La Sierra film lands best documentary at record-setting Sonscreen festival

Their trip laid the foundation for their video depiction of La Sierra’s Tim Musso and his trek negotiating the southern Sierra back country where he gathered artistic ideas and imagery from nature. The filmmakers followed the creative metamorphosis of those inspirations over the course of nine months and its culmination in a 10-foot tall woodcut print displayed in a Los Angeles art gallery. 

Hwang and Harty made the documentary film short on assistant art professor Musso, which they titled “Passing Through,” through La Sierra’s Film and Television Production program—they have since graduated, Hwang with a degree in business and Harty in film and television. It became their own work of art and garnered a Sonny Award for Best Documentary Short during the 2019 Sonscreen Film Festival closing ceremony on April 6. 

The annual festival for Christian filmmakers, organized by the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, was held April 4 – 6 at La Sierra’s Troesh Conference Center in the Zapara School of Business. It fielded 95 short film entries of which 57 were selected as official festival films, a record in the festival’s 17-year history.

In addition to Hwang and Harty’s documentary, films by La Sierra Film and Television Production students Summer Medina, Brendon Wilson, and Arik Amodeo were also official festival selections. All told, 265 student filmmakers, industry professionals, academics and film enthusiasts mostly from Adventist schools around the country participated in Sonscreen. Sonny Awards were given for Best High School Short, Best Dramatic Short, Best Comedy Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animation Short, Best Art/Experimental Short, Best in Festival, Audience Choice Award, and Jury Selection Award.

 The festival awards ceremony was capped by a presentation of the 2019 Sonscreen Vision Award to film producer Jay Stern who served as the opening night’s keynote speaker. Stern is a longtime friend and former film industry colleague of La Sierra Film and Television Production adjunct faculty member and screenwriter Jordi Ros. The two previously served in executive roles for Walt Disney Company divisions, Stern at Hollywood Pictures and Ros at Touchstone. In later years, Stern hired Ros to write a screenplay for an animated film Ros created called “Born to be Wild” about a farm-raised salmon who longed to follow a wild salmon into the open ocean.

Inside perspective

Stern graduated cum laude from Yale University in 1981 and began his career as a movie location manager and production assistant in New York City. His extensive background includes 12 years as a studio production executive at Disney and at New Line Cinema. His portfolio includes the development and launch of the successful “Rush Hour” film franchise, and the shepherding of other hits such as “Money Talks” and “Love and Basketball.” He is currently developing and producing movies and television under his Boone Entertainment label.

For the keynote presentation, Stern provided insights into the film industry through an onstage interview with La Sierra Film and Television Production Chair Rodney Vance and with Ros who joined the conversation.

When asked to define the role of a producer, Stern said a primary goal is to make sure the film director “is paying attention to what he really needs to be paying attention to. I see the role of producer as being in service to everybody else. …You want to get the best out of every creative person on a movie.”

Stern said most of his past film projects came to him as screen plays. He said he aims to make movies that in some way communicate a central theme of the possibility of redemption. He looks for great characters and favors comedies. “I definitely do gravitate towards comedies because when you make a movie as a producer you need to see that movie a minimum 30 times, and usually like 50, 60, 70 times,” he said.

During a question-and-answer session with students, Stern and Ros provided further insights including advice for budding actors and the career path to become a producer. 

Stern told those interested in acting to find good teachers and to take scene study classes as well as cold reading classes that prepare actors for auditions.

“Star in as many student films as you can,” Ros added. “That’s where you  get your breaks. And you should support your fellow student filmmakers. … You never know who is going to make a great student film and if they get noticed, you as the actor will get noticed.

Stern advised would-be producers to start out working for a good management company or agency where they can learn all aspects of the business and network with a broad range of people.

“It is a relationship business. It is about trust, it is about people doing favors for each other,” he said. “You want to try to stay sincere. I believe if you actually apply the Golden Rule as much as possible you will stand out in Hollywood. If you keep your word as much as you can, you will stand out in Hollywood. And then it’s about working hard and learning as much as possible, … meeting as many people as possible, and finding your group.”

Stern also talked about the future of the movie business. He believes movie studios which previously sold their films to Netflix may experiment with pay-per-view going forward to remain competitive with the streaming industry, he said. “What we know is human beings crave good stories,” said Stern.

When asked in a separate interview about the future of the Christian film market, Stern said he doesn’t know where the industry is headed, but believes today’s audiences in general want movies with positive messages, particularly in the wake of a spate of movies in previous years that peddled particularly dark themes. “The faith-based movies have done very well because people are yearning for these things,” he said. “There’s a great yearning for good, wholesome messages.”

Stern noted that in making films for the general population, “to be universal you have to appeal to universal issues and concerns.… I think people really are the same everywhere. They want to love and be loved, and they want to be respected,” he said.

A safe space 

The 2019 Sonscreen Festival screened student films in seven blocks. The presentation lineup included a number of guest talks and Q&A sessions with industry professionals such as noted film and television editors Chris and Tatia Cibelli, and Stimme der Hoffnung, the Germany-based European Media Center for the Inter-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church now called Hope Media Europe. 

Attendees also had opportunity to view the premier of “Arnion,” a Greek word which means ‘the lamb.’ The web-based series is a collaborative effort between the NAD, Walla Walla University Center for Media Ministry and WWU graduated student Rachel Scribner.

Following the awards ceremony, students talked about the impact of the festival and reasons they attended. 

“I came to support and network,” said Vester Banner, a junior La Sierra Film and Television Production. “I’m interested in seeing different films and getting a different perspective.”

Denai Keizs, a senior documentary film major at Andrews University in Michigan said it was “interesting to see how different filmmakers think.” She and fellow student Joy Ngugi won Best Art/Experimental Short for their project “Bridge the Gap.” The movie sheds light on the socioeconomic disparity between the neighboring communities of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. 

La Sierra freshman Amodeo’s art/experimental film “KYUSS” was among the official festival selections. He is an international student from Italy who attended Greater Miami Adventist Academy before arriving at La Sierra. Amodeo said this year’s Sonscreen was his fourth. He began attending the festivals while in middle school. “What I usually learn at this film festival is that I need to step up my game,” Amodeo said. “I love that everyone is doing great work and it pushes me to do better.” 

Hwang and Harty graduated from La Sierra in 2016 and 2018 respectively. They now operate a film production company called The Nomad along with business partner Alex Gilbert. The duo said the Sonscreen festival provided an opportunity for further sharing their film about Musso and his adventures. “We were happy to be a part of the festival and we’re glad that people enjoyed the film enough to warrant giving it an award,” they said.

Vance offered insight and expressed pride in his former students. “Most of all, education is a daily process. It's a journey. But I freely admit, every time a student wins an award, gets hired in a good job, achieves recognition for contributing to the community, that's a good day. That's a day that validates the process,” he said.

Harty noted that the festival fills a unique niche and need within the Adventist community. Sonscreen got its start in 2002 as a safe venue for young Christian filmmakers and artists. For the past five years it has been directed by Julio Muñoz, associate director for the NAD’s Office of Communication. 

“I think it’s absolutely essential that young Adventist filmmakers know there’s a place for them in the church,” Harty said. “The world is changing so fast, and right now that change is primarily led by the media, so it’s really important for the church to lean heavily on the expertise of its younger members, especially members in those fields. I’m glad that leadership at the NAD, Julio Muñoz in particular, is creating that space through things like Sonscreen.”

Articles are available here from the North American Division about the 2019 Sonscreen Film Festival as well as a festival retrospective that includes future plans: 

https://www.nadadventist.org/news/record-attendance-film-submissions-2019-sonscreen-film-festival

https://www.nadadventist.org/news/more-screentime-needed