Tell the World, the 2015 sweeping docudrama of the history of the Adventist church, recently took home three Awards of Excellence, the highest-level award granted from IndieFEST Film Awards, an international independent film competition. Tell the World won in three categories: Christian, Special Purpose Production, and Web Series.
This full-length feature film follows the early Adventist pioneers as they face almost overwhelming disappointment and discouragement to create the “organization that has been at the forefront of issues such as health, education, communication and Biblical interpretation.”[i] Tell the World was shot on location in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and features a cast of 100 professional actors. It is the largest production ever made on the history of Adventism.
Adventist filmmaker Kyle Portbury directed Tell the World, and entered it into competition at the IndieFEST Film Awards. Since 2008, this world-wide competition has aimed to “give talented directors, producers, actors, creative teams and new media creators the positive exposure they deserve. It discovers and honors the achievements of filmmakers who produce high quality films and new media.”[ii] IndieFEST winners have gone on to win other prestigious awards such as Emmys or Oscars.
Rick Prickett, IndieFEST competition director, notes that “judges base their decisions on the quality, creativity and technical aspects of each piece. The award appropriately reflects the endless hours… spent to create [this] outstanding production!” Portbury views this win as a positive return on the Church’s investment in this project.
The compelling message of Tell the World continues to flow through secular channels as IndieFEST “promotes award winners through press releases to over 40,000 filmmakers, [and] industry contacts as well as five additional global media/distribution outlets.”[iii] There is no gauge to measure the impact this story will have on the world.
To view Tell the World, click HERE
[i] telltheworld.adventist.org/about-film
[ii] theindiefest.com/about-rules/
[iii] ibid.