Tag: Awards

Filmmaker Kent C. Williamson Killed By Drunk Driver

Kent C. Williamson

Paladin Media

Kent C. Williamson, producer and director of Paladin Media, known for When Love Walks In (2005), By War & By God (2016) and Stained Glass Rainbows (2015), was stuck by a drunk driver Friday August 2, 2019, along with some of his family members.

People all over social media were in shock of the news.

Tim Smith wrote, “Woke up this morning to news that you should never have to get. My college roommate was killed yesterday by a drunk driver. Kent C. Williamson was a good friend. His sister and her husband and his sister’s daughter were all in the car and all died at the scene. Kent leaves behind a wife and six kids. His sister and brother in law also leave behind six kids and their families. Please join me in prayer for this whole family! Kent’s parents are both still here and could really use prayer as well.”

Maria Webb posted, “This morning I heard about the tragic passing of Kent C. Williamson and three of his extended family members from being hit by a drunk driver.

I was an intern for Paladin Media Group for 2 years. It was in my second year when Kent did his first Fellows Program, that I really got to know him a lot more. Kent chose a plethora of books and films that he felt every young creative should experience, including the movie from which the quote above was taken as well as the book “Imagine. A Vision for Christians in the Arts” by Steve Turner. The intersection between art and Christianity is one topic of many that Kent was super passionate about. He would ask rhetorical questions like, “how is the world going to be transformed by the love and light of Jesus Christ, if Christians refuse to engage with the world?” This included the world of art and also politics, education, and culture in general.”

 

We will post more details as we are more informed about this tragic incident.

See more on his profile page: Kent C. Williamson

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#GLCFF2018 It’s A Wrap!

SUCCESS!!

GLCFF Festival Founder and Director – Shawn Patrick Greene

What a fantastic time we had this weekend at the Millennium Hotel in Buffalo, New York for the 4th annual Great Lakes Christian Film Festival, with over 80 films screened during the 4 day event (August 2-5, 2018).

We kicked it off at the Bread of Life Church in South Buffalo screening many foreign, student, shorts films, capped off with a stand up comedy documentary. The remainder of the festival was held at the Hotel from Friday to Sunday with a jam packed schedule, screening 14 hours of film on Friday and again on Saturday, then 8 more hours on Sunday before the finale.

Saturday afternoon, we had some incredible speakers and guests, each sharing their unique workshops on various topics, including Hollywood Exposed (Tina Marie Griffin), Kindness Activity (Phillip E Walker), Screenwriting (DonnaMarie Vaughan), and Marketing for Movies (Sharon Wilharm). We also had a great group discussion on the Film Financing and Distribution, with various industry professionals, Producers, Directors, Writers, and Marketing people. We ended the workshops with a Buffalo-style dinner with Pizza and Wings from a local Pizzeria called Johnny’s.

Mercedes E Wilson hosted the Awards Ceremony Sunday Night giving us a glimpse of her vocal talent leading us in a song to our Lord Jesus. The ceremony was very intimate as we came together after a long weekend to celebrate each other and congratulate the selections, nominees, finalists, and winners of this year’s festival.

We have already see the fruit of our labor as many films over the years have been picked up for distribution or broadcasting, as well as, listing as a top seller on streaming websites, like Genesis: Paradise Lost (GLCFF 2018 winner of Best Producer for a Documentary and Best Narration). We are excited when these hardworking production teams get their reward for their efforts.

THANK YOU

“I personally want to thank the volunteers that helped us throughout the festival that made it a success.” says Shawn Patrick Greene, Executive Director and Founder.

Carl Bailey (Photographer/Filmmaker) helped us tremendously Saturday during the workshops, assisting the presenters and documenting the sessions. He was also on last year’s Producer/Director Panel Discussion for 2017.

Linda Mesi (Actress/Production Assistant) was instrumental in keeping things organized during Sunday Night’s Awards Ceremony. She has participated and supported our festival from day one in 2015.

Gary Rubrick is a member of the Bread of Life Church and has assisted, since the inaugural year in 2015, in the production, programming, and organization behind the scenes of Sunday Awards Ceremony.

Rosemarie Feliciano for her help in transporting equipment and materials to and from the event. Another one that has helped since day one, not to mention the mother of my autistic daughter Moriah.

Sean Brennan (TCT Studio Manager, Buffalo) believed in our vision and mission and gave us an opportunity to be a guest on TCT’s local programming twice, to promote our festival. Sean also donated his audio equipment for the workshops this year.

We want to thank all of our partners, sponsors, supporters, promoters, members, volunteers, attendees, judging panel, presenters, and everyone that made this event a complete success. It couldn’t be done without your help.

All Glory and Honor goes to our King and our God, Jesus the Christ!

SAVE THE DATE!!

 

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Press Release: 2018 Great Lakes Christian Film Festival, Buffalo, NY

Buffalo to host 4th annual Christian Film Festival

Buffalo, NY (July 19, 2018) – The 2018 “Great Lakes Christian Film Festival” will be hosted at The Millennium, 2040 Walden Ave, Buffalo, NY 14225 between Friday August 3rd – Sunday August 5th, 2018. The festival organizers have selected over 100 films as Official Selections and will screen over 80 films from around the world, representing over 15 countries, screening narrative feature and shorts films, documentaries, student films, and music videos, as well as, many up and coming film trailers. Workshops are also scheduled on Saturday afternoon with a variety of speakers on various topics. The festival is open to the public and offers an array of subject material for any viewer, from Action and Drama, to Animation and Biographies – there is something for everyone to enjoy.

This year 8 films were nominated for Best Feature Film, including “Summer of ’67”, the story of two sisters that surviving in the shadow of their mother’s suicide, struggling to live their lives and protect their loved ones in the face of the Vietnam War. This film, Written and Directed by Sharon Wilharm, is a fictional look at the Vietnam War based on the perspective of the wives, girlfriends, and mothers of those men aboard the USS Forrestal.

Also showing, the Buffalo Premiere of the award winning feature “A Heart That Forgives” – a great story of God’s love through the healing power of forgiveness, with an all-star cast including, Carl Anthony Payne (actor and producer, known for the Martin TV Series), Lorey Hayes (actress known for her work on Dreamgirls and NCIS), and Charles Malik Whitfield who has starred in dozens of prime-time shows and feature films, but one of his proudest professional moments so far is his leading role in the Emmy-winning mini-series, “The Temptations.”

The Great Lakes Christian Film Festival also brings an assortment of fantastic Documentaries of a wide range of topics and biographies, including the wonderful story of two women in China in “Song of the Wilderness”. 70-year-old Mother Xu travelled 200 km to the mountain area of Yimeng, Shandong province, far way from her own children. She lived in a cottage without a rooftop while taking care of Fan Jianxiu, a paralytic. Despite the sarcasm and ridicules, she persevered in looking after Fan for ten years as if it was one day. Yet still the sound of her praises spread out and rising from the wilderness.

The festival includes a diverse group of workshops, like one that special guest speaker Tina Marie Griffin will present called “Hollywood Exposed” – a behind-the-scenes look at the influences in today’s Pop Culture through entertainment and media, such as, Television, Gaming, Social Media and Music.

Buffalo is a city on the rise! An All-American City known not only for sports obsession, but for having the “Best Food in America”, as well as, a growing world-class medical and research community. Innovative developments are happening around town such as Canalside, which is home to a collection of restaurants, shops and seasonal outdoor activities. Plus, Buffalo is just 30 minutes away from location of one of the 7 wonders of the world, Niagara Falls. In recent years, more and more Hollywood producers are using the Buffalo area as a backdrop for their film projects, such as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “Marshall” and “The First Purge”.

The Great Lakes Christian Film Festival was created in May 2014 by Founder and Executive Director Shawn Patrick Greene. Since its inception, over 500 films have been submitted in hopes of being selected and screened in front of the visiting guests and local Western New York attendees. Over 100 films are Official Selections in this year’s film festival. Walk-up registration begins Friday August 3rd at 9 am and is $35 for all 3 days or $15 for a single day. Registration and tickets sales are open online now on the website.

Information for the entire festival, including accommodations, tickets, schedule, and sponsorship opportunities, is on the official website: http://www.GLCFF.com

Downloadable Press Release: [GLCFF-2018-pressrelease]

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Voting is OPEN for 2017 People’s Choice #GLCFF2017

Go now to vote for your pic for the 2017 People’s Choice Awards from this year’s Great Lakes Christian Film Festival
Enter to vote for this year’s People’s Choice

or go to this link: https://glcff.com/films/2017-official-selections-glcff2017/2017-peoples-choice-glcff2017/

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And the Winner is… #GLCFF2017

It’s a wrap!

What an incredible event this year. We had great films, awesome guests, and a fun awards ceremony. Over 40 films were screened with a great variety of diverse subjects and stories, some of which were real tear jerkers. Our Special guest, Lindsey Partridge and Frank Rossi blessed us with their inspiring visits, not to mention our awesome panel of filmmakers. Also, we hosted an exciting awards ceremony that we streamed LIVE on facebook.

As tired as we were after the event, we are already planning and getting ready for next year’s film festival – we got a great lineup planned for Buffalo. Stay tuned as we update our site frequently with all the new details.

Here is the complete list of winners for each of this year’s award categories. https://glcff.com/films/2017-official-selections-glcff2017/2017-winners-glcff2017/

Vote for the People’s Choice Awards: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RXT75MV

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