Christian Filmmakers

168 Hour Film Project at Sundance

by Nathaniel Bluedorn, December 9, 2008. 2886 views

Letter from Doug Folsom

Dear Friends,

I’ve been involved with 168 Hour Film Project in LA each year as an actor and/or producer. I originally felt called to Hollywood in 2000 to combine my two loves of pastoring and filmmaking. The 168 has provided me the opportunity to make films while I’ve made a living as a pastor.

2008 was a year of change. After years of being single, I got married in July to my beautiful wife, Renee. I was offered the position of head pastor at St. John’s Anglican Church in Park City, Utah. www.stjohnsanglican.org

Park City is known for two things: the best skiing in the world and The Sundance Film Festival. I agreed to take the position and the church agreed to be supportive of my filmmaking and outreach activities, especially during Sundance.

We just installed a new HD projection system with a 16’ x 9’ screen. We can seat about 200 people for screenings. Part of my vision for the church is to have monthly screenings year round.

Part of me feared losing touch with the film industry when I moved here. Sundance is great but what about the rest of the year? I was pleased to discover that they have an annual Park City Filmmaker’s Showcase and they will be screening my film, “I Believe” (168 - 2006) this month. God is good!

Regarding Sundance, it is expensive and there are many obstacles to attending the festival, ie. tickets and housing. Sundance runs January 15th-25th, 2009 and rooms in the area will cost at least $500. a night.

Because of this, some members of the church have agreed to host Christian filmmakers during the festival, so the filmmakers can have access to it. (The host homes will provide continental breakfast but the filmmakers are responsible for their own transportation and food.)

Finding tickets for screenings at Sundance is another problem. For many, the only possible way to get tickets is to stand in line each morning at 8am when they release last minute tickets. At this point we have a waiting list for housing.

During Sundance, we will host a couple of screenings and mixer events for the Christian entertainment community.

On Sunday night, January 18th 6:00-9:00 PM, John David Ware be my guest as we screen some of the best films from the 168 Film Project.

I hope to be able to have some of the filmmakers on hand for Q&A and a mixer afterwards. We also hope that some of the visiting filmmakers from around the world would attend our event and sign up for the 168. We intend to make this a yearly event between us and 168 at during Sundance.

During the second week of Sundance I’m encouraging filmmakers to attend the Windrider Forum led by Craig Detweiller and John Priddy. Most of Windrider will be held at Mountain Vineyard Church in Park City. On Sunday, January 25th, Shun Lee Fong from The Greenhouse, and Caren Bream from The Hollywood Prayer Network will be making presentations at the church.

In addition the church wants to help sponsor me to produce another 168 Film in Utah in 2009! I keep thinking, “Never Again!” after all the stress and sleepness nights associated with the 168.

But each year I keep coming back because I know these films serve a higher purpose. For instance, I was greatly blessed recently when the American Bible Society asked to put “Unbound” (2008) on their website because they think its a great illustration of the Gospel message.

I encourage all of you 168 filmmakers: God can use these films for his purposes.

Blessings In Christ, Doug Folsom

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