CARU Content Creators Bond to Film the Beatitudes
On June 1, 2023, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Caribbean Union Conference launched preparations for a territory-wide film festival, based on the Beatitudes of Jesus.
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The official representation of the Caribbean Union Conference Conference Film Festival scheduled for July 18-20, 2024, on the beautiful tropical island of Trinidad & Tobago. The Film Festival was created and is sponsored by the Caribbean Union of Seventh-day Adventists to nurture young filmmakers in their craft and career development across the region.
On June 1, 2023, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Caribbean Union Conference launched preparations for a territory-wide film festival, based on the Beatitudes of Jesus. The festival hopes to bring content creators together and celebrate ministry through their skills. The event is expected to elicit participation from church members, media teams, and entities within the Caribbean Union territory and beyond. The production will be directed by two film producers: Cheryll Lynda Wilson of the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and Simon Victor of the East Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
The President of the Caribbean Union Conference, Dr. Kern Tobias, affirmed the ministry. He said, “It’s incredible how young people in the Church are so involved and are excited because they see how this type of initiative is an opportunity to share the gospel. The fact is when the Church opens spaces for young people who have so much talent in the audiovisual world, it opens a new door so they can be useful for others to learn about the message of hope that we have.”
“The fact that this event will motivate persons who are not necessarily professionals in communication or cinematography (who are church members, pastors, administrators in local fields eager to learn new techniques and involved in such initiatives) is a wonderful step in advancing the gospel to an audience that needs the only hope,” said Abel Márquez, Executive Director for Hope Channel Inter-America.
The festival is promotes the inspiration found in the Beatitudes. The stories place raw human experience at the forefront, allowing each short film to unfold the Beatitudes’ significance to provoke personal reflection.
“We are breaking paradigms with this film festival,” said Pastor Royston Philbert, Director of Communication for the Caribbean Union. “The film festival is set to include inspiring and impressive cinematography - a first for the region - and will feature short films based on the Beatitudes of Jesus. The aim is to nurture young filmmakers in their craft and career development, across the region. It is important to hold the film festival to present the message of salvation in a different way. This is all part of allowing teams to gain experience and develop talent; [also] it gives a boost to our intention to establish production centers across the territory.”
More than 54 participants including communication directors, script writers, actors, editors, and other personnel attended the virtual launch. Creators were invited to produce video clips focused on a short film or documentary and to register for the celebration which is scheduled to be hosted at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad, from July 18 to 20, 2024.
The beatitudes of Jesus are found in the book of Matthew 5:1-11 as illustrated. Free image from Shutterstock.com
Wilson and her team developed an online site to share information related to the festival and to generate enthusiasm among creators as they collaborate. “We want to motivate and inspire people to be engaged as we move to the event one year from now. Attendees will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with filmmakers, actors, writers, and producers in an open and relaxed atmosphere at the University of the Southern Caribbean,” said Cheryll Wilson.
Church leaders plan to make the festival an annual event and Pastor Philbert concluded, “We are challenging them to continue producing a message that can share hope and salvation. We know that the world is moving faster toward destruction, and it is necessary to be creative in our methods to reach different persons.”
To participate in the film festival, please use this link to register: https://events.northeastern.org/carufilmfestival#/?lang=en