Earlier this year, iZombie fans could be forgiven for not knowing that Rahul Kohli (The Haunting of Bly Manor) and Malcolm Goodwin (American Gangster) came together again for a new feature film, directed by Goodwin, alongside The Flash‘s Tom Cavanagh. The film, titled Be The Light, is “the story of a down and out girl, Celina, who tries to make amends with and save her dying father. To do this, she sparks a musical movement that will save her family in the most beautiful of ways, they’ll believe again,” according to its official synopsis. And despite its title and Goodwin’s past directorial efforts, it isn’t an explicitly faith-based movie, nor is it a sequel to Pass the Light, a 2015 film Goodwin helmed.
The pair are of a piece, though, and the title mirroring was clearly intentional. They also bookended Goodwin’s five-year run on iZombie, with Pass the Light being edited during the first season, while pre-production on Be the Light was happening as the final season wrapped.
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“Most of my memories is Malcolm being in his makeshift laboratory in Vancouver, putting the movie together,” Kohli told ComicBook.com of the final season. “So, both those films, it was like a soundtrack of iZombie.”
The film is meant as a heartwarming, inspirational story about hope and redemption — themes that Goodwin couldn’t have guessed would be so pressing when he was making the movie.
“I think it’s perfect timing, and obviously we were unaware that we would be living in the state of social unrest that we’re in right now, and these characters’ perseverance and they’re dealing with social issues, dealing with prejudice, aligns with so many things happening today, and it’s redemptive, and it’s a feel-good movie,” Goodwin explained. “So, I do think it’s interesting how it kind of connects and correlates to what’s happening right now, and yeah, I think it’s the perfect time. I just want to give people hope. That’s what these characters in this film have. They have a lot of hope, and they don’t give up.”
As for Kohli? Well, he has a small role (that isn’t even credited on his IMDb page, as far as we can tell), but it’s a lot of fun and, as a womanizing ass, he plays against type for sure.
“I’ve been pigeon-holed in Hollywood as a sweetheart, so it was nice to be someone different,” Kohli admitted. “I don’t even know if that role was specific to me. I have unwavering loyalty to Malcolm and for everything he does. When this was at the very early stages, I threw my hat into the ring for any way in which I could help, whether it was in front of the camera or behind the camera, and that was the role that we landed on. I was there for a couple of days, but I wasn’t around the production a lot. But that’s my thing with Malc. I think he’s one of the most talented individuals I’ve ever met, and he’s also one of my best friends. Yeah, he has me on speed dial for everything, so there’s no questions asked.”
Be the Light is available to rent or buy on streaming video on demand platforms now. For you physical media aficionados, you can snag it on DVD as well.
