Night Life wins Leon Award for Best Documentary Film

Night Life: Ministering through Movies

Rev. Dierdre’ Parker- Rowson Entertainment_Arts@StarofZion.org

St. Louis, Missouri November 13, 2022

In our October issue we brought you the story of Zion’s own Rev. Kenneth McKoy and his street ministry, Night Life, operating in St. Louis Missouri’s toughest neighborhood. We also brought you the livestream event with Rev. McKoy and Seth Ferranti the director of the film. For his directorial debut, Ferranti was looking for a local story and was led to Rev. McKoy. The movie is the result of two years’ worth of filming and three years of editing.

The space that this movie resides in is the cracks between which too many Americans fall. These cracks between needs and the means to meet them, fractures lives in varying degrees. Many of those affected are left with little or no hope, and no help. Rev. Kenneth McKoy works to fill the cracks with Night Life Ministry.

The documentary is an unfiltered look at Rev. McKoy’s daily life; the work of one person who answered the call to do more in his community. It follows the ministry and the minister as they work to find the niche that will fill in the cracks. The film is shot with raw honesty, that is at times gut wrenching, heartwarming and even frightening. This type of ministry is not for the faint of heart, as this documentary shows, with the constant background noise of gunfire. It could serve as a framework for those who are called to minister in this way.

Ferranti uses animation to tell some of the back story. This is an interesting choice that almost lightens the mood of the movie but not in a way that is condescending or demeaning.

The film has begun its rounds to various film festivals and was honored with Audience Choice and Leon Award for Best Documentary at the St. Louis International Film Festival. When asked how he felt about the win, Rev. McKoy replied, “I’m still in shock! We went up against fifty films!”

We at Star of Zion pray that God would continue to use Rev. McKoy, Mr. Ferranti and this film to make a difference in the lives of those of God’s children who slip through the cracks in these streets.

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