The Grandfathers

Title: THE GRANDFATHERS
Producer: EthnoGraphic Media
2011
UPC: 8 94684 00204 3
Genre: Anthropology

THE GRANDFATHERS is a film about a young man’s struggle with his heritage. This DVD completes the triology that includes End of the Spear and Beyond the Gates of Splendor. These films tell the unforgettable and inspiring story of the killing of five missionaries by a stone-age tribe deep in the Amazon jungle. The impact of this tragic event lives on today in families of these slain men as well as among those responsible for their deaths.

Steve Saint consulted with Jim Hanon (director) and Matt Green (producer) to help bring the story of Nate to life through the feature End of the Spear and the companion documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor. These films traced the events leading up to and including the death of these men. But even more than that, they showed the impact the events played on the lives of both their survivors and their killers.

When the widows and their children went to live among the Waodani—a tribe regarded as the most violent on earth—the became an integral part of an incredible redemptive journey.

THE GRANDFATHERS showcases both the burden and benefit of the Saint family’s legacy. Jesse Saint, Steve’s oldest son and Nate’s grandson, was not raised among the tribe. He struggles to find his place under the weight of a famous grandfather he never knew and a heroic father he doesn’t understand. This changes when Jesse travels to the jungles of Ecuador with his family and forms a special bond with Micaye—one of the tribesmen who took part in the murder of his grandfather. On then does Jesse come to grips with his family’s past and his own destiny.

I was raised with the story of these five missionaries. My mother and aunt knew one of the men who went down there and were murdered, and later were shocked when their wives returned there to continue the work the husbands had begun. So this story has always been a part of me. I was interested in hearing Jesse’s story, and the film-making really brought this remote area of Ecuador to life. I could see the animals, plants and people native to the area and their way of life.

If you are interested in this continuing story of the five murdered missionaries and the impact it has on the subsequent generations, then you will want to watch THE GRANDFATHERS. This is a family approved film, safe for all ages. As Hanon states: Forgiveness is an awe-inspiring virtue that seems to have been passed on by the Saint family and is shared by many among the Waodani tribe—both demonstrate a profound capacity for forgiveness and healthy self-healing.” This film has been awarded The Dove Foundation seal of approval.