Former student of Liberty University Mwita Chacha hit the big screens with his recent release of a feature-length documentary following a local missionary in Indonesia.
Chacha directed the film “To the Ends” with a small crew in Bali. He said that while they only spent 15 days filming, it took a year of preparation and another 18 months of post-production. This is the second feature-length documentary Chacha has directed.
“I think kind of the goal of this story on its own is just, it’s really a story of inspiration,” Chacha said.
“To the Ends” was created in partnership with Advancing Native Missions, a missionary organization that encourages, equips and advocates for native missionaries around the world for strategic and fruitful ministry. The organization introduces the gospel to unreached people groups. Chacha also had help on the project from Liberty alumni and faculty.
Chacha grew up in southern Virginia, but his father is from Tanzania, where he founded a nonprofit. This was when Chacha gained his first experiences in filmmaking and storytelling. Chacha later attended Liberty, studying business from 2009 to 2011 prior to starting a production company.
“I’m telling stories for small international nonprofits,” Chacha said. “Like that’s not, on paper, (a) really a good way to make a living, but I’ve been able to make it work and partner with really cool people.”
Chacha said he is incredibly fulfilled and motivated by the outcome of the films he makes.
According to Chacha, he was originally connected to Advancing Native Missions through a friend from Liberty, and they had the goal with this documentary to share their impact by highlighting a native missionary. He said Advancing Native Missions has worked in over 100 countries. It took several months for them to find the right missionary to focus the film on.
“Bali was a place that … they were reaching out to totally unreached people groups,” Chacha said. “Bali itself is only 1% Christian, and then we traveled to a surrounding island called Lombok.”
Chacha said the region of Bali is primarily Hindu, while Lombok is primarily Muslim.
The heart of “To the Ends” focuses on Chandra, a local pastor, Chandra’s wife and the students at their Bible school. The film shows the long-term impact of the work that Chandra and his wife have been doing, all culminating with the students’ graduation.
Chacha said “To the Ends” stands out from other missionary documentaries because it is real-time storytelling instead of a historical recap. He said that this was one of the risks going into production because they didn’t know how it was going to turn out.
Another challenge that Chacha’s team faced was the language barrier. Chacha said there was about 20 hours of footage that all needed to be translated. Without the budget to pay American prices for translation, Chacha said they relied on local resources.
“I didn’t ever want to put anything out there that I didn’t feel like was the real deal and that was a big fear as well,” Chacha said. “But just seeing Chandra’s heart and getting to connect with people — it just really built up my faith.”
Churches and small groups can sign up to host a movie night through the documentary’s website. Chacha said they are in ongoing discussions about wider distribution with streaming platforms.
“It’s not the same as going and being in Bali for 15 days,” Chacha said. “But with an hour of commitment, you can see a lot.”
Dewall is a feature reporter for The Liberty Champion