Congratulations to all our 2010 winners. All jurors' favorites among the winning entries will be screened either at our official screening on Friday, November 12 or at the Grand Awards Ceremony on Saturday November 13, at 5:00 P.M. The following is the list of the 2010 Redemptive Storyteller Award Winners in our four categories: Student, Professional, Professional Low Budget and Distinctly Gospel (script and screenplay). This page is being updated regularly. Please check back for more pictures. Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Linda Seger receives the 5th Annual Redemptive Storyteller Award for Lifetime Achievement for more than three decades of contribution to exemplary redemptive storytelling, specifically in the area of script consulting. Dr. Seger created and defined the job of script consultant when she began her business in 1981, based on a method for analyzing scripts she developed for her dissertation project. Since then, she has consulted on over 2000 scripts, including over 40 produced feature films and about 35 produced television projects. Dr. Seger is an internationally known speaker in the area of screenwriting, having taught and lectured in over 30 countries on 6 continents. As the author of nine books, Seger has appeared in more than 60 radio and television shows, including All Things Considered, National Public Radio, Good Morning L.A., Good Morning New York, and CNN.
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2010 Winners
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Student |
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El Bandido y El Gato (USA) - 4 mins Director; Enoch Davis A gorilla locked in a Mexican desert prison encounters a persistent stray cat and, although distrust and friction define their first relationship at first, the two eventually make friends.
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Flowers for Annabelle (USA) - 9 mins Director; Jonathan Pope Charles, a veteran assisted living home resident, makes a point to meet each new arrival to the home. However, when a woman by the name of Annabelle arrives, his attempts to befriend her are met with a closed door. Newly widowed, Annabelle chooses instead to spend her days in silence... |
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Last Minute (Czech Republic) - 5 mins Director; Linda Audyova Short animated film about understanding what is the life, which goes through the head of a little rabbit just a few moments before his death. |
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Man of the Cloth (USA) - 19 mins. Director; Bryce Grandy Father Archibald is a new priest on his way to a small parish in a dying mining town. It's not the assignment he was hoping for, but the few parishioners that are left help him remember why he joined the priesthood in the first place. |
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Melbourne's Secret (Australia) - 15 mins. Director; Ailen Palmieri A documentary about a woman who was trafficked from China to work in a brothel in Melbourne, Australia, against her will. |
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More Than Walking (India, USA) - 25 mins. Director; Jonathan Sigworth 'Perhaps not all of us will walk again--but that's okay, because our goal is something more than walking....' Quadriplegic college student and filmmaker Jonathan Sigworth returns to India to tell the tragic and inspiring stories of four of his quadriplegic friends. |
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Piano Story (USA) - 13 mins. Director; Andrew Batista Set in 1960, a young man whose piano playing is at the center of his life and an essential part of his neighborhood, is forced to find work after receiving an eviction notice. With some luck, the man finds a job at a night club sweeping floors. One night however, the man falls for the girl who sings at the club... |
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The Scarf (Canada) 3 mins. Director; Carla Veldman Young Leonard’s world is suddenly changed one September with the arrival of his aging grandmother, who comes to stay with his family as she deals with the on-set of Alzheimer’s. Naïve and unaware of the reasons for her stay, Leonard is puzzled by her increasingly odd behavior. |
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The Teller's Tale (USA) - 17 mins. Director; Jared Cook The Teller’s Tale is a short
film about a young boy in 1910 Connecticut who embarks on a quest to
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Twice As Bright (USA) - 23 mins. Director; Leo Hageman Twice as Bright is an honor thesis short motion picture that tells the story of a young widower who discovers that his late wife has left him a to-do list intended to ease his pain and help him begin again. |
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Professional |
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The Bill Collector (USA) 107 mins. Director; Cris Krusen Lorenzo Adams is in trouble. The hard driving manager of a collections agency must pay an old debt of $100,000 in a matter of days or face certain death. An unlikely friendship with his would-be killer and a cockamamie scheme to hire desperate down-and-outers from an inner-city mission all amount to nothing when Lorenzo finds himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
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The Christmas Bunny (USA) 103 mins. Director; Tom Seidman Julia, a lonely foster child, comes to stay with the 'temporary family' who will be caring for her over the Christmas holidays. Emotionally withdrawn, Julia refuses to speak and spends her time watching countless hours of 'The Velveteen Rabbit' on video. When the family finds a lost, injured rabbit in the woods, Julia learns to care for it from a gruff old farm woman, Betsy Ross... |
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Delicious Peace grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean (Uganda, USA) - 40 mins. Director; Curt Fissel Living in the wake of the Idi Amin reign of terror and institutional discrimination, one Ugandan coffee farmer organized a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish neighbors to challenge historical -- as well as economic and environmental -- hurdles by forming Delicious Peace Coffee Cooperative to enhance peaceful relationships and economic development. |
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Ghost Player (USA) - 43 mins. Director; Joe Scherman GHOST PLAYER tells the story of how this zany team ranging from a farmer to a state representative moved audiences around the world and changed the players' lives forever. From Dyersville, we follow the Ghost Players around the world as warm hearted, comedic ambassadors of the best that the American Heartland has to offer - baseball, tomfoolery, and good old-fashioned family fun. |
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A Hundred Dead People in My Truck (Haiti, Ireland) - 54 mins. Director; Jim Fahy A convoy of pick up trucks stacked high with cardboard coffins lurches its way through one of the worlds most dangerous slums. The trucks are carrying the bodies of 100 dead people which are being taken to the outskirts of Port au Prince the capital of Haiti to be buried. This documentary is a stark surreal portrait of two Irish women who fight to save lives in Haiti and the American priest who buries its nameless dead to the strains of a brass band playing Verdi. |
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In a Still Small Voice (USA) 22 mins. Director; Steven Holloway Among those who create, the voice of faith has been all but lost amid the pressing life of a postmodern world. Centered on the theme of beauty, artists from a variety of disciplines talk about the struggles they have faced to find meaning and significance in their work as they ask, 'What is beauty, What is faith, What is art'? |
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Johnny (USA) 82 mins. Director; D. David Morin Dr. Drew Carter lost his son Robby in a car accident while his wife was driving. And seemingly lost his whole family as well. His wife, Julia, is emotionally absent to Drew and their daughter Kayla. When Dr. Miller sends Drew a foster child leukemia patient, Johnny, Drew sees a chance to to heal his family. |
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The Labyrinth (USA) 37 mins. Director; Jason Schmidt Memory, art and hell collide as an Auschwitz survivor finally confronts the horrors of his past after 50 years of silence. Marian Kolodziej was on one of the first transports to enter Auschwitz. He survived five years imprisonment and never spoke of his experience until after a serious stroke in 1993. He began rehabilitation by doing pen and ink drawings depicting his horrific experience... |
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Love & Valor: The Intimate Civil War Letters (USA) - 88 mins. Director; Charles Larimer The movie, narrated by Brian Dennehy, is a dramatic story of the American Civil War as told through the actual letters of a Union Captain from Iowa and his wife. Based on the book 'Love and Valor - Intimate Civil War Letters Between Captain Jacob and Emeline Ritner,' which was featured by the Smithsonian in the month after 9/11. |
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Making Sense of Autism (USA) 54 mins. Executive Producer; Joni Eareckson Tada Autism is on the rise in America, but its causes remain unknown and a cure is yet to be found. Common misunderstandings included the notions that children with autism are not able to learn, or that their behavior is simply the result of poor discipline. This two-part documentary dispels these myths while inviting viewers into the lives of families affected by autism. |
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Nine Days That Changed The World (USA) 95 mins Director; Kevin Knoblock Pope John Paul II’s historic nine-day pilgrimage to Poland in June of 1979 created a revolution of conscience that transformed Poland and fundamentally reshaped the spiritual and political landscape of the 20th Century. This documentary explores what transpired during these nine days that moved the Polish people to renew their hearts, reclaim their courage, and free themselves from the shackles of Communism. |
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No Greater Love (USA) 109 mins. Director; Brad J. Silverman Jeff and Heather Baker were life long sweethearts and happily married... for a time. But at her greatest moment of weakness, Heather abandons Jeff, forcing Jeff to raise their young son alone. Ten years later, through a miraculous encounter, Jeff and Heather meet again. |
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No Limit Kids: Much Ado About Middle School (USA) 90 mins. Director; Dave Moody This story centers around a group of kids who are entering middle school for the first time and have have their doubts and fears. Ashton is a self-proclaimed semi-outcast being raised by his grandmother Katie who routinely gets bullied by the star-football player Zach. Ashton’s whole philosophy about school is to lay low and attract as little attention as possible... |
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The Potential Inside (USA) 96 mins. Director; Scotty Curlee This riveting action packed drama that takes you inside the never before seen world of Elite Bicycle Racing. Filled with spectacular race scenes through some of the most treacherous courses on the East Coast of the United States, The Potential Inside is a powerfully moving and compelling drama that examines the heart and soul of a true champion. |
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Radical Disciple: The Story of Father Pfleger (USA) 58 mins. Director; Bob Hercules The story of Catholic iconoclast Michael Pfleger who made it his mission to transform the drug ravaged south side Chicago community surrounding his parish. In so doing, Father Mike has run directly into conflict with the local Catholic hierarchy. The film explores issues of racism, the power of the media, and the tension between Pfleger's 'gospel of the streets' versus traditional Church theology. |
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Rescuing Emmanuel (USA) 70 mins. Co-Directors; Len & Georgia Morris EMMANUEL is a stinking, belligerent street boy in Nairobi, Kenya. He grabs us, demands 'I want to go to school right now!' He is treated like vermin and yet his name means 'God among us.' Emmanuel is lost, found and rescued. But when he walks into his dream, that dream takes an unexpected turn. |
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Saving Carren (USA) 53 mins Directors; Deborah Gregory & Heather Arment The true story of a retired cop who watches his daughter fall prey to the destructive power of methamphetamines, a young woman whose father risks everything to save her, and the love that brings them both back from the brink of death. |
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Two Hours in the Dark (USA) 35 mins. Director; Chip Hackler Blindsided by the success of his comedy, 'It Happened One Night,' which swept the 1935 Oscars, director Frank Capra became crippled with fear. Convinced his next film would fail, he deteriorated to the brink of death--until the day a mysterious stranger showed up, changing Capra's life, and films, forever. |
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Under Jakob's Ladder (USA) 97 mins. Director; Mann Munoz A vendetta entices Jakob Seel to speak a forbidden prayer at a neighbor's funeral. Betrayed by the plot-makers, he is thrown into a Soviet prison where he unexpectedly finds new purpose and the courage to share hope with the hopeless... |
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Upside (USA) 106 mins Director; Kenneth Horstmann High school senior Solomon White seemingly has everything going for him: great athlete, good-looking girlfriend, nice car, scholarship offers - a bright future. But a devastating hit on the lacrosse field leaves his world literally turned upside down.
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Yellow Roses (USA) 64 mins. Director; Michael Edwards Yellow Roses weaves together sound bites taken from hours of interviews with young women from various areas of the United States. The result is an honest, humorous, gritty and sometimes shocking look into the everyday lives of ordinary girls. |
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Professional Low Budget(below US$30,000) |
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Calcutta Hilton (New Zealand) 23 mins. Director; John Sinclair The sex districts of Calcutta, India aren't places you'd necessarily expect to find much hope. They are filled with heartbreak and hardship. Now, a New Zealand family are helping make a difference with a business - Freeset - that employs women who have been in the sex trade, providing them with a choice that until now they haven't been offered: a way out of prostitution. |
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The Desperate (USA) 33 mins. Director; Ben Hur Sepehr On a rainy night near a concentration camp being bombed during the waning years of WWII the son of a top ranking and fearsome Nazi General is mortally wounded. With the camp's doctor having been transferred to the Eastern front, the only doctor who is available to perform the life saving surgery is a condemned, elderly Jewish inmate at the camp... |
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Displaced (USA) 18 mins. Director; Rick Stevenson (RFF alumni) 'Displaced' is the story of Daniel, an 11 year-old victim of the foster system, and his last chance at finding a family. Starring Nathan Gamble, the project was funded by the City of Seattle which commissioned multi-award winning filmmaker Rick Stevenson to write and direct a short film about the role of water in our lives. |
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Fear Itself (USA) 6 mins. Director; William Wonders III A year ago a pastor was shot in his own church. This is the first time he is returning to the pulpit. The Fear of past events has his family nervous as well as himself. What will happen if he goes back again? One thing is for certain fear has a tight grip on him. |
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Homeless for the Holidays (USA) 106 mins. Director; George Johnson A smug executive loses his job, and has to work at a burger joint in order to make ends meet. However, he soon discovers that ends are not being met, and if something doesn't change soon, his family will lose everything by Christmas. |
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The Mailbox (USA) 30 mins. Director; Gary T. Smith Grandpa receives a letter from his grandson, Andrew, asking what a Bible verse means. He takes down his New Testament and reads: “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Instead of just telling him the meaning, Grandpa decides to convey a story (a sort-of parable), that he hopes will help Andrew understand the verse. |
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Mississippi Queen (USA) 63 mins. Director; Paige Williams Mississippi Queen follows Paige, a southerner returning home, who digs past the mask of hospitality to examine gay values and the ex-gay ministry, interviewing southerners on both sides of the issues, including her parents who help convert homosexuals. |
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On Her Own (USA) 95 mins. Director; Mary Rachael Morrison Marisol Hernandez, a thirteen-year-old girl, is the sole caregiver for her ailing grandmother, Rosa. However, following the death of her grandmother, she is given a choice; live with the emotionally bankrupt father who abandoned her at birth, or face life alone. |
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A Secular Pilgrim in Jerusalem (Israel) 49 mins. Director; Elena Canetti One morning in Jerusalem, Elena wakes up to the emptiness of her life. Forty-five years old, no children, and no faith. Elena embarks on a cautious journey among the world's three monotheistic religions, all found in the streets of her city. The well-trodden road changes constantly. Unexpected meetings challenge her beliefs. What will she find at the end of the road? |
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Skip Listening (USA) 11 mins. Director; Christopher Shawn Shaw As a talk radio host, obnoxious defines Skip Stonewall's job, but narcissistic describes the man. He is so self-involved that he does not even notice one of his radio staff is deaf. Due to a providential mishap, Skip is finally in a position to learn how to hear, with special thanks to the Deaf Community. |
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The Very Worst Thing (USA) 84 mins. Director; Michael Crisp The Very Worst Thing is a documentary film about the worst school bus crash in U.S. history. In the aftermath of the crash, new school bus safety standards were adopted and are still in place more than 50 years later. This tragedy devastated a community and captured the attention of an entire nation. |
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Where The Streets Have No Name (Australia) 75 mins. Director; Vijaykumar Mirchandani Providing the three basic necessities of life to survive - food, shelter and clothing can be quite a task. This emotional journey is seen through the eyes of one man who has been working for the last 20 years trying to help alleviate homelessness in Cairns. A hair raising experience as we get into the lives of street kids, hear their stories and unfold the bitter reality that lies beneath this beautiful paradise island. |
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Wintertalk (USA) 15 mins. Director; Locke Wasler Native American and Indigenous youth and elders make the talk about integrating the Ways with Christian beliefs in this documentary filmed on location at the Wintertalk conference. Participants discuss this powerful integration as the hope and strength for the future as they walk the Red Road in a white, Christian world. |
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Yokes and Chains (USA) 90 mins. Director; Michael Lienau International, multi-racial teams journey together to discover how the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade has impacted society right up to the present time. Doing what few have dared to do... they confront racism and the horrific legacy of slavery, inspiring dialogue, reconciliation and hope for future generations. |
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Distinctly Gospel |
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Bread
Alone (USA) 25 mins. |
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The Congo Redemption (Screenplay) Writer; Joey O'Connor, Co-writer; Ken Straw. The son of a slave takes on a billionaire king responsible for the deaths of ten million people. |
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Hollywood Gospel (Screenplay) Writer; Jay Blumenkopf The most influential and dynamic evangelist of the 20th Century, Aimee Semple McPherson captures the World's attention when on May 18, 1926, she disappears while swimming off Venice Beach, California. After walking out of the Mexican desert thirty-six days later claiming she had been kidnapped, Sister Aimee is prosecuted on morals charges based on evidence that she was actually in a Carmel love nest with a married man. |
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The Jesus Accounts (United Kingdom) 30 mins. Director; Ronald Clements, Producer; Roger Malstead This documentary, "The Jesus Accounts," demonstrates that the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament Gospels are consistent with the present day Bible. The scribes and other guardians of Biblical integrity devoted their lives to the accurate preservation of the Gospel accounts. |
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Lost Boy (USA) 75 mins. Director; Dwight Thompson. There are many spiritual memoirs out there, but you may have never seen one like this. Like many who came of age in the 1960s, Greg Laurie was a lost boy on a search for the meaning of life. Born out of wedlock to an alcoholic mother who married seven times, his life was suddenly changed when he encountered a group of young Christians on his high school campus in Newport Beach, California. |
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Miracle of the Widow
(USA) 80 mins. |
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