Kenny and Mike are joined by director Theo Avgerinos and cast / contributor Rev. Dr. Jason Coker for a discussion of Rising Hope, a documentary film about the struggles and hope exerpienced by the residents of several towns in the Mississippi Delta. The film examines the rich history, decline, struggles that depleated the area of it's wealth and many of its residents, but not the hope of those who are determined and build a new narrative for the region and people. The film does not shy away from many of the causes of the regions decline including systematic racism and well as the effects of the NAFTA trade agreement.

Faith Issues:

Faith and hope are interwoven throughout the film and history of the region. In depicting the deternimation, courage and faith of residents the film can inspire others facing difficulties to not be defined by what is lacking but by what is present and the possibilities that grow out of determination, community and working together. Rising Hope echos the teaching in Hebrews 11 that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Kenny and Mike discuss and spot faith in the popular film Project Hail Mary. Based on the novel by Andy Weir (The Martian) The film was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and stars Ryan Gosling, Sandra Huller, and James Ortiz.

Named after the term for desperate, last minute plays in sports, the film tells the story of a desperate space mission to discover a way to stop a mysterious substance named Astrophage (Star-eater) that is killing the Sun and other stars. Ryland Grace (Gosling) a Jr. High biology teacher is recruited by an Govenrment agent and scientist Eva Stratt (Huller) to work on a project to find a way to save the Sun. After discovering a nearby star (Tau Ceti) that seems not to be impacted by the astrophage, a mission is planned to travel to Tau Ceti and discover how it is combatting the astrophage. Since there is not enough room for fuel for a return trip, the mission is considered to be a suicide mission. Upon arrival, Grace discovers a spaceship has been sent by Eridani, another planet seeking to also find out how to save it's star. Grace and Rocky, the pilot/scientist from Eridani must work together despite requiring different atmospheres and speaking different languages in order to discover the secret and save their planets' populations.

Faith Reflected:

The major faith element reflected is the need for community, putting aside difference and working together for the common good. Accepting differences and working with other groups who have differing beliefs and practices does not mean that one is abandoning one's belief or practices. Community can and should be established with others faith communities, political organizations, nations, and social groups.

Faithspotting friend Ryan Parker joins Mike and Kenny for the annual Faithspotting Oscars Prediction and Preview episode. Overall we thought 2026 was a good year for films as represented by the nominees. Of course there are some films and performances we would have liked to see get more attention but overall it was a strong, diverse year for cinema. Check out the Faithspotting episodes for 6 of the 10 Best Picture nominees: Frankenstein, Bugonia, Train Dreams, Marty Supreme, Sinners, and F1, where we discuss the film and spot faith elements they reflect. We are looking falready looking forward to the films that will be up for Oscars 2027.