The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chiapas, Mexico, recently hosted its first Film festival during a special gathering at the Centenario Events Center, in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico. The event showcased 19 short films produced by young people engaged in fulfilling the mission (referred to as Creative Disciples), drew more than 120 audio-visual project creatives, local field leaders, communication leaders and special guests.

“This is an evangelism celebration, a celebration of the commitment of each young person in spreading the gospel,” said José Luis Bouchot, executive secretary of the Chiapas Mexican Union, as the festival began.

Teams from each of the nine fields across Chiapas took it to heart and expressed it through film, some four minutes to 30 minutes long, on the assigned theme, “Jesus is Enough.” The short films featured messages of faith and hope for a troubled world through stories based on real life and original stories. Showcasing of the short films began on Friday evening, July 19, 2024.

Pedro Martínez was among the 19 film team leaders who directed El Coyote (The Coyote), a film about the story of a regional Mexican artist who is converted and shares hope. “Being part of this festival and producing a short was a very enriching experience for me, a significant creative challenge that allowed me to be a witness of spiritually transforming stories that without a doubt inspire and strengthen our faith,” said Martínez. “Without a doubt these will be a medium to reach souls for Christ through this ministry.”

A Purposeful Ministry

Being seen as a purposeful film ministry is what can make a difference in the church, organizers said.  “Jesus told parables to show truths and mysteries of His Kingdom and stories through films have that objective to transmit those same truths and mysteries,” said Uriel Castellanos, communication director of the Chiapas Mexican Union and main organizer of the festival.

“The leadership of the union believes that the preaching of the gospel should be done in all possible platforms. That is why these spaces are made for members to put their gifts and talents in service for God,” said Castellanos. It’s all about training, collaborating, celebrating creative content, and inspiring a transforming encounter with Jesus who is the creator, screenwriter, and director of our lives, he added.

Among the outstanding productions was Cree Solamente (Only Believe) produced by the “Generation of Transformers”, a creative disciple team from the Upper Chiapas Conference, located in San Cristobal de las Casas. The crew included indigenous people from the Chamula community telling a story in their Tzotzil language on the impact and problems that the first Adventist missionaries encountered as they shared the gospel in that region in Chiapas. There were some challenges as they faced local traditional authorities who were not keen on having their region filmed. “After much prayer and production efforts, we were given authorization and necessary support from the community to come to positive agreements for filming,” said Julio Díaz, producer of the film.

Similarly, the production from Palenque Mission in its filming of “Faith in the Jungle” short at Lacandona Jungle, had to overcome numerous challenges due to the rainy season, dangers in the region and an apprehensive community. They were allowed to use a specific 10 by 20 meter space to tell the story of the first missionary in that region.

Sharing the Greatest Story

In addition to the films projected, keynote presentations, talks, and Q&A sessions on cinematography and evangelism were part of the event, as well as the production teams’ experiences during filming. Young creatives were challenged to continue growing and producing Christian content that impacts people.

“This is a very unique event where we have seen an explosion of creativity and talent,” said Hellen H. Castro, director of Creativo 115, who has produced and directed in many film projects for the Adventist Church in Mexico, the Inter-American Division, and the public. “The initiative of this festival is a dream for us who are dedicated to the audio-visual world and to be able to meet so many creatives,” said Castro. “In a world so saturated with images and sounds, the Chiapas Mexican Union has opened an authentic and valid space so that the emerging talents of our community can show their vision and passion to share with others the greatest story.”

The film festival was not just about showcasing films together but has a strategy the church has been working towards for several years, said Castellanos.

To be able to feature films during the festival, production teams had to attend online classes led by what they coined as Hope Virtual Academy—a educational initiative by the church’s Hope Media Chiapas—a media center which is part of Hope Channel Inter-America television channel. The initiative saw the teams training for six months this year to learn cinematography language and techniques, explained Castellanos. “They learned from Adventist producers from across Inter-America and beyond on script writing, direction, production, post-production, as well as going deep into movies as a tool for sharing the gospel,” he said.

Showcasing in Churches and Communities

The plan is for the 19 short films to be shared through gatherings at churches and communities in the coming weeks and months, added Castellanos.

Castellanos launched the church’s official platform www.esperanzachiapas.mx, an online website with content created by Hope Medi Chiapas, including the shorts featured in the film festival, bible studies, and more resources.

Ignacio Navarro, president of the Chiapas Union, congratulated young people for their creativity and dedication to the mission of the church with their films and vowed to continue supporting their evangelism efforts. “I’m happy for the accomplishments of each one of you in these productions,” he said.

Following the initial training this year, the Chiapas Mexican Union is looking to do a feature-length film. “We are in talks with Hope media centers in Mexico to work together in this project and have a film about the importance of family and the hope that those of us who believe in the Second Coming of Jesus have,” Castellanos said.

Uriel Castellanos contributed to this article.

The original article was published on the Inter-American Division website.