An Alliterative Journey Through the Facets of Filmmaking
The Filmmakers Guild attendees started the second day off with worshiping God, led once again by Phillip Telfer. His fellow collaborator at Media Talk 101, Rhett Simkins, then gave a brief, yet impactful presentation of CWVFF’s 3rd core value: “Our primary call is to be a disciple of Jesus.”
Rhett used the analogy of a Charlie Chaplin look alike contest, where it is reported that Charlie Chaplin himself placed 20th, then posed two vital questions. “Would you win a Jesus look-alike contest?” he asked. “Are we Christians who happen to make films or are we filmmakers who happen to be Christians?” Rhett continued, “We are called to walk the walk as He did.” (1 John 2:6)
Director/producer Ken Carpenter began the keynote by inviting the audience to join him for a down-to earth “coffee meeting”, as he led them through a string of alliteration to outline his talk. He first emphasized Faith and Family. “The one thing I want you to walk away with, is that you put faith in Jesus Christ at the center of everything you’re doing,” he said. “If I could, I would grab you by your filmmaking lapels and encourage you not to put filmmaking on the throne of your life.”
“Family happens to be pretty important,” this father of nine continued. “Family can and should be a priority on your journey as a filmmaker. Nothing in film surpasses it. I’ve seen people who made their family their priority and saw their filming flourish.”
Mr. Carpenter’s other “F”s included Filmmaking, Fortitude, and Fervor. “I believe our best Christian films are yet to be made,” he stated. “and I’m counting on you to make them.”
“Networking is such an important part of all of this,” he brought up later, speaking of Faith Focussed Film Festivals. “Events like the CWVFF are crucial. Seek to support each other!”
Aaron Potter, a producer attending from Minnesota, stated that he enjoyed how Ken spoke about “balancing the separate aspects of filmmaking.” Aaron also talked about his favorite thing about the CWVFF—the networking, how easy it is to “meet other people with the same interests.”
In closing, Mr. Carpenter discussed the Future of Faith-centered Filmmaking, encouraging the audience to keep seeking higher standards of storytelling, saying, “Audiences are going to become more discerning, more demanding in the future. Your job is to commit all your work to the lordship of Christ and commit to excellence in the development of your craft in a way that brings honor to Him.”
He concluded: “Enough of this coffee meeting, let’s get to work!”
