New Faith Film NO VACANCY Highlights One Church’s Fight to Combat Homelessness

LEESBURG, Fla. (September 20, 2022) — Kingstone Studios announces the streaming debut of NO VACANCY on SalemNOW beginning September 23. An inspirational motion picture for the whole family, and based on a true story, the film follows a jaded reporter who finds her cynicism slowly transformed when she covers a news story about a church struggling to purchase a motel for homeless families, befriending an addict in the process.

Starring Dean Cain (GOD’S NOT DEAD, “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”), T.C. Stallings (COURAGEOUS, WAR ROOM) and Sean Young (DUNE, BLADE RUNNER), NO VACANCY had a successful theatrical debut nationwide through Fathom Events, as the #3 highest per screen average and #10 overall domestic box office on its release day.

Pre-order NO VACANCY today by visiting SalemNOW here or for more information, visit https://novacancymovie.com/.

“The team at SalemNOW is very excited to bring NO VACANCY into the homes of families everywhere,” said Rob Ellis, General Manager of SalemNOW. “We believe this film will inspire others to make a difference and bring hope to their own community.”

“This motion picture is very close to the true events,” said screenwriter, producer and pastor Art Ayris. “After a number of local and even international news networks covered what our church was doing to help the homeless, we discovered we had a very unique story to tell. Our church is used to trying to do the impossible, so we made a film.”

Speaking powerfully to homelessness and addiction, the film sends a message to the Church about what’s possible when you trust in God, even in the worst circumstances. Not only did First Baptist Leesburg, the church portrayed in the movie, actually purchase a motel for homeless families, now called the Samaritan Inn, they also built a medical clinic for the indigent which is now staffed by 50 doctors and 8 dentists and has a 16-bed addiction facility for women, a 30-bed addiction facility for men, a pregnancy resource center and a free counseling center. They give away 15 tons of food every week to the needy in their community.

“While not every church can do this, we can all do something,” says Ayris. “This true-to-life motion picture portrays the immense struggles and subsequent miracles that followed, and our hope is this movie spurs others to recognize what is possible when we trust God with what seems to be the impossible.”

NO VACANCY is available for church exhibition as well, with resources available as part of their “Welcome to Hope” campaign including a Bible Study and an idea sheet titled 101 Ways to Impact Your Community. For more information, visit https://novacancymovie.com/#events and follow on social media at @novacancymovie.

FILM SYNOPSIS

News reporter Brandi Michaels finds the 2007 economic and housing collapse in central Florida an apt metaphor for her turbulent life. If a looming divorce and her mother’s Alzheimer’s were not enough, her journalistic dreams are devastated when she is demoted from Orlando to a rural outpost. But when her editor sends Brandi to cover a story on a church struggling to purchase a motel for homeless families during the Great Recession, she finds her cynical news persona challenged as she encounters Cecil, a winsome former drug addict, and sees for herself the selfless and epic struggle of the church as it seeks to take care of the homeless in their community. Her coverage of the story eventually helps the church overcome the opposition to acquire the motel and also plays a role in Brandi’s personal redemption as she witnesses first-hand the stories of all those involved. Her article becomes an award-winning piece, serving as a catalytic model to helping homeless families in other communities, and gives her the journalistic impact she had craved all along. Based on the true story of First Baptist Leesburg, Cecil Johnson and the Samaritan Inn.

Photo courtesy: ©Kingstone Studios, used with permission.

About Kingstone Studios

Kingstone Studios is a central Florida comic, film and animation company with numerous awards including Best Feature Florida Film and Television, Best Feature Angel Awards and Best Feature Independents Film Festival. Their publishing vertical Kingstone Comics published the Kingstone Bible, which was a finalist for the Christian Book of the Year in the Children’s Category.

Source