost his family and much of his fortune, but eventually found Jesus.

Characterizing his earlier self as "a sort of casual Christian," Sepe was suicidal and had reached a "desperation moment" after again succumbing to addiction when he wandered into a Miami church that happened to be home to the ministry of ex-R&B star Wayne Cochran, the outrageously pompadoured platinum-blond "White Knight of Soul" of the 1960s, who had become an evangelist.

Said Sepe: "He's a very dynamic guy, and there was something about him — something happened to me that day. He singled me out of the crowd and found me and it was bizarre, but that saved my life."

Sepe went through a detox program and decided to "really try to understand Jesus and Christianity, one day at a time." He began using his marketing and music skills as a motivational speaker and arts advocate. He was encouraged by some longtime friends, including Memphis' Terry L. Harris, whose family had founded the hugely successful local Ledbetter Meats company. Wealthy from the sale of that company, Harris backed "Elijah Peel" and now is a partner in "The Jesus Broker."

Said Sepe: "Whenever we're in trouble, we go to God and say, 'If you get me out of this, I'll do anything.' And then we forget." He said "The Jesus Broker" — the story of a man who dedicates himself to becoming "a conduit between Jesus and pain, between Jesus and the sufferers" — is one way he's keeping up his end of the bargain.

"We've created something with power, emotion, a cinematic experience on a cellphone," he said. "You watch this, you're going to feel something, and it's going to be profound. If it's not, we've failed."

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis filmmakers talk 'vertical' faith content, 'The Jesus Broker'