From Working on “The Blair Witch Project” to Now “The Jesus Tapes”: Louise Levison Sees New Potential in Found Footage
Film finance consultant for the 1999 cultural phenomenon weighs in on her latest work with controversial independent
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Film finance consultant for the 1999 cultural phenomenon weighs in on her latest work with controversial independent film, opening Oct. 9
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / October 2, 2026 / Louise Levison knows what an unlikely found-footage film can become. Her business plan helped secure financing for “The Blair Witch Project,” which became one of the most successful independent films of all time. Now, as a creative and financial consultant on “The Jesus Tapes,” she sees promise in a film that uses the same storytelling format to ask a very different question:
What if a man claiming to be Jesus appeared on television today?
Atlas Distribution Company will open “The Jesus Tapes” Oct. 9 in select theaters in the Palm Beach area, Palm Springs, Philadelphia and Knoxville. Presented as recovered recordings, the film follows a skeptical television host who interviews a mysterious guest claiming to be Jesus. Audiences are left to decide who he is.
“Over the years I’ve been pitched countless variations of found footage films, but this one hits hard with an original premise and important message,” Levison wrote in the August/September issue of The Film Entrepreneur. “It really redefines and pushes the boundaries of the genre by incorporating real-life characters and events in a more traditional three-act story structure while staying true to the found footage category.”
Writer-director Rick Pamplin first conceived the project in 1977. Nearly five decades later, the finished film places words drawn from Scripture in a modern television interview, inviting viewers to wrestle with the questions the host asks and the answers he receives.
“Only one person attended world premieres of The Blair Witch Project and The Jesus Tapes. I was that person,” continued Levison. “Based upon audience reaction I witnessed, I believe lightning can strike twice with this newest found-footage movie.”
Levison, Pamplin and award-winning Hollywood producer Scott duPont are available for interviews about the film, its nearly 50-year journey to the screen and its approach to found-footage storytelling.
For trailers, theater information and release updates, visit JesusTapesMovie.com.
Media contact:
Heidi McDow & Associates
Heidi@and-associates.com
214-679-3409
SOURCE: The Jesus Tapes
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