A Festival of Films pt. 2

Out of 50 films at the festival, many of which were feature length 2-hour productions, there was no way we could watch them all, but we did manage to get around and see quite a few! Here is the detailed description of our experience at the festival. For more information or to view pictures/summaries, go to http://www.independentchristianfilms.org/

Thursday afternoon:

~ Viewed two documentaries about home schooling:
1. Exposing the Trojan Horse
2. The Rock From Which We Were Hewn
Both of these films were very well done. I came away with a much deeper appreciation than ever before for the men and women who went ahead of my family, blazing the trail to make home schooling legal in this country. I was also sobered by the startling reality that we could very well lose these freedoms if we are not careful.

~ Viewed a documentary produced by Franklin Springs Family Media entitled, An American Adventure; the story of Jimmy Gentry.
This was a delightful, well-made documentary about a man who very much reminded me of my grandfather. Jimmy Gentry grew up in small town America, fought in WWII, and now lives on a farm in Tennessee where he is always striving to invest in the lives of people in his community. Very touching story, and beautiful cinematography!

Thursday evening:

~ Opening ceremonies including music by Charlie Zahm and the Von Trapp Children, as well as a dramatic telling of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho by George Sarris.

Charlie Zahm leading us in the opening hymn "Be Thou My Vision"

~ Viewed Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
A film of incredible professional quality! Expelled has a great message in defense of freedom of speech and intelligent design vs. evolution. Unfortunately, when I watched this movie, it was very late and I was exhausted, so not everything I heard about made contact with my brain cells. :-) There were parts that were a bit over my head!

Friday

~ Viewed a feature film entitled Throw a Few Things on the Ground
This film was produced by the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. It was a touching story about a family in Africa that turned their back on spirit worship in order to follow Jesus, despite the high cost involved. The film was slow paced and very l-o-n-g as a result, not to mention that it was all in French with English subtitles. Production quality was okay, but not amazing. However, the message was excellent, especially for the use of tribal evangelism which is one of its whole purposes.

~ Viewed a feature film entitled The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry
I LOVED this movie! It was of top-notch production quality and had the most winsome story about an older man who disciples the neighbor boys one summer in small town America. He makes the Bible come alive for them and influences their life in an amazing way. This film made me laugh, cry, and come away feeling inspired! Produced by Rich Cristiano, I knew going into it that it would be of good quality, but I was even more impressed than I thought I would be. This film by far tops all of the other ones Mr. Cristiano has made. The audience gave it a standing ovation. Mom and I gave it our vote for Audience Choice Award. It won Best Musical Score instead. :-)

~ Viewed Fireproof, my new favorite movie!
I just can’t say enough good things about this film. It is excellent in every sense of the word. There’s humor, romance, a clear Gospel message, and a storyline that promotes the covenant of marriage like no other movie has ever done before. Even though I had seen Fireproof on opening weekend at the theaters, I was just as blessed to watch it a second time. And it was especially fun to watch with my mom, who had not seen it yet! She loved it, and of course, cried at the end! :-) Another standing ovation for this film. After the showing, Stephen Kendrick came on stage to share a bit of the story behind the making of Fireproof as well as to share how it has been impacting thousands of people all across this nation.

~ Lecture entitled Narration and Performance Art for the Glory of God, by George Sarris
This was more like a sermon about living for God’s honor, without compromise, in a secular environment. It was excellent! I really appreciated George Sarris’ humility and love for the Lord that was evident throughout his message. He had many thought-provoking and inspiring things to say.

~ Viewed a series of four different films in the “Young Filmmakers” category
We had a blast seeing what young people age 18 and under are able to produce! There are some promising and budding filmmakers in the making – that is for sure! My two favorites out of the four we viewed were “As Always” and “Sugar: Adventurous Tails.”

Friday Evening

Friday evening was packed with all sorts of exciting happenings in the main auditorium! One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was the half-hour concert by the Von Trapp Children. Their incredible family harmony is unlike any I’ve ever heard before. Not only was their music touchingly beautiful, but they sing with such radiant countenances and love for the Lord!

We also greatly enjoyed hearing from Stephen Kendrick and Kirk Cameron about their experiences as filmmakers in this generation. Their heart-felt messages seemed to greatly impact the entire crowd. More standing ovations. :-)

The evening also contained the World Premiere showing of various Bible films that Crown Financial Ministries has produced. Talk about stellar quality! I really enjoyed watching these stories of Abraham and Isaac and the Rich Man and Lazarus. There is something powerful about seeing Scripture come alive on a movie screen. Following the screening, we heard from veteran actor Dean Jones, who starred as Abraham. His testimony as a Christian in the movie-making world is both unusual and very encouraging!

Saturday

~ Viewed three films in the Animation category, two of which were made by young filmmakers.
Mom and I got such a kick out of these animated movies! We especially enjoyed the third one, Wars of Humanity III, which showed the story of Joshua and the Battle of Jericho through lego animation. It was VERY well done and hilariously funny!

~ Viewed three films in the "All Life is Precious" category (highlighting those with special needs)
1. Free Wheelchair Mission
2. A Full House of Blessing
3. On Wings of Angels
This had to be the most touching experience of the whole festival. We were so blessed to see the people and families featured in these films who were reaching out to special needs people in their homes and around the world. And we were reminded of just how precious all life really is.

~ Viewed the feature film Pendragon; Sword of His Father
Another excellent film! This period-story from 411 A.D. would have definitely won the best costume award - - if there had been one. :-) Not only was the production quality well done, and the story engaging, but the message was also gripping. I really appreciated seeing an epic war film produced predominantly by young men who cared enough to weave throughout the story a message about true manhood, Christian grit, and noble honor in the face of danger. Although the cinematography wasn’t as professional as Fireproof or Jonathan Sperry, Pendragon definitely gets a thumbs-up, especially when you consider that it was made by young people who are in it for God’s glory.

~ Viewed the feature film The Widow’s Might
This film was the only musical in the whole festival – and it was truly delightful! The production quality was of the highest caliber, the story was engaging, and there was plenty of comedy sprinkled throughout for everyone’s enjoyment! After 3 standing ovations, I was not surprised when The Widow’s Might won Audience Choice Award by an overwhelming majority. It also captured the highly-desired grand prize of “Best of Festival” and the $101,000 dollars that accompanied it. Pretty amazing when you consider that this film was written, directed, and co-produced by a 19-year old.

~ Lecture by Geoff Botkin entitled How to Evaluate a Hollywood Movie
This was a timely message that I got a lot out of! However, it deserves an entire blog post of its own…so more on this topic later!

Saturday Evening

Closing ceremonies for the night mostly featured the announcement of the winners of each category at the festival (i.e. Best Documentary, Best Young Filmmaker, Best Feature Film, etc.). We also heard the lovely music again from the Von Trapps and from Charlie Zahm. All in all, it was a wonderful close to a wonderful weekend!

The 20-member Duggar Family (woops - make that 21-member family; Joshua recently got married to our friend, Anna!) presenting the "Best Biblical Family" award

Stephen Kendrick receiving the award for "Best Feature Film" in regards to Fireproof

John Moore receiving the award for Best of Festival