LDS cinema

LDS or Mormon cinema (informally Mollywood, a portmanteau of Molly Mormon and Hollywood) usually refers to films with themes relevant to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The terminology has also been used to refer to films that do not necessarily reflect Mormon themes but have been made by Mormon filmmakers. Many of these films are screened extensively within high LDS population centers such as Utah, Idaho, and Arizona and do not regularly reach mainstream viewers in other parts of the world.

LDS cinema films might be considered distinct from LDS Church movies like Legacy and Testaments, since they are commercial and not produced for teaching or proselytizing LDS doctrine. LDS cinema is usually produced and directed by Latter-day Saints. The films typically have LDS themes and are often marketed especially toward Latter-day Saints, though there has been an effort to "cross over" into more mainstream themes.

Films about Latter-day Saints are nothing new. The Church sponsored the production and release of the feature-length films One Hundred Years of Mormonism (1913) and The Life of Nephi (1914). Films about Mormons, especially lurid pulp fiction-inspired tales of hypnotic missionaries and Western pioneer stories, were a staple of the early silent, black and white film era. With films made primarily by LDS filmmakers for an LDS audience, the "LDS Cinema" movement is distinct from the broader use of Mormon characters in mainstream Hollywood films. The "LDS Cinema" movement began around 1999, when Richard Dutcher's company Zion Films released God's Army commercially. The film, which was produced on a budget of $300,000, grossed about $2.5 million at the box office and many more millions of dollars worth of video purchases. Observing the market success of God's Army, many other LDS studios began producing films.

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