FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vision Forum Ministries to Host Press Conference: San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival to Challenge Hollywood Paradigm

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — November 9, 2004 — Vision Forum Ministries will host a press conference on November 12 at 11:30am CST to discuss the groundbreaking vision of the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and Jubilee Awards. The press conference will be held in Room 103 of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, during the film festival’s inaugural event, which will take place on November 11-13 in the Alamo City.

“Our concerns with Hollywood transcend genre and category. They point to a systemic disrespect for Christianity and the values Christianity teaches,” explained Doug Phillips, President of Vision Forum Ministries. “Hollywood needs more than incremental improvement. It needs a heart transplant.”

“Our goal, however, is not to ‘clean-up’ Hollywood or to ‘curse the darkness,’” continued Phillips. “Our mission in founding the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival is to cultivate an independent film market that is a reflection of the beauty, hope, and encouragement only found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to promote films that root and branch encourage the family and honor the Lord.”

Dr. George Grant of the King’s Meadow Study Center and Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr. of the Highlands Study Center will join Phillips at Friday’s Press Conference. The three of them together will outline a plan that challenges the prevailing paradigm of the film industry.

“Our vision is a vision of hope, and we hope that those who share our faith and who value innovation and enterprise in the arts will join us,” noted Phillips. “The festival will fuse a Christian worldview with the independent spirit of San Antonio for what we believe will make for a memorable cultural event.”

The San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival will host independent Christian film shorts produced by a new generation of enterprising and creative Christian filmmakers. More than 30 separate films will be shown on three separate screens over the course of the event. Vision Forum Ministries will give away a number of awards, including a $10,000 Grand Prize to the film short entry that wins “Best of Festival,” as part of the Jubilee Awards presentation.

Festival passes are $125 for adults, $100 for students. Passes allow access to all the festival events. Space is limited. For more information on the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and Jubilee Awards, please visit the festival Web site at: www.independentchristianfilms.com.

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Press Contact:
Wesley Strackbein
Vision Forum Ministries
press@visionforum.org
www.independentchristianfilms.com