Growing up isn’t a single moment. It’s a slow, uneven process of learning when to hold on and when to let go. Of realizing when to test limits, and when to practice restraint. Most of that transformation happens quietly, shaped by experience rather than instruction.

In many ways, maturity is less about what we gain and more about what we learn to carry responsibly. Attention. Trust. Purpose. The willingness to finish what we start, even when the path forward feels uncertain. And learning not to take ourselves so seriously along the way.

The films we explore this week live in that space between intention and follow-through. They reflect what it looks like to move beyond instinct and toward responsibility — whether in faith, creativity, or community.

At Plumb, we’re drawn to stories that don’t rush that process. Stories that honor growth as something earned over time, shaped by patience, sacrifice, and a clearer sense of what truly matters.

Silence becomes an act of love in this stripped-down survival thriller, where a family learns that staying alive means thinking beyond yourself. A Quiet Place isn’t just about creatures lurking in the dark — it’s about restraint, sacrifice, and unity under pressure. In moments of fear, maturity shows up not in force, but in self-control and choosing others first.

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Two restless teens spend their summer chasing relevance, the only way they know how: turning chaos into content. Determined to launch their misadventure podcast to viral fame, Marvin and Joey push every bad idea a little too far. Made for just $50,000 by first-time filmmaker Spencer Whiteout, Space Waves is a scrappy coming-of-age comedy about friendship, faith, and the awkward leap from childhood into something more grown-up.

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Making movies has a way of demanding maturity. Ideas come easily. Seeing them through does not. Somewhere between vision and completion, every filmmaker has to decide what they’re willing to carry forward and what they’re willing to release.

That tension is playing out right now with Race Car Monks, a project we previously highlighted and one that continues to take shape behind the scenes.

Producer and director Brian Shields recently shared an update as the team enters a new phase of work. Pre-production is fully underway. A primary location has been secured, negotiations with a racetrack are moving forward, and the team is preparing to shoot a proof of concept in the coming weeks. This smaller step allows departments to collaborate, solve problems early, and build alignment before committing to the full production.

It isn’t flashy progress. But it’s meaningful.

Shields often speaks about filmmaking as both craft and calling. Not every step is visible, and not every season feels rewarding. But when the work is rooted in purpose and aimed at glorifying God, growth shows up through patience, discipline, and collaboration.

Projects like this remind us that maturity isn’t about speed. It’s about moving forward with intention, trusting that careful preparation matters just as much as the finished film.

The results are in! 60% of you voted for Both feel limited in different ways in last week’s poll: How do you feel about the movies available right now?

Currently raising support for its next episode on Loor TV, Esotera is a serialized, post-apocalyptic sci-fi story by filmmaker Nick LaRovere set decades after a devastating solar flare reshaped human civilization. Told through short, episodic chapters, the series explores what survives when knowledge is lost, technology is repurposed, and hope feels fragile.

As humanity rebuilds toward its first extra-solar colony, Esotera asks a timeless question through genre: what do we carry forward when everything familiar collapses?

_{*Plumb News is not affiliated with “Esotera” or Loor TV and does not receive compensation for featuring it. We’re highlighting it because we believe stories like this deserve support.}

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” — 1 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV)

Paul’s words aren’t about rejecting childhood. They’re about recognizing growth.

He uses the shift from child to adult as a picture of spiritual maturity. Not something sudden, but something formed over time. As faith deepens, we’re invited to move beyond limited perspectives and impulsive reactions, and toward a fuller, more loving way of living.

Earlier in the chapter, Paul reminds the Corinthians that many of the things they’re focused on — knowledge, gifts, status — are partial and temporary. Love is what endures. Growing up spiritually means learning to value what lasts over what merely impresses.

Putting away childish things isn’t about losing wonder. It’s about gaining clarity — living with a faith shaped by humility and a love shaped by Christ, even while we still see only in part.

Until next time,

THE PLUMB NEWS TEAM