A thrilling movie about revenge and forgiveness made by Christian producers is now available on TV screens for passengers flying on four major international airlines in the Middle East.
Called ‘Toxic’, the Arabic language movie will help passengers consider the core value of forgiveness, which is at the heart of the gospel, although the film is not expressedly Christian.
Toxic uses actors from the Middle East and it is based on true life stories. The main plot concerns a rejected woman oppressed because of her physical appearance, a man witnessing his father’s murder at the hands of religious fanatics and a woman enduring persecution.
"Each one realizes revenge cannot heal... forgiveness is the way to overcome the harm done to them," said the film’s producer, John Adly.
The film is now featured in the in-flight playlists for Emirates, Qatar Airways, Saudi Airlines, and Kuwait Airways.
Emirates is the national airline of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and operates almost 2,000 flights from Dubai International Airport each week, one of the world's busiest travel hubs. In 2022-23, the airline carried more than 43 million passengers — a huge potential audience, according to Maged Mounir, executive director of SAT-7 in Egypt, which served as a main location for the film shoot.
"This means many more people will be introduced to the film's message about the power of forgiveness," said Mounir.
Toxic represents the first feature film by the SAT-7, which usually runs a Christian satellite television network, and was produced in partnership with the Norwegian Mission Society. The ministry normally broadcasts free-of-charge programs bringing the hope of the gospel on satellite television and online streaming channels in the Middle East and North Africa - a region where 96 percent of people are not Christians.
The film’s producers say they want passengers on the airplane flights to take an interest in other programs broadcast by SAT-7 in local languages, including Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Tajik and Dari.
Typical programs involve TV presenters discussing topical issues such as domestic violence and responding to queries by viewers about Christianity.
In March, Christian Daily International interviewed Rami Al Halaseh, Arabic Channels Executive Director of SAT-7, about the challenges of ministering in the Middle East.
Halaseh, imploring believers to pray for viewers of the SAT-7 programs, said the focus of the ministry was “bringing the message of hope” to people living in the region.
“Our focus is on making God's love visible through our programs,” he said. “It's unique because it's being done by the people of the region: people from the Middle East speaking to people in the Middle East.”
SAT-7 was launched in 1996, headquartered in Cyprus, with a mission “to make the gospel available to everyone, and support the church in its life, work and witness for Christ.”
