Posted by Nathan Barnes
The festival is over. The week is done. I stood in the hallway of the San Antonio Convention center and said goodbye to many of the strong Christian leaders I had the honor of spending a bit of time with. Like Stephen Kendrick, producer of Facing the Giants, John Moore, newly awarded winner of the largest grand prize for film in US history (Huemoore productions also holds claim to this years Audience Choice Award), the Von Trapp children, great-grandchildren of the Captain and Maria Von Trapp, and many, many more.
Over the past week I’ve seen history made. I stood and watched Christians leap to the front of film festival race, I saw resolute followers of Christ decide to use film for the glory of God, and to use it with competence. I’ve seen bewildered press from all over the nation ask themselves, “Who are these Christians, and what are they doing?” But most importantly, I believe, though it’s in the unclear future, I believe I saw the beginning of a Christian film industry that will someday influence the world for good as much as Hollywood has done for ill.
I stood alongside 500 young filmmakers who sacrificed their time and money to sit through three days of film training. From theology to technology they dissected what it means to be a Christian filmmaker. They recognized that the message is the priority, but the quality will influence how far their film goes, and how many people it reaches.