Portraits of Colorado - The Making of a Modern Symphony: Official Selection: Faith: Grace Film Festival

Portraits of Colorado - The Making of a Modern Symphony
USA

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Runtime: 59
Category: Faith
Screen Date: January 29, 2015




When Emmy-award winning composer Charles Denler was commissioned by the Colorado Symphony to write a modern symphony based on the beauty of the Colorado he immediately had a clear vision for where he wanted to go with the music.

A film-score composer by trade, this score would be inspired by images of towering snow capped mountains, morning sunrises of shimmering pinks and sunsets of peach and dark red...deep blue carpets of summer Columbines stretching across the massive mountain landscape and fall Aspens afire with gold and red...and the sounds of crashing waterfalls, the hoof beats of wild horses running the plains and the magical silence of a gentle snowfall. All this put to music. Richly performed by the respected Colorado Symphony and Chorus and conducted by Scott O’Neil, "Portraits of Colorado" is what Colorado sounds like.

Director: Steve Greisen

With filming experience in over forty countries of the world Steve understands his mission. From shooting projects in the jungles of Northern India, the killing fields of Cambodia, or pursuing great footage in the highlands of Africa, it’s always for the same purpose… to connect the viewer to a great story. Credits include The Mystery of The Ark of The Covenant, The Gentle Bear Man of Emo, The Master Designer - The Song, The Search for The Real Mt. Sinai (both narrated by John Rhys-Davies of Lord of the Rings & Indiana Jones fame), In The Hands of The Enemy – America Surrenders an Army ,and Journey of Hope- Walking With Hope Through Life’s Valleys featuring San Francisco Giants star pitcher Dave Dravecky, Incredible Creatures That Define Design. Steve currently lives in the mountains of Colorado.

SHINITOMONA: Faith: Official Selection: Grace Film Festival

SHINITOMONA
Japan
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Runtime: 3:39
Category: Faith
Screening Date: January 29, 2015

In 1600 , Tokugawa army won the Battle of Sekigahara , and brought a long period of peace and tranquillity. Tadakatsu Honda , big four of Tokugawa , made a lot of feats of arms. 10 years later , he was aware of his time end , left the testament. He wrote “ real SAMURAI is that we have to die with our lord if we had any hard military situations . It doesn't matter we perform feats or not .”
Finally , not dying in battle fields he composed a farewell Tanka.

Directors

DaisukeHoride

Victory: Faith: Grace Film Festival: Official Selection

Victory
USA
Buy Tickets Runtime: 17:45
Category: Faith
Screening Date: January 29, 2015

 An inspirational documentary illustrating how the power of faith, hope and love triumphed over sexual abuse, depression, and homelessness in the lives of three community leaders.

 Director: Akintunde Sogunro

Akintunde Sogunro is an aspiring actor, writer and director who delights in the personal growth process and expression that is the arts. A fresh face in the performance world Akintunde received his BA from Southern Connecticut State University and has performed with several Regional Theaters including the Elm Shakespeare Company, Collective Consciousness Theater and the CT Free Shakespeare Company. He made his first Off Broadway debut in the role of ” Mado” in Benito Cereno directed by Woodie King Jr (2011)
He has most recently began branching out to produce his own original pieces including the hit one act ” My Life is in Your Hands” that debuted at the Trinity-on-Main Performing Arts Center to a sold out audience of 250 in June of 2012. Akintunde is currently completing the script and filming of the documentary film ” Victory", and then will be focused on publishing his children’s book, and releasing the pilot episode for his original television drama, ” The GA Project”. Akintunde is a native of Lagos, Nigeria and currently resides in New Britain, CT.

The Saxon New World: Faith: Grace Film Festival: Official Selection

The Saxon New World
USA
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Runtime: 32:00
Category: Faith
Screening Date: January 29, 2015

From the untold history of America’s largest early immigrations, this half-hour documentary tells the story of 19th-century Saxons who settled in rural Missouri. Unprepared for the harsh conditions of America in 1838, and dismayed by the scandal of their leader Martin Stephan, they persevered to sow the seeds for one of the world’s largest bodies of Lutheranism today (Missouri Synod Lutherans). From interviews with historians and curators, to archival pictures and centennial re-enactments, this documentary blends historical storytelling with the music of J.S. Bach, in a tribute to the living descendants of this epic migration.

Director: H. Paul Moon

H. Paul Moon is a filmmaker, composer and video artist. Through his production company Zen Violence Films, he profiles performing and visual artists who span boundaries from classical arts to new media technologies. He also creates experimental films in the tradition of wordless environmental cinema ranging from city symphonies to "Koyaanisqatsi."

Moon's debut film "El Toro" — an experimental work that explores connections between the ancient ritual of Spanish bullfights, and the passion of the Christ — won the Best of Show award of the 2010 Rosebud Film & Video Festival at Artisphere, and the Experimental Media Prize of the 2011 WPA Experimental Media Series at The Phillips Collection. Prior to "El Toro," Moon filmed the documentary "R. Luke DuBois: Running Out of Time," profiling a New York composer and visual artist who builds on notions of cultural and romantic memory, exploring how information can be time-manipulated for emotional impact. The documentary premiered at the 2011 DC Independent Film Festival, won the 2011 "Best Short Documentary" jury prize at the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival, won the 2011 "Silver Medal for Excellence in a Music Documentary" at the Park City Film Music Festival, and won the 2013 "Best Short Film" jury prize at the Reel Indie Film Fest in Toronto. Subsequently, Moon filmed the short documentary "Hamac Cazíim," about a punk band using music to maintain their indigenous heritage, which became an official selection at the Red Nation, Chicago International Movies & Music, and Ruby Mountain Film Festivals, the Native American Indian Film Festival of the Southeast, the Indianer Inuit: Das Nordamerika Filmfestival in Stuttgart, Germany, and XEPE AN CÖICOOS in Sonora, Mexico.

Moon later debuted "Time Crunch," a landscape/environmental film accompaniment to the same-named work for chamber orchestra by composer Jordan Kuspa, at the Smithsonian American Art Museum with the 21st Century Consort. "Time Crunch" became an official selection at the Ruby Mountain, James River Shorts, Chronos, and Park City Film Music Festivals. From the same series at the Smithsonian, he debuted an experimental work named "Simple Machines" with an original music score by R. Luke DuBois, which subsequently screened at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, and the Imagine Science Film Festival in New York City. Prolific in creating shorts, his newest other films are "LowerTown Paducah," a feature-length documentary about an artist relocation program in Kentucky, and "The Saxon New World," a half-hour documentary about 19th-century Saxons who settled in rural Missouri, from the untold history of America's earliest and largest immigrations. Projects still in production include a narrative short, and five feature-length documentaries: about the American composer Samuel Barber, cowboy poetry, Fluxus art, the Occupy movement, and the life of Whittaker Chambers — an espionage thriller.

Prior to his recent interest in filmmaking, Moon was a playwright and a composer of incidental music for theatre. He lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area, and manages online filmmaker communities at www.focuspulling.com and www.docofilm.com. He is the recipient of the Emergence award at Docs In Progress, where he teaches video editing as an Adobe Certified Expert (A.C.E.).
Samples are available through his online portfolio at www.zenviolence.com.

Blue Eyed Boy: Faith: Grace Film Festival: Official Selection

 

Blue Eyed Boy    Buy Tickets
Iran
Language: Persian
Runtime: 18:06
Category: Faith
Screening Date: January 29, 2015

A boy with unusual color blindness causes his parents shame when he accidentally kills some village livestock, so his parents seek medical treatment for the boy, and when hospital doctors cannot help,
they take him to a local Shaman for a remedy...

Director: Amir Masoud Soheili

Masoud Soheili was born in 1988 in Mashhad, Iran.
He earned a BA degree in Law from Ferdowsi University .In 2007 during his study he started to work as second assistant director in some professional movies.
He has been working for six years in the film industry as an Assistant Director. He turned his attention to writing and directing and left behind assistant directing as he went into the military service.
He enjoys writing scripts. This is the deed Mr. Doctor! (Short film, 2010) was one of his work that “Omid Alizadeh” directed it.
Also his script “Zero boundary” won an honorable mention in the March 2012 contest at moviepoet.com.
He made his first short film “the car blow the horn just for the women” in January 2013.
Also he did his Military service (2012-2013) in Central Prison of Mashhad and he worked in “Image of Prison” as photographer and director.
He was given the chance to direct prison documentaries as a part of his military service, and gained valuable experience.

Director’s Statement

I read ‘“The blue-eyed boy” story in 2006. Before that time, I thought of making a film with a monochrome point of view, but not black and white.
Fortunately, I read the book and it compelled me even more to make a film with a blue monochrome point of view., then I decided to adapt it into a script.
I wrote many drafts and tried to really elevate the script for this blue monochrome point of view. I wanted to expand this from a simple children's story into something deeper that would appeal to an adult audience as well.
I tried to give depth to all the characters without forgetting that the story is about a boy with blue monochrome eyes. After many rewrites I asked Saeed Ghorbanian, a thoughtful and genius writer/poet to collaborate with me. His help with the dialogue was invaluable and he even wrote a poem for a sequence in the middle of the film.
Shooting in a village with a cast that include old women and a small boy was challenging. I was very lucky to have had the opportunity to make this film. During the process many amazing things happened, a great DOP came on board along with great actors and actresses. And I was able to obtain the rights, I am so grateful. I am very happy with the way the film turned out, and am even happier to share it with the world.

My Heart: Faith: Grace Film Festival: Official Selection

My Heart      Buy Tickets
Iran
Language: Persian
Runtime: 2:00
Category: Faith
Screening Date: January 29, 2015



The teacher is sick. her Students are trying to prepare a gift for her.

A film by Yaser Talebi.

Yashoda: Grace Film Festival: Official Selection

Yashoda     Buy Tickets
Country: India
Language: Marathi
Runtime:9:26
Category: Faith
Screening Date: January 29, 2015

Yashoda, is an emotional short fiction motion picture in which a mother tells her child that she is an adopted one with reference of Indian mythological story characters of Yashoda & Devki.

Director: Yuvraj Mahagaonkar

I am a film making student & I love to explore film making as a medium of expression of my inner complexities.

Director’s Statement

Films I believe is reliving or recreating the moments that one experiences in personal life on celluloid with a creative artistic touch of mise-en-scene to it.