Hundreds of Seventh-day Adventist young people attending a territory-wide youth congress in the Caribbean Union witnessed a first-ever film festival recently held at the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The more than 500 youth took part in a one-day gathering that featured film screenings of locally produced short Adventist films and training sessions along with media professionals.

Coined “Blessed,” the film festival featured five shorts from five production teams from different parts of the Caribbean Union under the theme “Beatitudes of Jesus.” The short films, lasting from four minutes to up to 16 minutes, were evaluated for overall creativity, content, relevance, Adventist distinctiveness, and narrative flow, organizers said.

It was a strategic move to include the film festival during a youth congress, according to Royston Philbert, communication director of the Caribbean Union and main organizer of the festival. “We saw the young congress as the perfect place to motivate and inspire the next generation with the goal of nurturing their Christian craft and developing their spiritual life,” said Philbert. It was important for young people to realize how much their talent can be used to influence others for good, he added.

In addition, the festival brought opportunities for young people to meet others who share their passion explained Philbert.

The first-place winner of the festival was “The Chair”, created by the North Caribbean Conference. “The Chair” delves into the unexpected confrontation between Tony, a young man drifting away from his faith, and Ruford, a staunch elder of the Sint Eustatius Adventist Church. After years of absence, Tony decides to return to church one Sabbath, hoping for a peaceful reconnection.

Second place went to “Saved for His Kingdom” by the Suriname Mission. “The Be Attitude”, created by the South Leeward Conference, took third.  Additionally, best director and best storyline went to Nikilli Gumbs of “The Chair”; best country showcased went to “Saved for the Kingdom”, and Special Mention to “The Be Attitude.”

Message About Jesus

“Bringing out the message about Jesus in the times that we are living today is our objective for making films,” said Gumbs of Island of St. Eustatius. “The production took some time, and putting it together was not very easy.”

Lizbeth Elejalde, programming director of Hope Channel Inter-America congratulated church leaders and organizers for holding the first film festival of such magnitude. In her keynote address, Elejalde said, “People want to be entertained but we have to give them good content. It is time for innovation, to tell the world that Jesus is coming soon.”

In his presentation, Kivonne Ramsawak, media professional from the East Caribbean Confenrece, encouraged attendees to put their passion to work in fulfilling the mission of sharing the gospel in the various effective forms available at their fingertips. “We must continue to invest in training so our people can prepare themselves to share what God has empowered them to do,” he said.

Dwyane A. Cheddar, director of Oakwood University Broadcasting Network (OUBN) and associate professor of Communication, said the goal of the special festival is to encourage young filmmakers to eventually produce programs to share.

Reaching More People

Elejalde commended the producers for “taking so little and going into so much detail to produce what we got.”  Many producers’ time and limited resources were major constraints. She said it was time for the Caribbean Union to enter this avenue in reaching a greater multitude of people. “Hope Media stands to work on certain projects to help you reach a wider audience.” She added that the involvement in film festivals will grow bigger with time.

The concept of creating appealing content impressed Chad Gullaman, youth director of the Suriname mission. “Young and old, almost everyone is influenced by the technology, and we have to continue supporting more of it across the region,” he said.

For Kern Tobias, president of the Caribbean Union, the festival was one of the inspiring events of the year. “I am happy to see the results of the festival and affirm the Suriname mission for embracing the opportunity for participation and coming right up there.”

Harnessing the Talents

“Cinema is where the people are,” said Philbert. “We have to begin telling our story there, and this festival reveals that we have the talent to do just that.” The event was about inspiring young people and those interested in media production to write, film, and create more content. It is about harnessing the talents developed in youth to inspire others, he said.

“Film making can create such a huge impact not only on an audience but also to the ones telling the story,” added Philbert. “I looked at some of the cast involved in the films, and I saw so many emotions as the films were being played.”

More media production training will take place across the Caribbean Union territory in the coming months, Philbert said. “Additional training will give our communication and media staff more opportunities to learn how to share their work, learn from professionals, and be able to network for better productions.”

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