Greetings fellow filmmakers, cast and crew!
We want to apologize to this year’s film submitters and registered attendees for the delay on the results and conclusion of GLCFF2023. Plans for the festival we abruptly canceled due to many factors. We are now resuming plans to complete the process of nominations and winners of each category. Set your calendar for November 4 and 5, 2023. A video from the Executive Director will soon be posted on the official GLCFF YouTube channel.
Reasons for postponing GLCFF2023
Leading up to July 14, 2023, some of our board members and leadership had health issues that delayed their participation. One member had lime disease, another had several strokes, and yet another had a COVID related illness. On top of that, the founder had 4 total heart attacks within a month. Until July 8, we didn’t have a venue space confirmed, after 9 months of constant communications with several venues in Grand Rapids that were interested in hosting us. So, the rush was on to get the plans moving once we confirmed our home base for GLCFF2023. But, just as we were confirming special guest, hotel deals and film that were to be screened, a traumatic event happened.
As most already know, on Friday July 14, 2023, our Executive Director, Shawn Patrick Greene, was admitted to the ER at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo for congestive heart failure. This event can be life-threatening. People with heart failure may have severe symptoms. Some may need a heart transplant or a device to help the heart pump blood. The next day they transported him to Strong Memorial Hospital’s CICU in Rochester, NY, where they were planning to perform a heart transplant. On July 19th, they reduced the procedure to installing the Impella heart pump. Weeks later he was taken off the pump, evaluated while on heart medication, and eventually discharged on August 10, 2023 to go home to recover, with nursing care. It has been a slow road to recovery, but God has been a miracle worker in this process. You can watch the videos updates via Shawn’s YouTube channel during his hospital visit and GLCFF plans .
Plans for future events
With that said, we are resuming the nomination process and will roll out the list on our website soon. We will announce the finalist leading up to the new screening dates, November 4 and 5, 2023, concluding with a award ceremony. Due to the difficulty of hosting it in Grand Rapids in November, we will host it at the GLCFF Headquarters in Buffalo, NY. We will offer a hybrid event (virtual and in-person) to allow as many people to participate as possible. Details coming soon.
I hope that everyone understands the challenges we faced his year, as opposed to other years, and that we will still bring value to this great event for this year’s official selections. We already are taking submissions for GLCFF2024, planned for the first week of August in Grand Rapids, MI.
Please keep our events in your prayers. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Executive Director Shawn Patrick Greene gives the update on GLCFF2023 as the date nears.
Save the date: November 4 & 5, 2023 Bread of Life Church, 1638 South Park Ave, Buffalo, NY 14220
Blessings,
Great Lakes Christian Film Festival
#GLCFF 