When the movie Unbroken hit theaters Christmas Day, it brought the incredible, true story of WWII bombardier Louis Zamperini back into the national spotlight.
But the movie didn’t show the whole story, which is why the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association created a 30-minute video highlighting the real reason Zamperini was unbroken: his life-transforming decision for Jesus Christ.
Since December, thousands of people have watched the documentary, Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace, which was just nominated for Movieguide’s Epiphany Prize for Inspiring Movies and TV.
According to Movieguide’s website, the Epiphany Prize is awarded to movies and television programs that are “wholesome, spiritually uplifting, inspirational, redemptive and moral.”
Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace picks up where the Unbroken movie ends, focusing on Zamperini’s life after WWII. During the war, the young Olympic runner survived a plane crash that left him drifting in the South Pacific for 47 days. When he finally saw land, he was picked up by the Japanese, spending the next two years in one torturous POW camp after another.
After the war, Zamperini came home a different man. Plagued by nightmares of his torturer, he turned to alcohol while his marriage fell apart. It wasn’t until he reluctantly attended Billy Graham’s 1949 Los Angeles Crusade that Zamperini got his life back. The BGEA documentary, which Zamperini narrated before he died last July, tells a powerful story of redemption, forgiveness and new life in Christ.
The video shares its Epiphany Prize nomination with five other projects including The Gabby Douglas Story (about the young Olympic gymnast) and Duck Dynasty: A Home for the Holidays.
The award winner will be revealed at the 23rd annual Movieguide Awards in Universal City, California. Rap artist Lecrae will perform, as well as CeCe and Marvin Winans, who will take part in a gospel tribute to the late Andraé Crouch.
REELZ TV will air the Movieguide Awards on Sat., Feb. 21 and Mon., Feb. 23.
You can watch the half-hour Louis Zamperini video online for free or get your own DVD copy.
The video is also airing on these television stations through January.
