Our Story

Hollywood won’t make this project because they have financial interests in many countries where religious persecution is institutionalized, so we need your help!

By the time you finish reading this sentence, another person will become a refugee. They will join more than 70 million others who have been displaced from their homes. Most have fled to avoid persecution for their religious beliefs. They are forced into exile, fleeing harassment, torture, murder and rape. Their story deserves to be shared with the world.

Our host, former Congressman Tom Garrett, was one of the original cast members on my Facebook Watch series The Swamp, before it was acquired by HBO. Tom’s passion for helping religious exiles and his knowledge of the regional dynamics is evident after a brief conversation. As an Army soldier, he served in Bosnia in 1997, helping to protect young Muslim children. As a first-term Member of Congress, he was instrumental in getting Sudan to release Christian pastors from prison and in bringing their families to the United States. He connected them with churches in his district to help them create a new start in America and practice their beliefs without fear of imprisonment.

In the spring of 2018, I received a text message that Tom had publicly announced his battle with alcoholism and would not seek reelection in order to focus on recovery. He is now approaching 4 years sober and is determined to turn his experience into a positive. Most people in Tom’s position would take a 6 month vacation and then become a highly-paid lobbyist. Tom wants to travel to some of the most dangerous places on earth to tell the stories of those who are persecuted for their faith.

 During his final months in office, he flew to Iraq and drove into Syria, without US security, to tour places ravaged by the Islamic State and met the individuals who suffered there. He met with Kurdish, Arab, and Christian militias on the frontlines in the fight against ISIS. He refused repeated requests from the Department of Defense and White House to leave for his own safety.

 When he returned, he retold the stories of the survivors, prompting many conversations about the global crisis of religious persecution. I have always been an avid follower of current events, but until I saw their pictures and heard their stories, I didn’t truly understand how many believers around the world were at risk. In 2019, the UK announced that Christian persecution around the world is approaching genocide levels. Nearly 340 million Christians are at risk of persecution and an estimated 15 are killed everyday for their faith. Elsewhere, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists face unimaginable harassment.

It is time the world paid attention.

We have a duty to tell this story. Our goal is to travel to the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas to expose this global hatred and to support the people suffering under it. We hope that you will join us.

Thank you,

Matt Whitworth

Goal of the Series

• We can shed light on hardships through unprecedented access to conflict zones around the world.
• We can bring a balanced and educated perspective though conversations with victims, religious leaders, subject-matter experts, world leaders on the front lines of these conflicts.
• We can help promote groups on the ground working to save lives and provide aid.
• We can push governments to make changes to protect religious and ethnic minorities. 
•  This will be the definitive film about religious persecution.

We need your help to make this happen.

What We Need

Reaching our goal will allow us to produce a first-class documentary feature. Your contribution will pay for:

• Armed Security personnel, travel/lodging, Kidnap/Ransom/Evacuation insurance, 2 cinematographers, 1 Assistant Camera, Story Producer, Field Producer, Director, editing team, sound and color correction, archival footage, VFX motion graphics, custom music and open title sequence, just to name a few. Making a world-class documentary film on the level of Netflix or HBO is very expensive. 
• This is an unprecedented series and the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

The Impact

• Engage the world in addressing this crisis.
• Profile nonprofits and NGOs on the ground in these countries who are directly helping victims.
• Establish a platform to expand future opportunities to keep this issues front and center in world politics. 

Risks & Challenges

Many of the countries we will travel in are very dangerous for Westerners. We rely on local fixers, many of whom operate in the shadows because helping us puts them at risk. Our biggest risk is access to these countries, but we have been planning this production for over a year, and have established trusted connections around the world to pull this off. However, there are still many risks:

• If we do not achieve the minimum goal, this puts the future success of this project in jeopardy.
• This limits the opportunity to speak to a global audience. 
• Our personal safety is at risk if we can’t pay for our preventative security measures.

Other Ways You Can Help

• Follow us on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)
• Share this campaign with your friends, family, religious groups!
• Want to interview us? Great! press@exileseries.com  
• Want to email us? We’d love to hear from you! hey@exileseries.com

And that’s all there is to it! Thank you for taking the time to look at our campaign. If you have any questions or comments please let us know so we can make this project a success.