The SONscreen Film Festival concluded Sat. evening, Apr. 12, with the finesse of a well-orchestrated production. The third festival to be hosted at the Adventist Media Production studios in Simi Valley, Calif., featured three film screening sessions of both amateur and professional films and concluded with an awards ceremony where student works were honored in categories including comedy, music video, drama, public service announcement, documentary and animation.
The "best high school student award" was renamed the "Jonathan Dulan High School Award" in memory of the SONscreen executive planning committee member who died in January and whose energy and spirit were deeply missed this year. Dulan's wife, daughter, father and extended family were on hand to witness the renaming of the award and spoke of his passion for the festival and the young artists it mentors.
Entertainment industry professionals conducted workshops on topics such as animation, scriptwriting and cinematography. Attendees were given lectures on theory as well as hands-on experience meant to raise the bar of professionalism in their productions.
SONscreen regulars who have come to expect a Sabbath worship experience that is both spiritually uplifting and intellectually challenging were not disappointed this year. Worship was led by the praise band of the Hollywood Seventh-day Adventist Church under the direction of Lennox Fleary, and the sermon was delivered by senior pastor Ryan Bell.
The Hollywood Church congregation, whose ministry is the subject of a documentary film being produced by Vervent Church Resource Center of the North American Division and directed by filmmaker Melody George, has a unique challenge to live out the gospel in the context of a community that is immersed in producing stories that arrest the attention of the world. Bell challenged the gathering of young filmmakers to, like Jesus, tell stories that are mini-narratives of the kingdom of God.
The Sabbath afternoon panel discussion featured actors, directors and production professionals and was moderated by award winning filmmaker and executive planning committee member Rik Swartzwelder. Panel members, Chris Ackerman, Tamara Goodrich, Cheryl Jenkins, James Arnold Taylor and Korey Scott Pollard, each shared from their personal faith journey and how it affected their professional lives. At times, the panelists were brutally honest about their humanity and humble about the times when they believed God used them to be a witness to show His love and grace to others in the most unexpected ways and sometimes seemingly inconvenient times.
Highlighting the festival was the Sat. evening Awards Gala where $250 awards were given for each category. Mickey Seiler and Ben Van Allen received the Best Comedy award for the film "A Bright Past." Timothy Wolfer won the award for best music video "Safe From All Alarms." Uly and Ray Mostrales were awarded best drama for the film "The Green Light." Emile Moline Jr. received the award for best PSA with "Be a Star in Someone's Life." Best Documentary was given to Maranatha Hay for her film "Diary of a Japanese Soldier." Josue S. Martinez was awarded best animation for his film "2th Boys."
Monique Esparza's film "Children in Sweatshops" won the "Jonathan Dulan High School Scholarship award." As the winner she is eligible for a collegiate scholarship from one of the following Adventist schools: Southern Adventist University, $2,000; Pacific Union College, $1,000; Southwestern Adventist University, $1,000. Stacey Sausa's film "Presence" was the Audience Choice Award for the festival. The Best in Fest Sonny Award winner was Philip Sherwood and Kevin Ekvall who won the $2,000 cash award for their film "The Yearbook."
"SONscreen is like a family reunion," commented Melody George in the minutes preceding the opening ceremony where she would be introduced as the incoming festival programmer. "I am looking forward to connecting with friends that I met last year and meeting new ones," noted Southwestern Adventist University student Aaron Weber whose film "Dead Air: Spot 1" screened Thurs. night.
The 2009 SONscreen Film Festival will take place Apr. 16–18, 2009, at the Adventist Media Center in Simi Valley, Calif. For more information, please visit www.sonscreen.com.
Garrett Caldwell, assistant to the president for communication, Upper Columbia Conference
