In October, “Palau the Movie,” an autobiographical film about the life of evangelist Luis Palau, will hit theaters.
Luis Palau grew up as a street preacher in Argentina. Inspired by the Rev. Billy Graham, he would go on to share the gospel with millions. Palau now lives in the Portland area in Oregon, where he continues to share the gospel at age 83.
“Palau the Movie” tells the story of the Argentinean born evangelist. The story begins when Palau loses his father at a young age and has to quickly step up and take a leadership role in his family. The movie also details Palau’s early call to ministry. After first hearing Billy Graham speak, he fell in love with his style of preaching.
Palau’s son, Andrew, detailed how Billy Graham actually served as a sign for his dad, that there was a divine call on his life to enter into ministry. The film shows this divine moment, where a young Palau is listening to Graham one day on the radio, and immediately decides to dedicate his life to serving God.
“Mr. Graham gave him that vision or that confirmation by the Spirit from a distance and then later by God’s grace, Mr. Graham gave him some advice and some help that was critical along the way,” Andrew told the Christian Post.
The movie production was announced back in January, following the announcement that Palau was battling Stage 4 lung cancer. Palau first shared the news about the movie on Facebook. The video posted to his page included Argentine actor Gaston Pauls, dressed as a young Palau.
“Did you know some friends of the ministry have decided to do a movie on my life?” Palau stated on Facebook. “It’s quite surreal watching someone take on your persona and story. Please join us in praying for the movie, that it would honor the Lord and clearly share the Good News.”
Andrew Palau noted that his father had agreed to do the film before the cancer was found, adding that he was unsure if he would have had doctors found out about the cancer before.
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“We’re really lucky that he said yes to doing the movie before he got the cancer because one thing I’ve seen about him, as he approaches being closer with the Lord, is he doesn’t want people talking about himself,” Andrew said.
Andrew noted how real the movie is, giving a raw look at the Palau family as a whole.
“This movie doesn’t glorify him, it’s an honest look at how many of us … we’re all the same, we wrestle through the same battles but we also can have the same victories if we take the principles of the Bible to heart,” he said.
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When Palau first announced that he had cancer, he shared that’s it’s been an emotional time for him. He confessed that the first thing he did was cry, but that he has full faith in God.
“This is sad, I don’t feel panic or horror. If [I’m] healed, hallelujah! And many people are praying that the Lord will do a miracle. It would take literally a miracle, medically speaking,” Palau said.
Even though they received the news of the cancer shortly after the production of “Palau the Movie,” Palau is hopeful and confident that he will be here to see what happens throughout the rest of the year.
“Palau the Movie” was written and directed by Kevin Knoblock. The movie features Gaston Paul (as Palau), Alexandra Bard (as Palau’s wife, Pat), Santiago Achaga, (22-year-old Luis Palau), Agustin Amoedo (10-year-old Luis Palau), Fabian Carrasco (Palau’s father, Luis Sr.), Darren Dowler (Billy Graham) and more.
The movie will be released in both Latin America and the United States on April 6th.
For more information, visit the film’s Facebook page or official website.
(H/T: Christian Post)