A heart-rending new short created by Christian human rights activists, “Sing a Little Louder,” was launched today on Youtube. We decided to interview its Executive Producer, Jason Scott Jones, about what the film means and what it calls on us to do.

Zmirak: “Sing a Little Louder” is a short film you helped produce. What is it about, and why did you get involved with it?

Jones: The film was written elegantly by Tiana Wiles, directed by the immensely talented Jeremy Wiles and co-executive-produced by the gifted Royce Hood. It is based on a real historical incident, recalled by an elderly German from his childhood. It depicts a church full of Christians worshiping on a Sunday, located near the railroad tracks. A train passes by, full of victims headed for the death camps. There’s a problem on the tracks, and the worshipers can hear the moaning and screaming from the train — and they have no idea what to do. To find out what they decide to do, you’ll have to watch the film. Believe me, you’re not going to forget it.

Zmirak: What sort of reactions have you gotten from the film at screenings?

Jones: People often come up to me following the film and tell me what they would have done in the same situation — how they would have tried to save the doomed Jews in the train cars. I listen patiently, then in all sincerity I posed them a few questions:

• What are you doing to protect preborn children from the violence of abortion?
• What steps have you taken to help Christians facing genocide in the Middle East?
• How often do you reach out to your neighbors without homes?
• So I am guessing you often visit those in prison. …

I am usually underwhelmed by their responses. We live in a culture of death, of blasé disregard for the sacred image of God that is the human person. We shrug, maybe send out a Tweet.

Zmirak: Do you think our situation is really parallel with that of Germans living under Hitler?

Jones: No, not at all. They were subject to a totalitarian dictatorship with an efficient secret police. We are free. We have the power to organize, to speak out, to vote. We can amend our Constitution to protect the child in the womb from violence. We can lobby our representatives to focus on Christian refugees from religious persecution, to confront ISIS in its territory and fight Islamists worldwide. We can buy the DVD of this film, which gives non-profits the license for unlimited public screenings, and use this powerful tool to open up hearts.

The question is: Do we really have the will and fortitude to rise to the challenge? Are we willing to make the human person a priority?

Zmirak: Why did you get involved with this particular film?

Jones: Because I believe it can wake the church up. God has given us all the grace we need to transform our culture and change our laws. All we need to do is conform our life to that grace … to pray, sacrifice and to work and to work and to work.

Zmirak: How are you working on this cause?

Jones: Based on my experience working on films like Bella, Crescendo, and The Stoning of Soraya M., I saw that there was a deep hunger in the culture for works of art that affirm the truth about the human person—that even crushed by suffering and deformed by sin, it was created by God and redeemed by Jesus, and we need to love and protect each and every person as what Mother Teresa called “the image of God, sometimes in distressing disguise.”

So I founded Movie to Movement, one of two programs of The Human Rights Education & Relief Organization. Our other major program is IamWholeLife.com. The mission of Movie to Movement is to use the power of film to promote the incomparable beauty and dignity of the human person. We do this by producing our own films and by teaching other non-profit groups how to harness the power of Hollywood feature films, to share our world view and advance their missions of mercy.

Zmirak: What was the organization that created “Sing a Little Louder”?

Jones: A really powerful group called Catholic Witnesses. Look up its mission statement. It’s simple and beautiful. First, they have the Nicene Creed, the faith statement that brings all Christians together. Then they say:

Catholic Witnesses is a non-profit organization that encourages Christians to face the pressing social issues of our day with the eyes of faith, drawing inspiration and courage from Jesus Christ in order to spread His truth and love to a world in need of Him.

Zmirak: The sponsors had been using the film to raise funds in the past. Why did they decide to release the film free on the Internet now?

Jones: Just watch the news. The human person is getting hammered every day, from ISIS’s killing fields in Iraq to Planned Parenthood’s clinics in America. The film makers wanted as many people as possible to view the film, share it with their friends, and change people’s hearts. I hope that everyone who reads this will watch the film, then stop to offer a prayer for the most endangered human beings on earth right now: the forgotten child in the womb, the victims of terrorism, the Christians driven from their homes and threatened with rape, torture, and death for clinging to the saving name of Jesus. Then I hope they will share the film widely, let it loose like a fire upon the earth.

This article has been updated.