An Artist's Call For Omnivorous Attentiveness to the World Around Us

When people ask me how many hours I work a week I find it a difficult question to answer as an artist. There is a calling on the artisan soul to always be awake to the story unfolding all around us second by second, detail by detail.

BY SPENCER T. FOLMAR

It is a necessity to have what I once heard CS Lewis had — an “omnivorous attentiveness” to the world around us.Of course, films are necessary to watch to be a filmmaker. In fact, the summer before I attended NYU for my MFA in film, there was a list of more than 50 films that were required viewing before starting my first semester. I didn’t quite make it through the whole list, but it did really open my eyes to the breadth of film history. In fact, most film classes require watching movies at any film school (much to the chagrin of the engineers in college when my homework looked quite different — no calculator needed!It makes sense that homework for filmmakers would be watching movies, but likely this is applicable to all arts. A painter studies paintings, musician knows music history, and so on. But artists can’t only study and be familiar with their own discipline, as an artist, we are called to see all of the world, even the parts we’re uncomfortable with.CS Lewis was said to have an omnivorous attentiveness where he would walk to work and notice even the uniqueness of the granules of dirt along his path. He appreciated the details of the world, and that is an inspiration and a admonition to all artists.But as I continued to think about this unique outlook on the world, I realize that in the same way artists are always “on the clock,” always observing all hours of the day in order to be ingested into influencing their craft, Christians also have a similar calling to notice the world and its intricacies. God’s creation is full of beautiful, intricate details that may take all eternity to appreciate, but the most prized of all of creation was the Imago Dei… Us. We were the final aspect of creation in the Genesis story and God gave us special designation when we were made in His image.Being in God’s image means that we are all on the clock, called, and on mission to see the world as God sees us. Christians are called to have an omnivorous attentiveness to the world and its details and always have our shoes on and tied. As CS Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”Director Spencer T. Folmar’s theatrical debut, “Generational Sins,” has spurred a national debate surrounding the interplay of faith and film. Folmar coined the term “Hard Faith” to describe this new genre of film, written for audiences who are hungry for hope in the midst of gritty real-life stories. Folmar’s films are now released under his Los Angeles production company Hard Faith Films, which is currently developing several projects that will reflect today’s multifaceted culture and audience.

Korn Co-founder Brian 'Head' Welch's Doc 'Loud Krazy Love' Gets Standing O

Korn co-founder Brian "Head" Welch's documentary "Loud Krazy Love" was extremely well received at it's first screening at the Dallas International Film Festival on Saturday, according to a faith-based public relations agency.The agency's president, A. Larry Ross, who attended the film's Texas premier, said "Loud Krazy Love" received "the only standing ovation of the festival so far." The 7-day film festival (May 3-10) ends Thursday."It’s been fun working with this guy (Brian Head Welch of Korn) and helping tell the world about the premieres of LOUD KRAZY LOVE at the Dallas International Film Festival and the Nashville Film Festival. This is only the beginning for this amazing film, which will release in the fall. You need to see his story - it’s beautiful, surprising and inspiring!" VP Kristin Cole, of A. Larry Ross Communications posted on her Facebook page.The film is an unconventional documentary chronicling the chaotic and unexpectedly uplifting life story of Welch, best known as guitarist and co-founder of KoRn, said producers on the film's website.After its Texas premier, the 86-minute film directed by first-time feature filmmakers Trey Hill and Scott Mayo will make its Southeast premier during the Nashville Film Festival May 10-19, with multiple screenings.WATCH PART OF Q&A SESSION WITH BRIAN "HEAD" WELCH AFTER TEXAS PREMIER OF LOUD KRAZY LOVE BELOWProducers said that the film features exclusive access on tour and at home, as well as in-depth interviews with Brian, his family and his Korn bandmates. “Loud Krazy Love subverts the standard sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll narrative to explore Brian's identity as a father and the complicated relationship he shares with his daughter Jennea. The film takes viewers through a tumultuous coming-of-age journey filled with chaos, doubt, and unconventional faith."“In my life I’ve done so many things I regret and wish that I could change,” said Welch. “It can feel haunting. But seeing my entire life with Korn and my family play out before my eyes in this film, and seeing the positive that has come from my most embarrassing and devastating failures – there are no words to express my gratitude. Our team created a very special film here, and I can't wait for the world to see it.”Production of the film covered four years and includes two decades worth of never-before-seen material from Welch, his family and KoRn. The result is a remarkable cinematic experience of amplified emotion, rock ‘n’ roll access and restorative love, producers said.“Loud Krazy Love” is directed by Hill and Mayo, who also wrote and edited the film. It is produced by Samuel Ditore of Ditore Mayo Entertainment and John Humphrey of I Am Second Media.

Godspeed: The Race Across America Trailer (WATCH VIDEO)

In what promises to be a fascinating look at overcoming extreme conditions and circumstances while competing in “the most difficult endurance race in the world,” Godspeed - The Race Across America Documentary is coming to theaters across America for one night only, May 22.WATCH TRAILER BELOWHollywood film and television producer Brian Bird, whose writing and producing credits include The Case for Christ and Captive, is promoting the movie as his next faith and family film. Bird also serves as executive producer and head writer of the wildly successful Hallmark original series, "When Calls the Heart," (2013-present), and was Co-Executive producer and senior writer for five seasons on the hit CBS series, “Touched By An Angel.”Godspeed is the true story of two average guys, Jerry Schemmel and Brad Cooper, fulfilling a dream to compete in the world’s most grueling and demanding bicycle race—The Race Across America—a seven-day, 3,000+ mile trek across 12 states from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans, producers state on the movie’s Facebook site.Race Across America (RAAM) is one of the most respected and longest running ultra-endurance events in the world. RAAM is seen as a pinnacle of athletic achievement not only in cycling circles but the greater sporting community as well.“There is no other race in the world like RAAM,” Godspeed film makers said. “ There is no race that combines the distance, terrain and weather; no other event that tests a team’s spirit from beginning to end. The Race inspires everyone who has been a part of it - racer, crew, staff and fans alike. RAAM is the true test of speed, endurance, strength and camaraderie, the ideal combination of work and play.”

Find theaters and buy tickets of the special screening of Godspeed through Fathom Events on May 22 by clicking here.

Actor Stephen Baldwin Counters America’s Divide With ‘Journal-tainment’

NASHVILLE — America has not been this divided since the Vietnam War and the presidential election fallout has included a rift with his own brothers, said Christian actor Stephen Baldwin recently at Proclaim 18, the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.Baldwin told Together LA during an interview inside his promotional RV parked on the exposition floor (complete with Ironman pinball machine) that he was at NRB to talk about his latest three projects.“I’m just telling the Lord, tell me where to go,” he said. “Right now it’s the Thief on the Cross movie, Church People [movie], and Great American Pilgrimage (The GAP) [TV road show].”

NEW WORD

When the actor was asked about whether he could be tagged as a journalist, considering he’s done quite a bit of radio in the past and the first season of the GAP, he explained:“So, what I’ve done with the Great American Pilgrimage is I’ve come up with a new word. It’s called ‘journal-tainment.’ It’s basically journalism that is a little entertaining and it seems to be working.“Let me clarify. I don’t want to try to pretend like all of a sudden I’m taking myself seriously as a journalist. I’m a communicator. My calling is to communicate the gospel. My additional calling is to do that in the way that God has called me to do. So, if you’re an actor that’s been in movies like the double-Academy award-winning The Usual Suspects, you would assume that if God’s going to use you in Christian media that you’ll use that knowledge, that wisdom, that experience, etc., etc.”In the GAP show (16 episodes on the RT news network and YouTube), Baldwin and financial guru Max Keiser journey across the United States in a RV to “learn and examine what people believe, perceive and how they define living in America in the wake of its most controversial presidential election. They visit everyday Americans in search of finding a grassroots commonality that can bring even the most divided together.”

METAXAS MANO A MANO

Baldwin’s visit to NRB appeared to unveil even more journal-tainment possibilities. Popular Christian author, speaker, and talk show host Eric Metaxas teamed with him for a hilarious Facebook LIVE interview that had nearly 30,000 views in less than a week. More evidence that journal-tainment is a reality.“I don’t even mean to sound nice or sound humble, but as a believer my wife says I have to be humble,” Baldwin said. “I’m just a guy that loves the Lord because he’s real and now I just want to have the right humility and the right servant’s heart to hear the Holy Spirit correctly to move in the direction God wants me to move.“So, if I’m going to call myself anything, first, it’s either an evangelist or communicator of the gospel. So, what does that mean? Now, I’m trying to look at society and culture from perspectives” of knowing how he can really talk about the power of the gospel in ways that are relevant today, “but not in ways that we are seeing other Christians doing it. They’re missing it.”He adds, “Hey listen, when sex trafficking is in the top five industries on the planet — satan is winning. We’re winning souls and all that other stuff, in the warfare, we’re advancing.“I’m somebody that believes that part of my calling is to engage and empower and motivate believers to do more for the Kingdom — to aspire to a greater level of excellence.”Baldwin said that the Great American Pilgrimage is an experiment that asks and perhaps answers, “‘Can Stephen Baldwin as the host, regardless of what opinions there are out there about him, can he go out to people who share his opinion and/or not and do a whole lot more listening?”

NOT SINCE VIETNAM

When asked by TLA about whether the show was really more about politics, he said, “No. It has political conversations, but the show itself is not pointed politically. Great American Pilgrimage is an experiment where after this past presidential election the division and the angst and the anger and the hatred and the protesting, which in my opinion we haven’t seen this since Vietnam. It’s that crazy in America again. It’s made me feel like how did we get here? What happened?“In my observation it’s that if you’re a Republican or a conservative or a liberal and a progressive, whatever, everyone is so focused at yelling at the other side about how they’re wrong, nobody is willing to listen and learn about the other person before they [immediately] have whatever opinion or judgemental attitude or whatever it is.”

ELECTION SPLITS BALDWINS

The reality of a divided nation has hit close to home for Baldwin, specifically his brothers Alec and Billy.“My brother Alec hasn’t talked to me since the election. Isn’t that silly? That over politics, two brothers will not communicate. I don’t know his wife. I don’t see their kids. Nothing. Because of politics. That’s silly to me, but that’s his choice. He has made that choice,” he said. He said he also recognizes that the battle between the brothers is spiritual. “I’m praying for him.”

THE CONVERSATION

When asked about his takeaway from the first season of the GAP he said that in the media “more and more people on both sides of this equation, whether you are a progressive or a conservative, both sides of that perception are actually agreeing that the divide is so wide and great now that if we don’t sit down and start to find ways to agree and come together, and help and be a blessing to one another, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. And maybe that’s what needs to happen.

NRB VIDEO

“But the thing that I was most blown away with was the number of liberal Democrat media people that are coming up to me and saying, ‘I watched the show. I love the show and I think it’s actually cool because the conversation you’re trying to invoke really does need to happen.“My instinct was correct. I wasn’t sure if people would like this but the sensitivity of it and the issue of it is so on point that it’s working,” he said.He shared that the idea for Great American Pilgrimage was to create a piece of content that’s family friendly, entertaining and fun, that has serious conversations about serious topics but presented in a very light-hearted way.[bctt tweet="You can see that I’m doing things outside of the box. I believe the Lord has called me to do that. - Stephen Baldwin" via="no"]“In all of that, try to present this kind of foundational tone of do unto others or treat others as you would hope or wish to have them treat you,” he said. “You can see that I’m doing things outside of the box. I believe the Lord has called me to do that.”Photos by Justin Dean.

'Joni' Newly Digitized Film; Tada 'Celebrates' 50th Anniversary of Accident

Joni Eareckson Tada plans to mark the 50th anniversary of the diving accident that left her a quadriplegic in a wheelchair with a celebration, including a red carpet premiere of the newly-digitized film “Joni” on Sunday (Aug. 6, 2017).“While most people wouldn’t celebrate their 50th anniversary in a wheelchair, we see this event as a true celebration of Joni’s life, and all that God has accomplished through her ministry because of her 50 years as a quadriplegic,” said Joni and Friends President and COO Doug Mazza, clarifying the reason for the festivities surrounding the digitized film’s Premiere.“So we thought this timing for the ‘Joni’ digitization and Red Carpet Premiere couldn’t be better, and we wanted to mark the occasion with fanfare as well as recognition for others who have been used by God in disability ministry, including our great friend Pastor Shawn Thornton.”Joni and Friends contracted with Fotokem to complete the digitization, and has exclusive rights to show the film for one year, before Worldwide Pictures assumes distribution rights.“We appreciate our friends at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for their cooperation on this project, and look forward to seeing how Joni’s story will be further used to reach people for Christ,” Mazza added. “I have seen some clips of the digitized film and it is beautiful; I pray even more people will be able to view the movie and be impacted by this new, enhanced version.”In addition to the film screening of the 1979 movie, Tada will share stories from the making of the film in the starring role in which she had to re-live her accident.Tada recently wrote in an article published at The Gospel Coalition: “It sounds incredible, but I really would rather be in this wheelchair knowing Jesus as I do than be on my feet without him. But whenever I try to explain it, I hardly know where to begin.“Yet I know this: I’m in the zone whenever I infuse Christ-encouragement into the hearts of people like Tommy (17-year-old boy who broke his neck body surfing off the Jersey shore. He’s now a quadriplegic). It feels so right to agonize alongside them. Better yet, to participate in their suffering in the spirit of 2 Corinthians 1:6: “If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation.”Along with Tada, others involved in the making of the film plan to be in attendance. Calvary Community Church pastor Shawn Thornton will emcee the event and interview Tada before the audience.“Doing the movie wasn’t the smooth, easy process I thought it would be, but I learned a lot, including that the closer I got to Jesus, the more I found out who I was supposed to be,” Tada said. “It had always been my prayer that as people witnessed the struggle of a young girl coming to terms with her hardships and gaining trust in God, hundreds of thousands would embrace Jesus Christ for the first time. I pray this digitized version of the film will have the same impact on a new generation.”The premiere is scheduled to be held at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village at 6:00 pm. Guests are encouraged to arrive at 5:30 pm to experience the red carpet.Directions to the church are available here: http://www.calvarycc.org/maps-directions

On the Webhttp://www.joniandfriendsnews.com/

Information for this article was provided by A. Larry Ross Communications.

Steve McQueen Finally Tells World 'What Christ Did For Me' Through Film

Legendary actor Steve McQueen returned to the screen Sunday (June 11) before an audience of 38,000 packed into a Phoenix stadium for the Harvest America Crusade as Pastor Greg Laurie shared the most important part of McQueen’s saga.Laurie, a McQueen fan whose book, Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon has now been made into a documentary, gave the audience a preview of his film.“I thought this is a story that needs to be told,” Laurie said. “It’s a story McQueen, in his own words, worried he’d never be able to share with the world. Now, almost 40 years after his step into heaven, he’ll finally get the chance.”“And one thing Steve said before he died was, ‘My only regret in life is that I was not able to tell people about what Christ did for me,'” he added.McQueen, who starred in more than two dozen films from 1953-1980, died in 1980 at the age of 50 from mesothelioma.“In a significant turn toward the end of his life, ironically, just before he found out that he had cancer and while still the top movie star on earth, Steve did something that showed me that he really was ‘the coolest of them all.’ He put his faith in God and became a believer in Jesus Christ,” said Laurie.“He was simultaneously the most unlikely and then again maybe the most likely person to come to faith in God,” Laurie said.

Steve McQueen: Something was missing

Despite being one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood at the peak of his career — and one of its highest-paid — Laurie said McQueen sought out a spiritual significance in his life.“When you’ve experienced everything that this culture offers, you will see how empty it is,” Laurie said. “That was true of Steve: He had it all, but something was missing, and that led him to a little church in Santa Paula, California, where he heard the message of Jesus Christ for maybe the first time in a way he understood it.”

Steve McQueen’s Missing Bullitt Car: The Big Reveal [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

Laurie said McQueen’s experience was like that of many others: He asked a church-going friend if they could attend church together. In this case, Laurie noted, the friend was flight instructor Sammy Mason, who was teaching McQueen to fly a biplane.Leonard DeWitt, the pastor of Ventura Missionary Church at the time, helped McQueen accept Christ, Laurie said.“I know this because Pastor DeWitt met with Steve maybe a month after that, and they had a long discussion where the pastor answered a lot of Steve’s questions,” Laurie said. “The pastor asked Steve, ‘Have you become a born-again Christian?’ And Steve said he had.”

Steve McQueen: American Icon Official Trailer

Laurie said there is a message in McQueen’s journey.“Steve had the statistical cards stacked against him — no father in his life, an alcoholic mother who really didn’t have time for him,” Laurie said. “The fame and all the power he acquired actually, in some ways, made his life worse. It was like throwing gasoline on a fire.“He could have ended up overdosing on drugs or killed behind the wheel of an automobile, but yet he made his way to hear the gospel and so I think the takeaway truth is, ‘Wow, if God can reach someone like Steve, he can certainly reach me,’” he said.The article above was originally published at Western Journalism.