Greg Batiansila (Producer/Director/Writer) @POVEinstein

Greg Batiansila is a writer, director and producer who has worked in and around filmmaking for over twenty years. His work as an overachieving production assistant led to work as an overachieving location scout, which allowed him lots of time on commercial sets.

Greg’s father, the son of a Filipino from tiny Bantayan Island in the province of Cebu, Philippines, grew up in housing projects in the shadow of Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans. Greg’s mother fled American aggression in World War II and ultimately escaped communist East Germany to West Germany before immigrating to the United States.

Even when he wasn’t on sets, Greg was writing. He wrote plays, short stories, a book on spec. He wrote articles, movie reviews, and scripts, feature scripts, shorts, spec scripts for a publishing house, radio commercials, tv ads.

Greg found himself back on sets, this time as a principle at an ad agency. He wrote and directed videos of all kinds for clients of all sorts, from GE Healthcare to AirStrip to Fiserv to the highest-rated political ad in the Wisconsin in 2010. Whether it was a parody of “The Office,” animated product videos, talking head videos…product videos shot on location all around the United States, Greg wrote, produced and worked on all of them.

Through that time, he was able to work with some brilliant cinematographers, animators, and behind-the-scenes experts, all of whom helped him gain confidence for his foray into independent narrative storytelling. The Lost Key was shot with cameras and lenses borrowed from Greg’s friends.

In 2010, Greg’s youngest daughter passed away just days before her second birthday. On the day of her funeral, his father died. Those events spurred him to strive earnestly to tell stories and work tirelessly to create beauty in a world that needs it.

Working with a tight-knit clique of actors, he created, wrote and produced three seasons of a web series entitled “Leaving Eden” that gathered around 50,000 views a drama selection at ITVFest, amongst other critical praise.

The show featured original music from independent artists all over the world. Music is a critical part of Greg’s storytelling.

Greg had 2 shorts films as official selections in our Great Lakes Christian Film Festival in 2016 and 2017. In 2016 “Runner” was Nominated Best Short Film [over 20 minutes] and in 2017 “The Lost Keys” was Nominated Best Comedy. He was also on our Producer/Director Panel Discussion in our 2017 Workshops. Greg’s project “The Shepherd” is the 3rd installment in the “Lost” parables.

 

For more information go on Greg Batiansila’s Production Company POV Einstein: http://www.poveinstein.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/poveinstein

Twitter: twitter.com/poveinstein

 

Entering our 4th Festival Season!

A WORD FROM OUR TEAM

Greetings friends, fans, and family of the Great Lakes Christian Film Festival,

It’s been a exciting journey so far since our inception in May 2014. We took the first year to research and prepare to launch our first Film Festival in August 2015. Starting from scratch, we have had to learn the hard way on how an event of this magnitude is conducted. We’ve had steady growth in 2016 and tested the waters at a new venue in 2017 at the Millenium Hotel with great success. We are not where we want to be just yet but we are making great strides to provide an exceptional event for your enjoyment.

We’ve premiered films in our market, upgraded our awards, added new merch, provided quality workshops, and network opportunities, and made many new friends and colleagues along the way. In 2018, we will continue to improve upon all the great ideas we’ve implemented and have some great new surprises for our attendees for this season.

Our festival is an international event yet we have a warm local feel with superb customer service and hospitality. We love our regional film community, and our state has been very film-friendly to the industry here in Western New York, not to mention accommodating to turism. We are very excited for the future of this event as we expand our horizons and add new leadership to the GLCFF team. We’ve had great support in our market from our Faith-based media outlets, like TCT TV and WDCX Radio and continue to partner with them this season.

Please reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you on your ideas and comments. I look forward to meeting you at our next Film Festival.

Sincerely,

Shawn Patrick Greene, GLCFF Executive Director

http://www.GLCFF.com | Twitter: @GLCFF | Facebook: @GLCFF | Email: GLCFFest@gmail.com

Our Regular deadline is January 31, 2018. Hurry and enjoy the savings!

Hollywood Exposed! #AnOpenSecret Reveals Child Sex Abuse @AnOpenSecret

“The Film Hollywood Pedophiles Tried To Ban “An Open Secret”

In light of the long awaited revelations of sexual abuse in Hollywood finally being reported ESPONDA PRODUCTIONS presents AN OPEN SECRET for free for a limited time . A film about the sexual abuse of children in the entertainment industry in Hollywood. Please support our efforts of raising awareness by sharing with your friends and colleagues. #AnOpenSecret #BeCourageus #ReportIt #LifeGetsBetter. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook @AnOpenSecret.

BE COURAGEOUS. REPORT IT. LIFE GETS BETTER.

An Open Secret trailer [2 min]: http://vimeo.com/133552013

Esponda Productions LLC is the author of this motion picture for purposes of copyright and other laws.

Ownership of this motion picture is protected by copyright laws and other applicable laws, and any unauthorized duplication of this motion picture could result in certain criminal prosecution and civil liability.

#AnOpenSecret – Marty Wise prosecution for the sexual abuse of a child – segment [4 min]: https://vimeo.com/138032704

WATCH the FULL MOVIE here

AN OPEN SECRET. Official PG-13 version. Copyright Esponda Productions LLC #AnOpenSecret [54 min]: 

Other versions:

AN OPEN SECRET. Official PG-13 version. Copyright Esponda Productions LLC #AnOpenSecret FINAL [1 hr 38 min]:  http://vimeo.com/138965813

An Open Secret: A documentary on Hollywood Pedophelia [2 hrs 24 min]:

Interview with Gabe Hoffman on Alex Jones: removed [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHwWPLbl-Rw] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqiFFGSZwq8]

Press Release: 2017 Great Lakes Christian Film Festival, Buffalo, NY

Buffalo to host 3rd annual Christian Film Festival

Buffalo, NY (July 21, 2017) – The 2017 “Great Lakes Christian Film Festival” will be hosted at The Millennium, 2040 Walden Ave, Buffalo, NY 14225 between Thursday August 3rd – Saturday August 5th, 2017.  The festival will feature over 40 films from around the world, representing over 10 countries, screening feature films, shorts films, documentaries, and music videos, as well as, many up and coming film trailers. 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.

We are screening the Buffalo Premiere of the highly acclaimed feature film Because of Gracia starring Moriah Peters and Chris Massoglia featuring Ben Davies and John Schneider, the former Dukes of Hazzard teen idol. At age 16, Moriah Peters tried out for American Idol and was mocked by the panel of judges for her purity lifestyle. Now, she has a lead role in a faith-based film. John Schneider, who has appeared in several Christian-themed films of late, plays the school principal.

Screening at the film festival is the TV movie Heritage Falls starring David Keith, who plays Charlie Fitzpatrick, the ‘winningest’ high school basketball coach in Georgia history. While many of his players think of him as a father, he does not have a good relationship with his own “bookworm” son—Evan. So Charlie decides that the best way to connect and bond is to take his son and grandson to a rustic mountain cabin for an unforgettable weekend retreat.

 Unbridled, starring Tea Mckay and Jenn Gotzon features appearances by Eric Roberts and T.C. Stallings. Inspired by a healing ranch for troubled girls in North Carolina, Unbridled is a story that exposes the atrocities of abuse, neglect, and sex trafficking and the healing and redemption experienced by girls and horses who have suffered the same types of abuse.

Buffalo is a city on the rise! We are known not only for our 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 as well as seasonal outdoor activities. Hollywood has brought their projects to Buffalo, such as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Marshall” filming scenes around our city.

Festival Executive Director Shawn Greene created the Great Lakes Christian Film Festival in May of 2014. Since then, over 350 films were submitted in hopes of being selected. 45 films are official selections for this year’s film festival. Walk-up registration begins Thursday August 3rd at 10am $30 for all 3 days. Registration is open online now.

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

Downloadable Press ReleaseGLCFF-2017-pressrelease

2017 Submissions Under Review

The deadlines for the Great Lakes Christian Film Festival have past and the reviewing process is underway. This year we have over 100 films to watch and determine which ones are best suited for our festival. The filmmakers or producers will be notified July 2, 2017 if their film is selected for this year’s film festival. Everyone can Pre-Register Early: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZX3PDCM

You would think after two years of watching every film it would get easier to select the best of the best. Each year, there have been amazing films which made it extremely difficult to make the selections, nominees and winners. This year is no exception. Reviewing has been in effect since April and we have some potential winners already.

 

One of the things that is disappointing is when we get high quality, professional projects that could very easily win many top awards, such as the Oscars, Golden Globes, People’s Choice, etc. The problem we’ve had was the content was too adult, and not family friendly, and/or did not meet the criteria as a Christian theme, or faith-based presentation.

We strive to make this event clean, honest, and G rated. Some movies, such as The Passion of the Christ, are difficult to tel in and honest way and avoid the brutal depiction of our Savior’s crucifixion. Overall we want to promote quality as well as content rich faith-based films.

Thank you all for understanding our mission at the Great Lakes Christian Film Festival, and keep on filming. The world is watching.

Pre-Register Early: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZX3PDCM