Guatemala

After seeing them bounce from location to location, Shawn Smith of Now is the Time Mission reached out to the crew to see if they could come down to Guatemala to cover him using mobile podcasting in the remote village of Antigua where he uses his podcasts to help raise funds to rebuild the villages in that area.

Shawn generously used his airline miles to get Niel Guilarte and Saulo Zayas to Guatemala!

John Dennis of Podcaster’s Hangout and a producer on the film decided to re-arrange his calendar and join the crew in Guatemala. It was a transformational experience for all who participated.

Producer’s note: If you’ve noticed that this is the first time Saulo is mentioned, there’s a reason for that. He was our original editor, but was cut from the crew for reasons that would shock you. You can hear how the entire drama went down in The Messengers Podcast at TheMessengersDoc.com.

Behind-The-Scenes Trivia

The Motel from Hell

In an attempt to put as much of the project’s budget into the film itself, Chris Krimitsos booked the crew in what has to be the worst motel in all the Florida Keys – a glorified houseboat which Niel Guilarte described as a “floating roach motel” and where Willie Harper discovered a used condom under his sheets. Thanks to the crew’s shared dedication to (and willingness to sacrifice for) the film, they actually bonded over the squalid accommodations and were well-prepared for the adversities they would face later in the shoot.