Fireproof, and the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival

Fireproof, and the 2009 SAICFF

~ Thoughts on Fairness, and the Purpose of Competition ~

Recently in this big ol' world wide web, there was a group of well-intentioned filmmakers discussing the fairness of allowing films such as Fireproof and Expelled, established big dogs in the world of Christian films, into the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

The comments were along the lines of, 'how are homeschooled filmmakers supposed to compete with that level of film?' Numerous complaints have been raised that 'it is unbeatable,' and 'how could the award go to anyone else', and 'this isn't fair', and 'this will damage the purpose of the festival', and so forth, and so on. Maybe it's something I ate, or maybe it's my Moore blood, but these complaints really grated on me, almost like a child screaming in line at a shopping center.

Well, being a filmmaker who is supposedly going to ‘suffer’ for this decision, I have some thoughts about Fireproof and Expelled being in the festival. And to be fair, these concerns have arisen from members of the HeuMoore production team as well, but we quickly came to the following conclusion.

1.) A competition is never fair.

Varying levels of experience and talent sway the evenness of the competition more so than money, in most cases.

2.) Fireproof is just as independent as any other independent film.

Just because it’s six to twelve months further along in it’s development than our film doesn’t make it unfair for them to enter. In fact Fireproof and Expelled have been worked on for years; The Widow’s Might, from the first day of shooting to the final submission to the judges LESS than 5 months. In the big picture, where will we be with The Widow's Might 13 months from now?

3.) Fireproof legitimizes the festival, and thus, our film.

I do not, I repeat DO NOT feel the honor in being part of ‘podunk and bob’s indie film fest’. Having films that are where I intend to be, causes me to stretch, and ultimately gives me more power by way of association, when marketing or pitching future projects. I’m thrilled to be able to say to any investor, ‘Ya know Fireproof? Expelled? Secret of Jonathan Sperry? Well, The Widow’s Might was chosen along with those three to be part of the largest Christian film festival in the world." For that reason alone, I’m grateful that Fireproof is in the festival… This pursuit of excellence is what separates the SAICFF from 'podunk and bob'.

4.) Every film has the same chance.

Fireproof will probably be given a far more critical eye by the judges, for the reason that they had more time, experience, and financial support. It is stated on the festival website that budget is one of the things taken into consideration when judging the films. I think a film like Pendragon has ultimately the same amount of power to win as any of the others. It’s a film I would imagine the judges would tend to favor, especially when considering budget and the level of creativity exhibited by the filmmakers.

5.) Audience Choice is still the king of the hill.

The film that comes away from the festival with the Audience Choice award, will be able to say decisively that they beat out Fireproof. That’s just the coolest thing in the world, and it could very well be a short film; there, the audience is a true judge. Winning audience choice with no Fireproof would still be grand, but certainly not to the same extent.

6.) I hope to be next year where Fireproof is now; they’re not a studio picture.

It's not a huge budget film. It's just a well crafted indie film, that is an itsy bitsy miniscule drop in the bucket compared to even the lamest of Disney Channel TV shows. We need to take the blinders off, look at the real world of films, and grow up. Moaning about Fireproof and how unbeatable it is ultimately shows how small our picture is of the filmmaking world. It's time to think big, grow up, take charge, move on.

~ In Christ, John.