A Harsh But Hopeful DVD

Gritty scenes of despair and struggle and stories of hope fill the film "Reparando," a documentary on Guatemala's effort to repair itself and its people following a 36-year civil war.

The 70-minute feature film depicts difficult conditions in Guatemala and yet is a story of restoration and hope.

Premieres of the film in Grand Rapids, Mich., Nashville, Tenn., and Guatemala brought in more than 3,500 people, who watched sold-out screenings in theaters, schools, colleges and churches this fall.

The trailer for the documentary shows quick-shot images of leaflets falling from the sky, crowds of people fleeing the police, tattoos on the back of a gang member in Guatemala City, a man playing with his family, and the "Doll Lady" picking the arm of a baby doll from the garbage in a dump.

The film is now for sale as a DVD, which can be purchased for $20 here: Reparando.

Eighty percent of proceeds from the DCD sale will fund micro-enterprise initiatives, which focus on helping people start businesses so that they can lift themselves out of poverty.

Makers of the film have already been able to invest in several micro-enterprise projects including:

• Helping to start a store that will subsidize school supplies to impoverished children in a "red-zone".
• Repairing equipment and providing materials for ex-gang members in Guatemala who make shoes and clothing.
• Funding Micro-Enterprise for residents near the dump (like Maria "The Doll Lady").

The 2011 goals for Micro-Enterprise include:

• Providing start-up capital for a bakery at Shorty's Rehab Center that will provide job skills for rehab members as well as funding for operating costs.
• Selling jewelry made by women at a shelter for victims of domestic abuse which will provide job skills for shelter members as well as funding for operating costs.

Filmed with the support of Joel and Marilyn Van Dyke, Christian Reformed World Missions missionaries stationed in Guatemala City, Scott and Amelia Moore spent more than two years gathering footage and doing interviews for the documentary.

Weaving through the stories in Reparando are people and ministries who are a core part of the work of CRWM and Strategies for Transformation, an organization dedicated to bringing Christ’s love and an end to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Reparando seeks to lift some of these stories up and place them before the world "as examples of God’s scandalous and magnificent grace leading to amazing transformation in very hard places," says Van Dyke.

The film was produced and directed by the Tennessee-based Athentikos (meaning "authentic" in Greek), whose founders, Scott and Amelia Moore, have adopted two children from Guatemala.

During their trips to Guatemala in the process of adopting their boys, they were exposed to Guatemala City and the network ministries … through their relationship with the Van Dykes.

As a result of vision captured during those visits, Athentikos was born and has become a team of media professionals and volunteers who produce inspirational stories for viewers including individuals and organizations responding to needs (www.athentikos.com).