Imagine receiving a phone call that thrusts your heart from your chest into your throat. You sprint to your car and rush to the hospital, where you see your loved one laying in a bed – cold, without a pulse and no sign of life. What will you do next?
Joyce Smith had to answer this question in 2015, after her then 14-year-old son John Smith fell through the ice of Lake St. Louis while playing with his friends. For 45 minutes, John’s heart did not beat. Moments after arriving in the room, Joyce prayed and asked God to bring her son back. Her prayers were answered.
This isn’t a fairytale. Nor fiction. It is real life. A true story. And it happened in the St. Louis region.
“When I heard Joyce and John’s story, it really blew me away and I felt like if it’s motivating and inspiring me, it could do the same for others,” DeVon Franklin said. “How often have you heard of a story where a mother goes into an emergency room and prays her son back to life? That just blew me away then and it still blows me away now.”
Just ahead of Easter, award-winning producer Franklin’s (“Miracles from Heaven;” “The Star”) next film, “Breakthrough” will be released in theaters. Executive produced by Stephen Curry and Pastor Sammy Rodriguez, the film tells Joyce, John, and Brian Smith’s story, from a few days before John’s accident, to the moment he walked out of the hospital.
“My goal was to tell a great story in the best possible way,” Franklin said. “And, the thing about it is the real story is not a ‘faith-based’ story. It’s [about] a family that experienced a tragic event and [a mother who] went in there and chose to not allow what she saw to impact what she believed.”
When it comes to his favorite part in “Breakthrough,” Franklin is like a film buff in the now-almost-extinct Blockbuster Video store.
“Now, you’re asking me to pick between all my children here. I don’t know if I can do that,” he laughed. “I don’t even know why, to be honest with you, [but] the movie captures something emotional in our subconscious. I found the story, I developed the script, I produced the movie, and I’ve seen probably 50 cuts of this film. And every time I see it, I cry.”
A refreshing part of the movie is that it doesn’t try to portray John, Joyce or Brian as perfect people who, because of their perfection, have the privilege of petitioning God to spare their perfect son’s life. Each of them has flaws in their own unique way.
“None of us are completely stoic all the time. We just wanted to portray the humanity of the family so people could really relate to them and their journey,” he said.
According to him, moviegoers respond to “Breakthrough” in a way that he has never seen audiences react to or be impacted by a film.
“We did a screening [on April 1st] and as I was sitting there, someone texted me from the screening saying, ‘I cried through the entire movie. Absolutely amazing.’”
Franklin, who is also a New York Times Best-Selling author and international speaker, has built his career on inspiring and motivating others, whether it is a talk show appearance, preaching a sermon at a church, praying on Instagram or writing a book on relationships. Everything he does springs forth from a heart to encourage people, and his next project is the same.
“My next film is going to be on the creator of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,” Franklin said. “His name is Richard Montanez. He was a Mexican janitor that worked for Frito-Lay and came up with an idea that transformed the company and the industry. So, [I’m] really excited and grateful to keep finding inspiration to bring to the world in many different forms.”
“Breakthrough” will be released nationwide on Wednesday, April 17th. View the official trailer here.
Sharee Silerio is a writer, director, producer and blogger. When she isn’t creating for The Root or Curly Nikki, she enjoys sharing her journey to discover wisdom, become whole and fulfill her dreams at SincerelySharee.com. Get a glimpse of her #BlackGirlMagic via ShareeSilerio.com then connect with her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
