2009 SAICFF Review

2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival
By Benjamin Kayser

When I hear the words “Christian” and “Film” together I usually roll my eyes. Or when I think of “Christian Film Festival,” I usually think of 30 people meeting down in someone’s basement with a 50$ cash prize for a cheesy movie. But after going to the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival I can say that my stereotypes are false. Not only did the filmmakers bring movies with great stories, but they also brought movies with impressive quality.
Three days before the film festival (January 5-7), Vision Forum hosted a Filmmakers Academy. Over 500 aspiring filmmakers attended the Academy.
Stephen Kendrick, writer and producer of the movies Facing the Giants and Fireproof gave a lecture on the making of Fireproof.
Isaac Botkin has done work on The Discovery Channel, CNN, NET, CBS World News Tonight, National Television of New Zealand, and on broadcasting outlets in Europe and Asia. He presented a workshop on cinematography.
Logan Craft, producer of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed gave a lecture on the production of Expelled.
Jon Erwin has been doing camera work since he was 15. He is now a camera operator for ESPN, ABC, NBC and many more. He did a workshop presenting RED, which is a 4K digital cinema camera system.
Jimmy Broyden did two-hour hands on presentation on how to do stunts. He has worked with Jackie Chan, Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Will Ferrell, Jack Black and many more. Some of Jimmy’s films include Firewall, Elf, I Robot, X-Files, Star Gate, and many more.
These were just a few of the workshops that were given at the Academy. And the main thing that all these men have in common is that they are making films for the Glory of God alone.

The Film Festival started January 8 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The first thing that I noticed when I walked in was that I was accompanied with 2500 other people. The second thing that I noticed was that there were people from all over the United States.
Out of 250 films submitted only 50 films were selected. With four films and a lecture almost constantly playing at the same time. You had to strategically choose which film you wanted to see. Finally, Saturday evening came and it was time for the award ceremony. Everyone was anxiously waiting to get to the Jubilee award. Why? Because the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival is offering the largest cash prize for a film in the United States: a whopping $101,000 dollars. There were about ten other awards they gave away before the Jubilee award. By the time the Jubilee winner was going to be announced you could smell the adrenaline in the air. The speaker opened the envelope and looked at the crowd. You could here the drum roll in the back of your head as he said, “The winner…. of the San Antonio….. Independent Christian Film Festival…… $101,000…. Jubilee Award goes to.” He looked at the audience and paused for what seemed to be eternity. It’s amazing how those three words “The Widows Might” could stir up so much excitement. Within seconds people were up on their feet cheering with excitement. The roar was deafening. Several minutes passed before the clapping stopped and the makers of the film walked up on the stage. There were 3 main differences between the SAICFF and the Oscars.

1. All of these filmmakers gave all glory to Jesus Christ.
2. The Content of the Films in San Antonio are so much better.
3. The Filmmakers themselves are so much younger.