Over 1,200 attendees participated in three days of creative joy and spiritual networking at the International Christian Film Festival (ICFF) held this past weekend at the Crowne Plaza Orlando Hotel. Over the course of three days, Thursday April 23rd until Saturday April 25, 2015, there were unexpected great moments, amazing demonstrations, educational presentations, and a good time experienced by everyone attending. There were screenings of 23 feature films, 21 short films, 17 documentaries and 8 music videos during the festival. The range of categories were diverse, such as family, historical, suspense, thriller, adventure, music, documentary, dramatic, Christian, and evangelical.
This is the third year of the festival, and by far the biggest year, in terms of submission of films, attendance, and the level of quality of each production. There were famous actors there, such as Stephen Baldwin, and Ernie Hudson showcasing their new movies, with other actresses, actors, writers, and film professionals, from all over the country and world. It was exhilarating talking to filmmakers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, East Coast, West Coast, Canada, the south, the north, and from our own backyard.
The founder and organizer of the festival, Marty Jean-Louis says, “Everyone is considered a winner, because the ICFF is a platform to recognize artists’ creative achievements. There were periods of joy-crying at the award ceremonies, and throughout the weekend. Each film is the producers’ masterpiece of beautiful designs, and unique storylines.”
“The ICFF was an absolute pleasure to attend, this was well organized festival. The closing award ceremony felt like you attended the Christian Oscars!” Cliff McDowell, the producer and Best Picture winner said.
Even though everyone that participates is a winner, there was a closing night event where the award winners were announced. The votes are in and the judges are honored to present the winners with awards at the largest Christian Film Festival in the country. Here is a short list of the winners: go to www.internationalcff.com for the entire list.
In the feature film category the best picture was “The Masked Saint,” the best director was “Adrenaline,” the best musical score was “Genesis,” the best actor was “Garry Nation,” and the best actress was “Maggie Elizabeth Jones. In the short film category the best director was “the Book Ends,” the best screenplay was “Once We Were Slaves,” the best actor was “Greg Alan Williams,” and the best actress was “Jo Hartley. In the documentary category the best director was “Everytown Downunder,” and the most creative was “Poverty INC,” with first place going to “Profides-Dragostea,” in the music videos category.
The ICFF would like to thank its sponsors, because without their support and their belief in the vision, the festival would not be possible. Solid relationships and friendship were established as a result of the festival around the country and the world, and the ICFF team says thank you and be encouraged. Call 407-442-3691 for more information.
- K. Drake
