Just For Joy: August, 2021
Malakai Films
This month our Just For Joy Recipient is Malakai Films.
Malakai Films is a video production company based in North Carolina founded by Levi Vaagenes. Levi focuses on small-crew filmmaking and uses his craft to tell human stories that impact peoples’ lives.
Levi Vaagenes shooting on location.
“There is something really special about getting to create work that evokes different emotions in people” ,
He told me when I asked him what it was that inspired him to make films.
It’s not filmmaking alone that he is passionate about, (although his skill and artistry prove his passion and dedication to the craft without a doubt) it’s seeing people’s lives changed by watching others’ stories unfold before them in a beautifully captured film.
One of Malakai Film’s slogans is “Your story is worth telling”, and this core philosophy fuels Levi’s work and creative decisions.
In our conversation he said,
“Everyone has a story. What I love about documentary filmmaking specifically, is that it takes seemingly mundane stories and it gets it out to more people. What might be mundane to some can be life-changing to someone else.”
Levi’s first feature length documentary, VICTORY - A Journey From Death To Life, is a story about perseverance and faith in the face of incredible odds. It follows the story of Spencer Wilson, a young man diagnosed with cancer who clings to his faith and sees the odds beaten.
In a description of the documentary Wilson writes,
Levi shooting a scene with Spencer Wilson for VICTORY - A Journey From Death To Life
“On June 1st of 2020, this word pierced me to the core of my being. As I was meditating in silence I felt the LORD whisper this word straight into my heart, followed by a vision. I saw myself running a marathon and my best friend [Levi Vaagenes - Malakai Films CEO] documenting the whole training process. I felt I was supposed to share my story in its fullness - cancer, depression, lymphedema, infertility, faith - and embark on the journey of running a marathon. After not running for the better part of five years as a result of health complications, I had my fears, questions and reservations. "Why a marathon? I don't even like running. Am I even capable of running that far with lymphedema?" Every great dream is met with great uncertainty. But deep within I knew that oftentimes the 'why' behind the calling isn’t revealed until after the faith in the word has been lived out. This documentary is my way of living out the faith in the word [VICTORY] God spoke to me.”
Levi has many dreams for the future of Malakai Films and for continuing to tell stories that impact people.
When I asked him how making VICTORY helped him grow as a creative he shared,
“One of the biggest ways I’ve grown is in letting go of control of a project and letting others into my creative process. Collaboration and teamwork are hard, but worth it. You can go so much farther with a team than by yourself.”
We are proud and excited to partner with Levi and invest in his small business as he continues the meaningful work of telling human stories.
VICTORY premiered in front of a sold out audience at the Sunset Theatre in downtown Asheboro on August 19th and is available to watch for free at VICTORY - A Journey From Death To Life.
To learn more about Malakai Films and the work Levi is doing, visit malakaifilms.com
And follow @victory.documentary on Instagram for a behind the scenes look into the film.
With the help of this community we were able to give $1,200 to Malakai Films. Thank you!
-The Table
Article written by Nate Allen.
Quotations attributed to Levi Vaagenes and malakaifilms.com.
Quote from Spencer Wilson sourced from eventbrite.com/victorydocumentary.