WND EXCLUSIVE

CHRISTIANS TO WAGE WORLDVIEW BATTLE AT FILM FESTIVAL

WND Films vice president keynotes at premier event

The frontline battle for worldviews will be waged at the 2017 Christian Worldview Film Festival, March 13-18 in San Antonio, Texas.

Hundreds of young filmmakers and families will be attending to meet and learn from some of the top Christian filmmakers in the industry, including keynote speakers:

• Stephen Kendrick (producer, writer)
  “War Room,” “Courageous,” “Fireproof,” “Facing the Giants” and “Flywheel”
• Dallas Jenkins (director, producer)
  “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone,” “Midnight Clear,” “What If” and “Though None Go With Me”
• Rich Christiano (director, producer)
  “Time Changer,” “The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry,” “A Matter of Faith” and “Amazing Love”
• Bobby Downes (producer, distributor)
  Founder of ChristianCinema.com, largest independent retailer of faith based movies in the U.S. “The Lost Medellion” with Bill Muir, “The Redemption of Henry Myers” and “Hoovey”
• Ken Carpenter (director, producer)
  Upcoming films: “Run the Race,” “Sweet Sweet Summertime” and “The Last Well”
• George Escobar (writer, director, producer)
  Co-founder of Advent Film Group and vice president of WND Films
  “Come What May,” “Hero,” “Alone Yet Not Alone,” “The Screenwriters” (exec. producer), “The Rabbi Who Found Messiah,” “The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment”

See the amazing library of work by George Escobar, the vice president of WND Films and the movie writer-director-producer whose projects include “Come What May,” “Alone Yet Not Alone” and more.

This premiere week-long event, now in its fourth year, has become the largest gathering of aspiring filmmakers to network with some of the top veterans in the film business. Over 40 workshops will be available, encompassing all aspects of filmmaking from A to Z, including acting, casting, film financing, producing, directing, marketing and distribution. Unique aspects of story development, visual effects, sound mixing and editing, music composition, production design, and production management are also covered.

Learn more at the Christian Worldview Film Festival website.

WND Films Vice President George Escobar will be one of the keynote speakers and a workshop instructor. This will be his fourth year speaking at CWVFF as the industry faces new challenges in distribution and a glut of new movies in the marketplace.

“It’s easy, by comparison, to make secular films where nothing is off-limits,” Escobar said.

For many attendees, this will be their first chance to learn about the craft of filmmaking from a decidedly Christian worldview. Rather than developing characters and storylines that adhere solely to the secular mindset of “self-actualization” as the highest aspiration found in nearly every Hollywood movie, the Christian filmmaker, according to Escobar, seeks a higher and much tougher calling found in 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, which states:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

“A Hollywood film will take a protagonist on a journey from being bad to good, or low to high, from depraved to enlightened. That’s the standard model,” Escobar said. “But if you study the verse from 2nd Timothy, for example, it assumes a person needs reproof, correction and instruction, but for what reason and under what basis? The world says it’s to become ‘self-aware’ of the power within you, or even better, helping others become ‘self-aware,’ which allows them to become transcendent. It’s all about you and achieving your dreams!”

Escobar adds: “God says differently in 2nd Timothy. It’s about a person becoming a ‘man of God’ in order to be complete, equipped for every good work under God’s design and His purpose.”

According to Escobar, it’s a much tougher challenge to make movies that tug at the soul of the audience with biblical truths, but without being preachy.

Escobar will be teaching others how to explore and navigate that demanding approach in his screenwriting workshops at the Film Guild portion of the Festival from March 13-15, 2017. Film screenings and awards ceremony are held the rest of the week from March 16-18th.

Escobar admits, “As filmmakers with a Christian worldview, we still have some distance to go in mastering the craft of screenwriting, but we are catching up very quickly to Hollywood standards on the production value and cinematography end of the business. I want to invite everyone to join us on this journey.”

To attend the 2017 Christian Worldview Film Festival and Film Guild, visit the Christian Worldview Film Festival website.

See the amazing library of work by George Escobar, the vice president of WND Films and the movie writer-director-producer whose projects include “Come What May,” “Alone Yet Not Alone” and more.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/christians-to-wage-worldview-battle-at-film-festival/#LYVvhWjsYCLIAomA.99