the spotlight: levi larsen

Before Levi Larsen entered the film program at Liberty University and writing scripts each week, he was always trying his hand at writing stories. Once, for one of his homeschooling assignments, he was tasked with creating his own novel for an English credit. Growing up an avid reader eventually evolved into his love for storytelling through film — a passion that didn’t take shape until after high school.

Since then, Larsen has been on a mission to produce his craft not only in telling stories, but also learning about the intricacies that come with getting an audience to love and connect with your work. At the root of this creative practice is connection: connection with the ultimate Creator and with others. 

Larsen was originally made aware of Liberty’s film school through a friend who had previously gone through the program. When his dream for filmmaking began to form, he especially appreciated the multi-faceted element of making movies. Instead of just putting pen to paper, the opportunities seemed limitless on the big screen. From directing to cinematography to sound design, the medium seemed to open new doors for Larsen to be challenged through.

“I think there’s a place for Christian media and making it,” Larsen said. “I have no qualms with doing something like that in the future, but that’s not why I got into it in the first place. I think that it’s important to tell stories that are more reflective of God and reflective of good morals and reflective of how we’re supposed to live our lives rather than just shouting it at you.”

The biblical lessons that Larsen is especially inspired by on-screen are triumphant moments when unwavering hope is found in seemingly hopeless situations, as well as themes of friendship and human connection. 

For Larsen, seeing characters face good versus evil and moments of insurmountable problems conquered through calling upon something greater reflect many recurring biblical narratives. 

“I think there’s a lot of godliness and beauty in human connections and human friendships,” Larsen said. “It’s not in a way where we glorify humanity for humanity’s sake, but in a way we’re boiling down a human being to its simplest terms…and there’s so much when you dig deep into someone’s soul that is beautiful and lovely to look at because God created it, and I love to see stories that explore that kind of thing.”

All of these timeless themes can be found in any good story—no matter the audience or intent of creation. In the same way that God and His Word are unchanging, so are these steady truths that continue to impact people’s hearts in the darkness of a dim movie theater.

When Larsen finds himself in the middle of an arduous project, it’s the end goal that keeps him focused on the task at hand. Thinking about the possible effect that the story could have on someone’s soul is the driving reason behind seeing his inspired creations come to fruition. The idea that the audience could really connect with the characters that he’s conceptualized or identify with the emotion present in the narrative is a driving factor for his creativity. Especially during the more trying times throughout the process. 

“It’s in those moments where I feel really, really close to God because I think that’s how He looks at us when He sees people loving other people or when He sees people feeling emotions because He’s done so much creativity and storytelling in our world, and then He sees us perceive it,” Larsen said. “And when we go out into nature and we see the beauty of it and we love God because of that, I think that’s kind of how He feels.”

Rather than telling explicitly Christian stories all the time, Larsen compares the spiritual edification that can happen in the arts to looking in a mirror. Instead of looking at something directly, the artistic work acts as a reflection of Christ’s light through His people. As Christians, we are called to be mirrors to His light through our calling.

Even if a filmmaker isn’t Christian, there can also be spiritual power and worth found in their work because they are created in God’s image. Being image bearers, all humans have the capacity to create something worthwhile and good. However, Christian filmmakers are set apart in the sense that they know where that beauty comes from. When working in tandem with the Holy Spirit, stories have the ability to make much more of an impact on people.

“Because our God is a creative God, I think that being creative and doing that in a way where you allow him to inspire you while you’re being creative is…one of the closest forms of communion you can have with Him,” Larsen said.

When discussing the topic of Christian versus secular media, Larsen believes that Christians should resist the urge to reduce all secular films to the lowest common denominator and instead learn to look for the good and value in them.

“I think there’s also a place for media literacy, and showing people how to look at things and not just see the bad,” Larsen said. “I think people should know themselves a lot more, look deeply into it, pray about it, talk to people about it, and see what they themselves would consider a stumbling block for themselves. But I think there is a lot of good to be had if the good is emphasized and if you’re shown how to see that good.”

In Larsen’s experience in filmmaking, he has seen great value in being creative with a biblical worldview in mind. During moments of writer’s block or creative burnout, the trick is to make sure that you are creating out of an abundance of life experience, rather than just squeezing the creativity out for the sake of doing it. The work should feel natural and inspired. As Christians, we can trust that the Lord will show up in our work when we invite Him into it.

Part of this mindset is to give grace to yourself and others. In a highly competitive industry, creatives should pursue structure and rest in the midst of pursuing their artistic passions. For Larsen, a type of freedom in his process has come from recognizing that he doesn’t have to be perfect, but rather steward well what the Lord has placed in front of him now. To him, being a kind person and a hard worker will be so much more productive than being the best creative.

“We create from life around us and our experiences and what we’ve done,” Larsen said. “So if all you do during your time here is make films, all you’re going to have to say is ‘I make films.’ You’re not going to have anything else to say. So, if you want something to say about life, you have to go have experiences, you have to go make friends, you have to go try new things and then you can bring all that together into what you’re going to create.”