News
Faith and Family Megafest 2013
Groundbreaking Festival Strives to Redefine, Encourage Faith-Based and Family Films
DALLAS (JULY 16, in the year of our Lord 2013)
– The inaugural International Faith and Family Film Festival
will debut at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ MegaFest 2013 in Dallas, August
29-31, at the Omni Dallas Hotel. The film festival will showcase
projects including Fox Searchlight’s “Black Nativity,” Image
Entertainment’s “Winnie Mandela” and Sony Pictures
Entertainment’s “Heaven is for Real.” Actress Regina King is
also expected to attend. Works from BET and a range of other
high quality films from around the world will also be
highlighted.
Bishop Jakes, who has long appreciated the entertainment media’s
influence in helping shape cultural messages and bring people to
Christ, believes a new and vibrant “faith and family” film
festival will raise the bar and change perceptions about what
constitutes a faith-oriented film.
“Americans are looking for wholesome entertainment that reflects
the values they practice and teach their children every day.
We’re filling that void,” said Jakes. “This film festival is
designed to encourage studios and the rising number of faith and
family-based film companies to help this type of entertainment
grow.”
Wholly original, the International Faith and Family Film
Festival has already attracted some of the most powerful players
in Hollywood, including William Morris Endeavor Partner/Agent
Charles King; Brian Edwards, producer of Mark Burnett’s
record-setting History Channel series “The Bible;” DeVon
Franklin, senior vice president of production at Columbia
TriStar Pictures; Jeff Yordy, former director of marketing for
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment; Nikkole
Denson-Randolph, vice president of special & alternative content
for AMC Theatres; and representatives from Creative Artists
Agency.
The festival will also feature panel discussions moderated by
Mary Claire Kendall of “Forbes,” Kirstin Wilder, vice president
and managing editor of “Variety,” Sarah Pulliam Bailey of “The
Wall Street Journal,” and Kevin Frazier, host of “OMG! Insider.”
Discussions will cover “Marketing within the Faith Based
Community,” “The Now and Future of Faith-Based Film & TV,”
“Getting Your Film/TV Production Launched,” and “The Rise of
Digital Filmmaking, Distribution & Marketing.”
“Heaven is for Real,” based on the testimony of a four-year-old
Nebraska boy, who visited heaven and lived to share his story
after emergency surgery, will also be the subject of a
roundtable discussion during the film festival. Randall Wallace
is directing and Joe Roth is producing the film, which is still
in production. Moreover, the film festival will feature
high-energy actor and screenwriter workshops, keynote addresses
and a Screenwriters’ Treatment Competition, the winner of which
will have his or her project developed by TD Jakes Enterprises.
“This is more than just a film festival,” Jakes said. “It is an
exciting and emotional re-imagining of all that cinema can and
should be for ourselves and future generations. Getting our
hearts right and our families back together again is paramount.
With this festival we hope to provide more high-quality, family
friendly and Bible-centered films over time. This is an
essential ingredient for the healing and strengthening of our
culture. ”
Tickets for the three-day event are $99 and entitle registrants
to enjoy other events in the MegaFest lineup. Discount family
and group packages are available.