SAICFF (san antonio independant christian film festival) Reviewed
I had the opportunity to attend the 5th annual San Antonio Independant Christian Film Festival this weekend. Being this was my first year to attend I did not know entirely what to expect. A lot of people have asked me questions about the festival and were rather curious so I thought I would review the festival right here .
The Audience: I’ll be honest and say that I was shocked at the number of families that were at this event. If you think about it though, this really is a great family event even if you aren’t interested in making films. Letting your children see films that portray Christians in a positive light and letting them be exposed to a theological worldview through the medium of film can be a powerful learning experience. This may be the best field trip you could ever take your family to.
The Filmmakers: The filmmakers at this festival were made up of a broad array of storytellers. Several films were produced by families that joined forces. One film was produced entirely by a church and some films were produced by individuals and even teenagers as old as 14 years.
The Bootcamp: While I didn’t get to attend the academy this year I heard that nearly 500 students and professionals gathered together to here from industry professionals that were paving the way. The academy was held during the week, while the festival was held during the weekend. The bootcamp is something I wish they had when I was in high school. Something of this caliber can be a great catylist for aspiring filmmakers who need some guidance and wisdom.
The Location: The festival was held at the Henry B Gonzalez Convention center and is located on the riverwalk itself….enough said about that….absolutely beautiful
The Workshops: I’ll be honest and say I only attend 2 sessions and out of the 2 sessions I attended I left halfway through both of them. I think I would rather hear from some of the experienced film-makers talk about the making of their films or something really practical/tangible.
The Films: I had the opportunity to see 15 short films and 4 feature length films. As a filmmaker and as a Christian I walked away from the weekend with alot of respect towards the people that produced these films. I was blow away at some of the things that these filmmakers were able to do without a huge budget, crew or even professional actors. With that in mind and being a fellow filmmaker I want to be honest and fair in the following critiques.
Feature Films:
1. the Secrets of Jonathan Sperry – This film was produced and directed by Rich Christiano. I went up to Rich later that week and thanked him for making a film that showed creative discipleship. This film was my favorite the entire week. Shot on super16 the cinematography is beautiful and the casting was superb. This coming of age drama shows an older gentlemen creatively engage with middle school students as he shows them what it means to live the Christian life in a practical and inspiring way. Towards the end of the film we see the students take ownership and begin to lead by themselves. This film will open in theaters in September of 2009. In my opinion every church that can afford to should help support this movie by sponsoring a theater.
2. Fireproof – produced by Stephen Kendrick of Sherwood Pictures. Stephen said after the film that if this film helps lower the divorce rate in America by just 1% this film will have helped countless families and children from having to endure the aftermath of such a thing as divorce. After hearing that and hearing that Kirk Cameron volunteered for free to do this film I was blown away by the passion and heart behind these guys. Kendrick shared with the audience how they would constantly be in prayer and would get theses God-ideas while shooting that ended up being their favorite parts of the film.
3. A Widow’s Might – This film was produced by Huemore Productions. Although I liked the film and enjoyed the overall story I felt this film fell short. The plot was mediocre. I struggle with this in my own filmmaking so I can’t say I’m not guilty of this. Films that lack irony and that lack the ability for you to believe that the conflict is worth the conflict in my opinion lack a certain power that other films possess. I would have liked to see the widow packing up her things or having to live out of a car or something drastic for me to believe her situation was worthy enough to make a movie about it.
4. Pendragon – produced by two families I was shocked what they were capable of doing despite a budget and despite not being hollywood. While I did enjoy parts of the film I have to admit the acting was a hindrance to this film being truly great.
Short Films – Out of the 15 short films I experienced only a few of them really stuck with me. There were several shorts and documentaries that lacked any cinematography and several films I kept asking myself how they even made it to the festival. I was really encouraged by Crown Financials Vision to take short films around the world in similar fassion to the jesus film movement and impact poverty driven areas through the medium of film. Crown showcased three shorts and of the three the story of Abraham and Isaac was my favorite. It reminded me of reading Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling and was stunning to see on film. I was also encouraged to see some of the films from Modern Parables. These films make for great discussions and can be used in tandem with bible study material. One of my favorite shorts this year was stained which was also the winner of the 168 hour film festival in LA. This short gives us a powerful metaphor of what its like to be in sin and then to be given new life.
- SAICFF this weekend
- Crown releases long awaited short films
- the Message Factor – a guide to understanding Christian films
- Teaching on Film and Faith
- Vote for our film
