Damaged Goods officially premiered at Lyric Theater in Lexington, KY. On Friday, Oct. 1, the film written by Doug Smart, co-directed by Asbury alumna Katie Oostman ‘15, with cinematography done by Sarah Hogencamp, hit the screen.
People filed into a dimly lit theater, the likes of which many hadn’t seen since March 2020. There was an air of anticipation as people involved in the film, Asbury students and faculty alike, waited for the film to begin. Everyone had read the synopsis; they had an idea of what they were getting into, but no one could predict just how powerful this film would prove to be.
“C.S. Lewis once wrote that he was attracted to Christian authors who wrote of the ‘roughness and density of life,’” Asbury President Dr. Kevin Brown said. “Life can be complex, dark, and ugly. Damaged Goods is a story written and produced in this stream. It is gritty, powerful, realistic and hopeful all at once.”
Damaged Goods follows a young woman named Amanda as she navigates her mundane life characterized by trauma from her father as a child. When she learns that her father, whom she has not seen in years, needs a liver transplant to live, she has a choice to make. Will she save her abuser, or will she let him die?
Throughout the film, Amanda finds herself in the frequent company of Pastor Claire, who has a sizable impact on Amanda’s healing journey. Damaged Goods is a film about redemption, which doesn’t always mean forgiveness, but closure on moving forward.
“It was important to us to make a faith-based film that wasn’t necessarily about the salvation moment,” Oostman said. “While that is incredible and beautiful… It was essential to us to show the struggle that can sometimes lead up to that moment [of salvation] and how frustrating healing can sometimes be.”
Damaged Goods did precisely that. At its climax, the redemption moment, sniffles echoed throughout the theater as people wept for the characters in this film. With its emphasis on long-lasting and seemingly irredeemable pain, this film resonated with its audience because of its excruciating relatability. The cast and crew believe that films like Damaged Goods with such heavy topics are hard to watch and make but are important because they leave lasting impressions. Everyone, to them, needs exposure to the horror of reality and the hope to find out how to get through it.
