intersections

The importance of small stories

Thanks to Gary Burns, who recorded this on his digital camera, and Alexander Carpenter, who somehow got it loaded into blip.tv, here is the last half of my sermon at SONscreen. It's also been posted on the Spectrum blog here.

SONscreen fun

Click picture to enlarge

Well, SONscreen Film Festival turned out to be a great time. I got to meet people I've never met, reconnect with friends from around the country, and basically be inspired by an emerging crowd of young, talented filmmakers. We saw some really inspiring stuff along the way.

Of course, the highlight of the weekend for me was watching our worship team lead worship for the gathered group of festival-goers. I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak to the group and I think my message went over pretty well. I hope some of you that heard it might interact with it here. If you weren't at SONscreen, you can download the audio file below. I'd love to hear what you think.

Telling Our Stories (right click to "Save As") | More photos after the jump

See Stephen Eyer's post on Adventist Filmmaker.com

UPDATE: Here's another report by Adrian James from La Sierra University on the Spectrum Collegiate Blog.

Constantine's Sword

There's a documentary that I've been very eager to see. It's called Constantine's Sword, based on the book by James Carroll by the same name. There will be much to discuss after seeing this. It's screening in New York City a week from tomorrow. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you have a chance to see it from April  25-May 1 at the Laemmle Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills. Leave a comment below if you want to go. I will definitely be seeing this film sometime during that week. Find more screenings here.

From the website:

CONSTANTINE’S SWORD, by Oscar-nominated documentarian Oren Jacoby, is an astonishing exploration of the dark side of Christianity, following acclaimed author and former priest James Carroll on a journey of remembrance and reckoning. [More]

Why are intolerance, violence and war so deeply ingrained in religion?

Why did the Cross become a rallying symbol for persecution?

How does one man who loves the Church confront its history of crusade and conquest?

Watch the trailer here.

The Daily Kos review of the film.

Can art change the world?

This is a question I've been wrestling with for the past three weeks. As I mentioned before, I'm speaking this Saturday at the SONscreen Film Festival. So, I've been reading and researching as much as I can about this question. I've been asking, WDJT? (What does Jesus think? - sorry, I couldn't resist).

If you come to SONscreen on Sabbath you'll hear the full scoop - and I'll probably post my message online when it's done - but here's the short version.

I think some art can change the world. In the specific case of storytelling - some stories can change the world. The mere act of hearing someone's story can affect change, plant new possibilities, create a new imagination. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. In my research this week, while cruising around the TED website (looking at Al Gore's new presentation) I ran across Pangea Day - a worldwide film festival on May 10, 2008. This is the creation of Jehane Noujaim, the writer and director of the documentary, Control Room, and the winner of the 2006 TED Prize. You can hear her talk about her vision for Pangea Day here.

Anyway, this is an incredible convergence of things for me, and I'll definitely be using this as an example of the way that film - the craft of visual storytelling - can affect change in our world. But people must engage, and I guess that's the point. Film can connect people and those relationships can change the world.

Keep reading to view the Pangea Day trailer.

La Misma Luna

Last night my wife and I seized a rare opportunity to go out, just the two of us. We decided to see this highly acclaimed new movie called La Misma Luna, or Under the Same Moon. It was an incredible film. It was moving and emotional without being simplistic or naive. It didn't feel to me like the story was in service of a political message about immigration. Just good storytelling! I highly recommend this. The issue of immigration is complicated and this film does a good job of getting at the complexities at a very human level.

I'm speaking at the SONscreen Film Festival

 

A week from today starts the annual SONscreen Film Festival at the Adventist Media Center in Simi Valley, California. This is festival bring Adventist Filmmakers together from all over the country and I would assume, from around the world.

My church and I are quite involved this year. Our worship team has been asked to lead the Sabbath morning worship and they asked me to give the message. If you're in the area you are invited to join in the worship service from approximately 10:00 am to Noon (all Sabbath AM activities are free and open to the public).

At least one of our members has an entry in the juried show and an entry in the pro show. There may be others of our members with entries as well.

It's an honor to be speaking on Sabbath. I hope I'll see some of you there.

Preaching at Crosswalk this Sabbath

This Sabbath I'll be preaching at Crosswalk Church in Redlands, California. My sermon will kick off Crosswalk's periodic "Crosswalk Goes to the Movies" series. I'm not sure that's what they call it, but you get the idea.

As you can tell from the image above, the film I'll be speaking about is The Corporation. This is a powerful film that I have seen three times now which talks about the way corporations act as individuals without accountability in our society and destroy not just people, but whole communities and the entire ecosystem. This is a film that has launched a movement.

I'll be using this film to open up a conversation about two things, basically:

1. How Christians must stand against this kind of corporate imperialism and be agents of justice for the poor that get trounced by this kind of "free-market fundamentalism" and
2. At a deeper level, how Christians have been scripted into a capitalist narrative that has become, in Tom Beaudoin's telling expression, a kind of "theocapitalism," and how the gospel is an invitation for all people (including Christians) to re-narrate our lives according to the good news of God's reign.

This is something I've been wanting to work on for a long time, so this has been good research and thinking for me. This is not the kind of preaching I do on a weekly basis, so I'm being stretched. If you're in town, come join us!

Once: my film review at Spectrum Online

Back in August I wrote a blog post about this incredible little film, Once. In fact, I came straight home from the theater, bought the soundtrack and wrote this post.

Today my full review was published on Spectrum's new-fangled website. Here's an excerpt:

In spite of the soaring music and simple, lovable plot this story is not naive. Many lesser films would move quickly to the two falling in love and living “happily ever after.” But in Once, reality is always close at hand. Things are never as simple as they seem “in the movies.”

Rather than taking the well-worn path of resolving the tension of the story in cliché ways that resemble cotton candy in your mouth – tasty for a moment, gone the next – this film is patient. It takes time for a good story to yield the treasure that lies beneath the surface. What if there is something more than just a quick romance, a fling, or the heat of passion?

This is a story that reminds us that deep and lasting relationships are worth the trouble and that redemption is possible, even if not easy. There are no guarantees, but love is worth the risk. It is a story that tugs at your soul and not just your heart. It gives hope without resorting to sentimental idealism.

Read the whole thing here and leave me some love in the comments!

The film is now available on DVD - you can buy or rent it anywhere in the known universe! Do yourself a favor - watch this film, you will hope again!

Friendship Has No Religion

A friend of mine, Christoph Silber, was a script consultant on a film that is just opening in Manhattan this week. It's called Arranged and you can check out the website here. They've already won a variety of festival awards and if it does well in New York it will like be in Los Angeles for limited run.

If you live in New York, please go see this movie and tell us all about it. Check out the trailer below.

We Are Hollywood

Here is the promo video for a new ministry that our church is doing. Check it out, visit the website - WeAreHollywood.org, then read the story of what this is about and why it's come up, after the jump.