Skip to content
Nonprofiteer
← MESSENGER FILMS

Form 990 for tax year 2023

Filed by MESSENGER FILMS.

Totals

Total revenue
$78,054
Total expenses
$146,054
Contributions and grants received
$64,645
Grants paid
$0
Program service revenue
$13,409
Investment income
$0
Other revenue
$0
Total assets, end of year
$947,389
Total liabilities, end of year
$91,182
Net assets or fund balances, end of year
$856,207
Program services expenses (Part IX)
$133,672
Management and general expenses
$11,649
Fundraising expenses
$733
Program service expenses (Part III)
$133,672

Program services were 91.5% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Revenue

Part VIII, the statement of revenue.

  • 1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants

    $64,645

  • 2a · Program service revenue: FILM ROYALTIES & LICEN

    total $13,409 · related or exempt $13,409

Functional expenses

Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.

  • 11g · Fees: other

    total $20,675 · program services $16,540 · management and general $4,135

  • 12 · Advertising and promotion

    total $7,420 · program services $5,936 · management and general $1,484

  • 13 · Office expenses

    total $5,397 · program services $4,317 · management and general $1,080

  • 14 · Information technology

    total $5,702 · program services $4,562 · management and general $1,140

  • 17 · Travel

    total $5,659 · program services $4,527 · management and general $1,132

  • 22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization

    total $87,077 · program services $87,077

  • 24a · Other expenses: PRODUCTION EXPENSE

    total $13,042 · program services $10,434 · management and general $2,608

  • 24b · Other expenses: FUNDRAISING - EVENTS/FE

    total $575 · fundraising $575

  • 24c · Other expenses: DUES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

    total $349 · program services $279 · management and general $70

  • 24d · Other expenses: PAYMENT PROCESSING FEES

    total $158 · fundraising $158

Balance sheet

Part X, book values.

  • 1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing

    beginning of year $37,968 · end of year $2,177

  • 10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis

    $7,062

  • 10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation

    $7,062

  • 10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net

    beginning of year $0 · end of year $0

  • 14 · Intangible assets

    beginning of year $1,032,288 · end of year $945,212

  • 17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses

    beginning of year $290 · end of year $646

  • 22 · Loans and payables to officers and key people

    beginning of year $145,759 · end of year $90,536

  • 29 · Capital stock, trust principal or current funds

    beginning of year $0 · end of year $0

  • 30 · Paid-in or capital surplus, or land, building or equipment fund

    beginning of year $0 · end of year $0

  • 31 · Retained earnings, endowment or other funds

    beginning of year $924,207 · end of year $856,207

Mission and programs · 2023

Mission

PRODUCTION OF CHRISTIAN-THEMED FILMS THAT PRESENT THE GOSPEL TO PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.

  • "FILMS OF BEAUTY, STORIES OF HOPE" IS THE MOTTO OF MESSENGER FILMS. FOUNDED IN 1988 BY CRISTOBAL KRUSEN (A GRADUATE OF THE NYU FILM SCHOOL), MESSENGER FILMS BEGAN WITH PRODUCTIONS MADE FOR THE SPANISH-SPEAKING WORLD. IN THE EARLY 2000S, MESSENGER BRANCHED INTO A TRULY GLOBAL MINISTRY WITH FEATURE FILMS PRODUCED IN AFRICA, ASIA, NORTH AMERICA, AND EUROPE. NOTEWORTHY EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE AWARD-WINNING LET ME HAVE MY SON (PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO AND DUBBED IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES), AS WELL AS FINAL SOLUTION (PRODUCED IN SOUTH AFRICA) AND SABINA K. (PRODUCED IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA).SEE ATTACHED SCHEDULE O FOR ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTION OVER THE PAST NEARLY FORTY YEARS, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT MORE THAN ONE BILLION PEOPLE HAVE SEEN A MESSENGER FILMS PRODUCTION - MOSTLY THROUGH TELEVISION BROADCASTS AND DIGITAL STREAMING PLATFORMS, BUT ALSO VIA THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION AND COMMUNITY-BASED SHOWINGS AND CHURCH SHOWINGS. CURRENT PLANS AT MESSENGER CALL FOR THE PRODUCTION OF NEW FILMS APPEALING ESPECIALLY TO "SPIRITUAL SEEKERS". OUR LATEST RELEASE IS LET ME HAVE MY SON, WHICH WAS FILMED IN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO, AND IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME AND OTHER STREAMING PLATFORMS. LET ME HAVE MY SON IS INSPIRED BY THE TRUE STORY OF A FATHER'S DESPERATE SEARCH FOR HIS MENTALLY ILL SON AND THE STRUGGLE TO RECONCILE THE TRAGEDIES OF LIFE WITH A LOVING GOD. MESSENGER FILMS EXISTS THROUGH THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF DONORS AND FRIENDS AS WELL AS DISTRIBUTION INCOME DERIVED FROM ROYALTIES AND LICENSING FEES.

    Expenses $133,672

  • MESSENGER FILMS CONTINUES TO DISTRIBUTE NARRATIVE FEATURE FILMS FROM PRIOR YEARS SUCH AS SABINA K., FINAL SOLUTION, ROPA NUEVA PARA FELIPE, AND CON QUIEN TE VAS? ALL OF THESE FILMS PRESENT BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED STORIES SHOWING GOD'S UNFAILING LOVE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS AND CULTURES.

    Revenue $13,409

As filed on the 2023 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Listed in Part VII

  • Cristobal Krusen

    PRESIDENT

    Total calculated
    $6,722
    From this org
    $6,722
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    40
  • Cheryl Krusen

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $6,000
    From this org
    $6,000
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $0
    Hours/week
    5
  • David Kithcart

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5
  • Chris Bueno

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5
  • Maggie Riffler

    DIRECTOR

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    0.5

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type
form_990
Tax year
2023
Filed
7 July 2025
IRS schema version
2023v6.0
Source object
202501889349300735

Check it against the return as filed: the GivingTuesday Data Lake hosts a public copy of the original XML.

The source document this was parsed from is served over the API, which is where bulk and document access live.