On April 2 4, The North American Divisions annual SONScreen Film Festival took place at La

Sierra University located in Riverside, California. The SONscreen Film Festival is the
annual gathering for Christian young adults who have a passion for using
film and video for the purpose of creating timely and relevant productions
for social awareness, outreach, and uplifting creative entertainment. Since
its debut in October 2002, the festival has become the destination for
established and up-and-coming Christian filmmakers to share their creative
work, gain exposure, and network with other media and film professionals.*
The festival far surpassed its mission statement. Each day was filled with
collaboration, constructive criticism and hearty laughs. The many
workshops provided by big names in film such as Christoph Silber and Jason
Satterlund were highly informative and beneficial for everyone from the
ambitious student director to the nurturing film production teacher.
Workshops were presented on relevant topics such as screenwriting and
working with actors. During these workshops, SONScreen attendees got up
close and personal with individuals with careers in the film industry to learn
valuable, first-hand tips of the trade.
Apart from these beneficial workshops, the festival also hosted different
panels composed of individuals who are making a difference in the Christian
film sector. The featured speakers talked of their successes, frustrations,
and film experiences. Jason Satterlund, an Adventist filmmaker, was hired by
the General Conference to create a TV series based on Ellen Whites The
Great Controversy. The title of this production became The Record Keeper.
However, the GC cancelled production with only 11 episodes filmed, due to
controversial content. Being deeply invested in this project, Satterlund
discussed the hardships of a filmmakers life when things simply dont go
your way. Working in the GC proved a surmountable challenge for
Satterlund, as discussed in his presentation. For the Saturday morning
presentation, the existing episodes of The Record Keeper were shown for
SONScreen attendees. The Record Keeper was met with enthusiasm and
constructive criticism in addition to sympathy for its short-lived production.
In its 14 th year, SONScreen added a new event to its agenda: the mini-movie
challenge. This event called for attendees to collaborate as a team and
create a movie in 2 hours. Attendees were broken into four groups: directors,
cinematographers, editors, and actors. Teams were assembled from these
groups to make complete production teams. Everything from
conceptualizing a 1 2 minute short film to completing the final audio edits
took place in these few hours. These films were shown at the Saturday night
award ceremony and were met with much enthusiasm. The mini-movie
challenge proved a success in its first year.
The crux of the SONScreen festival lay in the many films submitted to be
judged by a jury as well as the audience. Showing of selected film
submissions took place each day in 2 3 hour blocks. WWU students Eric
Edstrom and Jesse Churchill won two of the eight SONScreen awards: Best

Dramatic Short and Best in Festival. This is an amazing accomplishment

considering the competition. SONScreen avidly encourages all interested in
film to attend their conferences. For more information, visit
www.SONScreen.com.

*taken from the SONScreen Website.