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]
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: 
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.
#GLCFF2023 
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