Funding Follows Belief: Building the Ecosystem Faith-Based Film Needs

By Kunle Falodun, Co-founder, House of Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
(Hebrews 11:1, KJV)

Biblical Faith does not need evidence; however, investors do. That tension sits at the
center of one of the most important questions in our industry today: how do we fund
faith-based content?

NOT ENOUGH CONTENT, AND TOO LITTLE OF IT IS PREMIUM
There is not enough faith-based content in the world, and certainly not enough from
Africa. This is one of the main reasons we started House of Faith.

Of the faith-based content that does get made, only a small share can honestly be called premium. By premium, I mean content that earns its audience through the quality of its storytelling and production, rather than asking for grace on account of its message. Audiences who watch world-class drama every evening should not have to lower their expectations because a story carries their values.

One of the premium titles out of Nigeria is God Calling, written and directed by BB Sasore and produced by Derin Adeyokunnu and others; it stars Nigerian screen legend Richard Mofe-Damijo alongside Zainab Balogun, one of Nollywood's finest actresses. Eight years after its release, it remains one of the standout faith-based films to come out of Nigeria: well written, beautifully made, and deeply moving. In September, God Calling was launched on FaithStream, and we are very proud of that. It is exactly the kind of film we built the platform to celebrate, and proof that great faith-based content does not expire.

WHY SO LITTLE GETS MADE
If there is so little faith content, and so little of it is premium, the obvious question is why? In my experience, the answer is not a lack of talent, stories, or audience. It is a perception problem.

Many believe there is no real demand. Every faith-based project runs into the same questions before a single frame is shot. Who is going to acquire this? Will it perform in cinemas? Will a streamer license it? Right now, the streamers are not commissioning faith-based content at any meaningful scale. So, producers, however gifted, cannot raise the money to make these films well, and without well-made films, the perception of low demand never gets challenged.

That cycle will not break by itself. We have concluded that we have to build an entirely new ecosystem around this genre: one where there is a clear home for the content, a clear route to audiences, and a clear investment case. Then producers can focus on what they do best, which is making the films.

HOW, THEN, DO WE FUND FAITH-BASED CONTENT?
We believe it comes down to two things: proving the appetite, and making the films well. We have to prove there is appetite. The good news is that the evidence already exists at a global level. The Passion of the Christ was made for around $30 million and took more than $600 million at the global box office. War Room was made for about $3 million and grossed more than $70 million. More recently, Amazon's House of David has shown that faith-based storytelling can work as a premium series on a major streamer. Sony Pictures, through its faith and family label Affirm Films, has invested seriously and consistently in this genre.

On the 1st October 2026, Agbara Nla: The Return opens in cinemas across Nigeria. It is a modern reimagining of Mike Bamiloye's 1993 classic, which shaped a generation of Nigerian Christians through VHS tapes passed from home to home and screened in church halls. I mentioned it in my last article, and I believe it is a moment for our whole industry. Thirty-three years on, the story that many of us first watched on TV is headed for international release as well. If it succeeds, as I believe it will, it will be one of the clearest answers yet to the question "is there demand?"

It also points to something bigger. Our industry is sitting on a rich catalogue of faith-based classics, stories that already have loyal audiences, emotional history and names that people recognize. Reimagined with today's production values, these titles offer something every investor looks for: lower risk. The audience does not have to be discovered. It has to be reached again. Well-made reboots can reconnect the generation that grew up on these stories and introduce them to their children at the same time. 

Therefore, our task is to build a body of evidence for African faith-based content: audience data, viewing figures, and titles that travel across markets.

THE DREAM, AND WHAT IT WILL TAKE
I have a dream of making faith-based films mainstream and producing them in large volumes. I mean a steady slate of premium stories, made in Africa, watched around the world and able to stand confidently next to any other genre, not the occasional release. 

To get there, the funding has to follow the projects. At the moment it too often works the other way round: projects wait, sometimes for years, for funding that may never come. What we need is focused investment. That means capital and partners who understand this genre, believe in its audience, and are willing to commit to a slate rather than a single title. That could include church partners co-producing content they believe in, brands whose values match the stories we tell, impact investors, and eventually a dedicated fund for faith-based content.

We have seen what happens when a major studio decides to believe in this genre. Now we need the same conviction focused on Africa's stories and storytellers. 

Faith may be the evidence of things not seen. But for faith-based content, the evidence is increasingly visible. The audience is there, the stories are there, and the talent is there. What remains is for the investment to follow.