Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Sarowitz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am the founder of Paylocity, which went public in 2014 and providing me with the financial freedom that has enabled me to pursue Faith and philanthropy. In February 2015, I declared as a Baha’i. Just 3 days later, a friend suggested that I make a movie about the Baha’i Faith. Less than an hour after that, I received an e-mail from a man named Peter Samuelson about helping foster children. Peter Samuelson also is a movie producer who has produced 25 movies, the most famous of which is ‘The revenge of the Nerds’. I met with Peter the following week and he suggested, I go ahead and make my movie. Thus, began a three-year odyssey which culminated in the release this May of ‘The Gate; Dawn of the Baha’i Faith’. Our film is a documentary that tells the riveting story of the Bab, Who declared as the Promised One of Islam in 1844. Within a few years, tens of thousands of people became followers of the Bab, including over 400 religious scholars. The Mullahs of Persia feared the Bab’s growing movement. They had Him arrested, eventually killing Him and over 20,000 of His followers. In 1852, Baha’u’llah, the last remaining leader in the Bab’s movement, was imprisoned in a horrible prison called the Black Pit. It was in that awful place that Baha’u’llah saw a vision of a maiden who told Him He was the Promised One of All Faiths. He was exiled and imprisoned for the next 40 years, writing the equivalent of over 60 Christian Bibles. His message was that He came for all humanity with a road map for ‘The Most Great Peace,’ which we will achieve when we realize the oneness of humanity and overcome our age-old prejudices.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was certainly a challenge to make the first major film about the Bab, a Divine Messenger with a similar station to previous Messengers like Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Since I had been a Baha’i for only 3 days and had never made a movie before, I also had quite a lot of learning to do, both about the movie business and the Baha’i Faith. Fortunately, I was able to meet many wonderful people like Bob Hercules, our director and Ed Price, an experienced Baha’i author, who were able to help make the film a success. One of our major obstacles to overcome was the non-depiction of Divine Messengers in the Baha’i Faith, which meant that we could not show our main Character. We ended up telling the Bab’s story using an on-camera narrator, expert interviewees, and historical reenactments. One of our experts is Rainn Wilson, a Baha’i who is best known for his role as Dwight Shrute on ‘The Office’. We were fortunate to show our movie nationwide on ABC, which gave us another challenge as we struggled to fit all the exciting sections of the Bab’s life into an hour long television broadcast format. We were able to reduce the movie down to an hour and viewers have given it overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Spring Green Films – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am proud that Spring Green Films is a Baha’i-inspired company that is operated according to the principles of the Baha’i Faith. We strive for honesty, openness, and integrity with everything that we do. We also make decisions with a unique Baha’i process called consultation. Decisions are made collaboratively and with respect for everyone’s opinions. We are planning to celebrate Baha’i holidays with service days that allow each employee, regardless of their religious affiliation, to serve humanity in their own way.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was very proud when we had over 750 people at our Chicago premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago, the site of the first mention of the Baha’i Faith in the West at the first Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893. Larry Greenfield, the Executive Director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, introduced our movie. This was followed by a beautiful reading of the first words that were quoted from Baha’u’llah by Pastor Chris Harris. We have now had over 200 showings of our movie and have requested to show our movie in over 125 countries.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thegatefilm.com
- Email: screenings@thegatefilm.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGateFilm2018/
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
