DOCUTAH screens “Father’s Kingdom” about man who claimed to be God

DOCUTAH screens “Father’s Kingdom” about man who claimed to be God

By Jules Feiler

The DOCUTAH Film Festival has announced its slate of films to be shown during this year’s documentary festival. One of those films is the highly anticipated entry by respected filmmaker Lenny Feinberg (“Art of the Steal,” “Black and White and Dead All Over”). “Father’s Kingdom” is scheduled for its Utah premier Sept. 4 at 10:20 a.m. and Sept. 5, at 4:50 p.m. with a Q&A following the screening.

In “Father’s Kingdom,” Feinberg, a Philadelphia native, tells the story of an African-American man named Reverend M.J. Divine who began a religious movement that would reach over a million followers at its peak in the early 1900s, crossing racial divisions and advocating for gender and economic equality.

As it unfolds, Feinberg reveals Divine’s fascinating story and that of his last few remaining followers, over 50 years after Divine’s death, who are on a mission to keep his legacy alive. This powerful story is about those few remaining faithful living in an enormous gothic-style mansion on 70 acres on Philadelphia’s main line who still believe that Father Divine is God.

Despite his influence and great achievements, Father Divine is little remembered today, dismissed by detractors as a con man and a fraud. The reason? Father Divine claimed to be God.

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