Lifemark

As a pregnant teenager, Melissa is preparing for an abortion to end her unwanted pregnancy, when at the very last minute she told the doctor, “I can’t do this.”[2] Instead, she chooses to deliver her son and place him for adoption, where he is adopted by the Colton family of Louisiana. Eighteen years later, Melissa reaches out to David through the adoption agency, leading to their connection on social media and ultimately meeting face-to-face.

Lifemark is the culmination of David Scotton's story, which he began telling in a 2011 "Louisiana Pro-Life Oratory Contest at Jesuit High School in New Orleans."[5] The story was picked up by Louisiana Right to Life, who funded the documentary film I Lived on Parker Avenue[6] for $67,000.[5] After the film's release, Scotton spent his time "visiting Catholic high schools across the country, appearing on national television, showing the film to members of Congress and telling just about all who would listen about the adoption alternative."[5] While the Kendrick Brothers intended to tell a pro-life story, they started adapting the story in 2019; executive producer Stephen Kendrick attributed the post-Dobbs release of the project to providential timing.[7] Both Stephen Kendrick[8] and Cameron have adopted children, and Cameron's wife was herself adopted,[9] which both cite as a motivation for their involvement with this film. Cameron publicly promoted the film and explained his motivation in a speech at the 2022 March for Life.[10] Bloomberg noted that Cameron "acknowledged adoption doesn’t always work as well as portrayed" in the film.[11]

Lifemark is the Kendrick brothers' eighth film, the fifth through their subsidiary Kendrick Brothers Productions, their first adaptation of a true story,[7] and their first film since Flywheel not to be distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Their initial five films were created under Sherwood Pictures.[12] Kirk Cameron approached the Kendricks, with whom he had previously worked on Fireproof, to produce the movie after seeing David's story depicted in I Lived on Parker Avenue.[9] For the time jump, the filmmakers chose to use two sets of actors to play David's birth parents, while de-aging techniques to depict David's adoptive parents.[13] "Kirk Cameron looks like a 50-year-old and a (roughly) 30-year-old – all in the same film," Crosswalk.com observed.[14] Coles was involved in the creative process, being invited by the producers to help evaluate actresses who would play her,[15] and Long subsequently spent time with Coles preparing for the role.[4] A novelization by Chris Fabry (ISBN 978-1496461278) was released by Tyndale House approximately one month before the film's release.[16]

Alex Kendrick said that they could not secure distribution because the film concerned abortion,[11] which Cameron attributed to studios' cowardice.[17] In an interview with Baptist Press, executive producer Stephen Kendrick noted that "Lifemark doesn’t focus in on the dark side of abortion, it focuses in on the positive beautiful side of adoption."[8] Anti-abortion organizations such as Live Action have used the film as a jumping off point to criticize abortion.[18]

Lifemark was released September 9, 2022, through Fathom Events, for a planned one-week engagement.[19][8] It had its New Orleans premiere on August 28.[20] On September 15, 2022, it was announced that the film's theatrical run would be extended for another week.[21]

• Official website
• Lifemark at IMDb
• Lifemark at Rotten Tomatoes