Cloud Ten Pictures Blog

Cloud Ten Pictures is inviting reviews of this special film.  Please contact us to request a screener and to schedule an interview with writer/director Zac Heath. 

If you are interested in screening this film for the purposes of a review, please shoot me an email at Eric [@] cloudtenpictures.com

THE RIVER WITHIN is a fantastic film that deals with several important topics.

One of those topics is PURPOSE. What is your purpose? What is the purpose of the church?

Another topic that it deals with is TRANSPARENCY IN RELATIONSHIPS. What is your relationship with your loved ones really like? When no one else but family is around, what is your family like? What are your relationships like? Do people who see you, really see you? Or do they see what you want them to see?

The film also deals with a topic that has not had much "press" but needs to be discussed. CUTTING. Yes, both Christians and non-Christians cut themselves and this all too often participated in, and rarely if ever discussed topic is met head-on in the film.  Often hand in hand with cutting is depression, this all too important topic is also covered.


THE RIVER WITHIN is truly a fantastic film that deals with so much.  I really encourage you to pick this one up on November 10th.

Here are some behind the scenes photos that Zac sent me from the making of the film...




Zac Heath, the man behind THE RIVER WITHIN shares a few thoughts with us:

It's so great to finally be at this point with THE RIVER WITHIN.  I started out to write a script with a message that represented my faith that I could shoot with some friends in the summer. But, as usual , God had more elaborate plans, as it evolved into a full-time job between pre-production, filming, editing, and marketing.

The story, about a law-school grad who returns to the small town he grew up in to study for the bar, is fictional. But I borrowed a great deal from my own experiences in writing it. Like the main character, I grew up in a small town in the south, and I also worked as a youth pastor for a while. Many of the characters in the movie are an amalgamation of many personality types I've come across on my own journey, though none of them are representation of any one person I've known.

The story of Marcus was one that I felt needed to be told. Cutting and self-mutilation is a very real part of teenage culture today and something that youth pastors all across the country are encountering. It is not confined to cities or poorer areas, it is prevalent in suburbs and very affluent homes. But it remains something that many people are still unaware exists. In the movie, I tried to address it in a very real, thoughtful and caring manner. And the actor who played Marcus, Maurice Mejia, really dove into the role, doing a great deal of research on depression and even physically becoming the character by losing weight and growing out his hair.

I'm very excited to be working with Cloud Ten Pictures on the release of THE RIVER WITHIN. Andre van Heerden has been a great support from early on. I was sitting at my computer one day a few months ago, when I received a call from Andre out of the blue. Apparently somebody who saw a screening of the movie and liked it, passed the word on to him, so I sent him a screener. I'm glad they did, as my experience with Cloud Ten has been a very good one. They have all been very professional and on top of things.

I'm also excited to be working with Cloud Ten because 9 years ago, as I was an actor about to enter Seminary, I realy wanted to be a part of the LEFT BEHIND movie and work on it in some fashion. But I was under contract at the time, and couldn't even consider pursuing it. It's almost as if my prayers from then have been answered, just not in the manner I had expected.


Christian-Movie.com featured THE RIVER WITHIN on their site as the Featured Film for the month of August. There is a behind the scenes interview with filmmaker Zac Heath as well as photos, and a full length review of the film

If you've seen the film, share a testimonial, if you have questions, ask away!  Your friend and blogger.... Eric