'Evening of Angelus' draws 400 people in Park City during Sundance

January 26, 2007

The screening and discussion of two Angelus Student Film Festival winning films Jan. 22 in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival in this ski resort, drew some 200 people to Mountain Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church. This was the third consecutive "An Evening of Angelus" at the Windrider Forum, exploring the intersection of faith and film for theological graduate and undergraduate Christian college students, that began in 2005. Family Theater Productions created the international Angelus Student Film Festival in 1996 to cultivate and honor future filmmakers as they explore and create works that respect the dignity of the human person.

In introducing the Angelus evening, Father Willy Raymond, CSC, Family Theater's National Director, thanked the founders of the Windrider Forum, John and Ed Priddy, for their generosity to the Angelus Student Film Festival. He also thanked the host, Mountain Vineyard church and its pastor, Rev. Lenny Perata, and his wife, Linda, and a major Angelus sponsor, the Peter Glenville Foundation and its representative Holly Book, who attended. He spoke of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the founding of Family Theater Productions and of its desire to support young filmmakers who are the future of Hollywood.

Monika Moreno, Director of the Angelus Student Film Festival, introduced the films and the filmmakers and moderated a question-and-answer session between the filmmakers and the audience. Kale Zelden, Associate Director of Angelus, also assisted in the event.

The two films from the 11th annual international Angelus Student Film Festival, held Oct. 21 in Hollywood, screened and discussed at "An Evening of Angelus" were:

   - The Queen of Cactus Cove by Anna Christopher of AFI (American Film Institute), Los Angeles, winner of the $5,000 Priddy Bros. Triumph Award. It's the story of a teenage chess champ who faces the prospect of defeat for the first time when she competes against her best friend at the biggest chess tournament of her career.
   - Kilroy Was Here by Charlie Boyles of the North Carolina School of the Arts, which won the $2,500 Fujifilm Audience Impact Award and the $1,500 Act One Screenwriting Award. It's the story of two who fought for different causes in the same war and now forge a connection that transcends language.

During the Windrider Forum, students screened and discussed Sundance films as well as Angelus' 2006 winning film, The Trojan Cow by Barbara Stepansky, AFI, Los Angeles, winner of the $10,000 Excellence in Filmmaking Award presented in honor of Servant of God Father Patrick Peyton, CSC. Ms. Stepansky, who was introduced at the Jan. 22 evening event, discussed her film with Windrider students during one of the forum's sessions.