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News: MICHIGAN-MADE FILM BY CALVIN GRAD GOES HOLLYWOOD

Loaded, an experimental short film written and produced by Calvin College/CAS graduate and Grand Rapids-based filmmaker Aaron B. Smith, was recently honored with a Reel Spirituality/Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC) Film Award during the annual Reel Spirituality conference in Los Angeles, California.

On October 21, 2006, Smith’s film was featured during a special day-long series of workshops, “Reel Spirituality 101: Unpacking Movies and their Meaning,” which were held at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Barry Taylor, film composer and adjunct professor of popular culture and theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, led a discussion on the importance of music and sound design in cinema, using Smith’s award-winning Loaded as an example of excellence in those aspects of filmmaking craft.

This was the inaugural year for the Reel Spirituality/LAFSC Film Awards, co-sponsored by the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary and the LAFSC, a one-semester film intensive for students attending schools in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The awards were designed to honor works of excellence by emerging filmmakers who attend schools in the CCCU as well as other independent filmmakers who create films and videos for local church or other ministry contexts. Winners received $500 as well as public screenings at the conference.

This year’s edition of Reel Spirituality 101 explored the basics of film-image, Word, and music and how these elements work together to create theological meaning in the cinema. Leading filmmakers and theologians were featured and attendees were exposed to a variety of presentations, panels, and Q & A’s.

Loaded was produced by Smith’s Dusk Films as part of a trilogy of shorts, including Michigan Sky and Art Appreciation. All three films were shot in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in about one day each, and were directed by Los Angeles-based filmmaker Rik Swartzwelder, who often serves as a visiting professor during Calvin College’s Interim semester in January. Loaded also features intense performances by CAS professor Stephanie Sandberg and her daughter Julia. In addition, Calvin alum Douglas S. Nagel edited, sound designed, and co-composed original music for the piece and fellow alum Rachel Dik provided art direction.

More info/links:

Event Details: http://www.pepperdine.edu/pr/releases/2006/october/ffschedule.htm
Press Release:
http://graphic.pepperdine.edu/news/2006/2006-10-26-mediastudies.htm
Reel Spirituality:
www.brehmcenter.org
Los Angeles Film Studies Center (LAFSC):
lafsc.bestsemester.com
Loaded and Dusk Films:
www.duskfilmspresents.com