SATURDAY, OCT. 4, 2025

• 7:00am – 8:00am – PRAYER ROOM OPEN – Magnolia B

• 8:00am – 8:45am – WORSHIP & DEVOTIONAL – Palms ABC 
  • MUSIC: Sean Rodriguez returns with his friends to start our final day with brilliant music to lift up to the Lord.  It’s the best way to start your day!
  • DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE – Trey Brunson, CHURCH OF 11:22

• 9:00 am – 9:45am – SEMINAR: LOWER BUDGET? THERE ARE TOOLS TO MONETIZE AND CASHFLOW YOUR PRODUCTION!  Magnolia A – Financing is often the biggest and least known roadblock between a finished script and a completed film. In this seminar, Hunter Abramson will walk filmmakers through practical strategies to unlock working capital and keep projects moving forward. Learn how to leverage receivables to secure financing, bridge cash flow gaps, and position your project for both creative freedom and financial success.  Q&A after!
  • Speaker: Hunter Abramson is an experienced executive with deep experience in capital fundraising, business development and creative revenue drivers across sports and entertainment. He currently serves as the Vice President of Strategy and IR at Media Finance Capital.

• 9:00am – 9:45am – SEMINAR: PRODUCING ACTION: INTRO TO MOVIE STUNTS & SAFETY Magnolia B – Film schools tell their students to avoid shooting with stunts, children and animals, but what about after film school? Action sells movies, and film graduates often don’t even know where to put stunts on a call sheet, let alone consider safety issues and risk management. Veteran Stunt Coordinator and Action Designer, Ian Max Eyre, will teach from his 35 years of left-brained experiences in the trenches of Hollywood. Seminar comes with a free eBook.
  • Speaker: Ian Max Eyre writes, directs and stunt coordinates from a left-brained perspective. His passion for living life to the fullest leads to imaginative storytelling, having studied screenwriting and directing at the Act One Program. His background in mechanical engineering (Ga Tech), stunts (130+ credits) and mechanical/pyro effects results in a structured, safe approach to action scenes and some inventive camera rigs, including an all-electric camera motorcycle. TripleDareStunts.com

• 9:00am – 9:45am — WRITING TO BUDGET.   Magnolia C – If you want to be a professional screenwriter you need to realize a couple of things. One, that 95% of a screenwriter’s income come from works for hire. Rewrites, adaptations, writing other people’s stories for hire. Two, that each one of those jobs come with a budget to write to. Every time I get a writing assignment of any kind it comes with what the budget for the film is and I am expected to write that story to that budget. Every writer at some point gets these same limitations. You learn to write to them or they hire someone else who can. There are a lot of ways to write to budget while still being as creative as you can be. You just need to learn them.
  • Speaker: Bob Saenz – Screenwriter and Author whose 21 produced films include ‘Church People’ and ‘Farmer and the Belle’. His work has appeared in theaters, multiple cable TV networks, broadcast network TV, and multiple streaming services. He writes for hire, does rewrites and adaptations for Producers, Directors, and Production Companies. He’s the author of the popular screenwriting book, “That’s Not the Way It Works” www.bobsaenz.com/blog  

• 10:00am – 12pm – THE CHRISTIAN FILM MARKET.  Palms ABC – Distributors / Companies: We have over 25 distributors, networks or sales agents seeking finished ready-to-distribute products – you get 5 minutes one-on-one with a limited number that you choose in advance.  See website for latest list of who you can pitch to! NOTE: There are no spectators to this event.  These are private one-on-one pitch sessions that require advance sign-up.

• 10am – 10:45am – Writers: MAKE ME CARE: DESIGNING AN ACT ONE THAT MAKES YOUR STORY MATTER.  Magnolia B – Act One isn’t just the beginning of your story—it’s the blueprint for everything that follows. In this focused 45-minute class, we’ll unpack the essential elements that make a strong first act: character introductions, the all-important want vs. need, stakes, tone, and that crucial turning point that launches Act Two. If you’ve ever stalled out mid-draft or felt like your story lost momentum, chances are the problem started in Act One. Let’s fix that. You’ll walk away with tools to craft a beginning that doesn’t just hook—it builds.
  • Speaker: Rene Gutteridge has been writing professionally for over twenty years, with projects spanning fiction, non-fiction, comedy sketches, novelizations and screenwriting. She is the multi-genre author of 24 novels plus several non-fiction titles. Her indie film Skid won deadCenter’s Best Oklahoma Feature, and her novel My Life as a Doormat was adapted into the Hallmark movie Love’s Complicated. She is co-writer on the feature film Family Camp, which was a Movieguide award winner. Rene is co-director of WriterCon and head writer at Skit Guys Studios. ReneGutteridge.com.

• 10:00am – 11:45am – ACTORS WORKSHOP – THE UNSEEN – For Actors, Directors & Screenwriters – Magnolia C – What makes a performance unforgettable isn’t found in scripts, methods, or techniques—it lives in the unseen.  In this explosive 2-hour session, award-winning director, actor, and coach Mario Morin will pull back the curtain on the hidden forces that make performances magnetic, truthful, and impossible to ignore. Through live coaching and scene exploration, you’ll discover how to break free from acting clichés and tap into raw authenticity that grips the camera—and the audience. Actors will walk away with tools to transform their presence, directors will learn how to unlock breathtaking performances, and screenwriters will see how their stories ignite when fueled by the unseen.  This isn’t another acting class. It’s a revelation.

  • Speaker: Mario Morin began his journey as an actor in 1997 before becoming a coach and subsequently a director, for which he won prestigious international awards for his film ‘Sacred Hair.’ He continues to coach actors, performers and entrepreneurs.

• 12:00pm – 2:00pm – LUNCH – Palms DEFG
  • BEVERLY HOLLOWAY PRESENTS THE 5 BEST MONOLOGUES – Beverly Holloway presents the 5 actors with the best monologues from her special event Friday. See top Christian talent from today or tomorrow perform their 90-second monologues!
  • KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: THE ELEVATION OF ANIMATION – Join top animators TOM BANCROFT (‘Light of the World’, ‘Superbook’, Mulan’) & DOMINIC CAROLA (‘Lilo & Stitch’, ‘Pocahantas’) for a fun journey through their Disney days to the indie world, what’s next for them and the faith space, and just what it will take to get our industry there.

• 2:00pm – 2:45pm – CAMERA:  DECODING CINEMA: SEMIOTICS & THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF FILM.  Magnolia C – Why does a close-up make us feel intimacy? Why does a shadow evoke fear? This seminar introduces semiotics—the study of signs and meaning—as a powerful tool for unlocking the hidden language of cinematography. From color palettes and camera angles to visual motifs and framing, we will explore how filmmakers build meaning shot by shot, and how audiences instinctively “read” these signs. This session will reveal new ways of seeing—and interpreting—the images that define cinema.
  • Speaker: Jon Mark Nail is an Assistant Professor of Cinema and Television at Regent University’s School of Communication and the Arts. An award-winning filmmaker, his work has screened at festivals both in the U.S. and abroad, including the short films ‘Anne Marie After the Party’ and ‘Kingsnake’, and the feature film ‘Bruiser’ (now streaming on Amazon).

• 2:00pm – 2:45pm – THE SCREENWRITER & COLLABORATORS: ACTORS, DIRECTORS, PRODUCERS & AUDIENCE  Palms ABC
  • The Rogers family – Gary, his wife Mary Anne, son Brendan & his wife Alea take us back to the 1997 movie ‘The First of May’, which Gary Rogers wrote and produced. It became a parade of ‘miracles’ that eventually brought together accomplished film professionals and a legendary cast of Julie Harris, Mickey Rooney, Charles Nelson Reilly, the baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, a first-time young actor Dan Byrd, who our casting director discovered, and the budget of $1.22 million dollars in sweat, tears, investments, loans, deferred wages and unpaid debts that Paul and Gary still struggle with today, despite winning 13 film festival awards, including the Children’s Film Festivals in Burbank and internationally in Poznan, Poland, and a run on HBO. It is still seen all over the world and we hope it opens up hearts and homes to homeless children. Perhaps seeing clips, stories and lessons-learned from the film, you’ll get ideas to help you on your filmmaking journey. To quote Gary, “‘The First of May’ was a one-in-a-million-shot and we were blessed with miracle after miracle to overcome obstacles at the last second. The only way to explain how this film got in the can and on the screen is not what Ric said in ‘Casablanca,’ “Looks like Fate has taken a hand,” but it only happened because God took our hands. I look forward to talking to people of faith about our little film. Good luck telling distributors in L.A. or N.Y. about the prayers answered and the perfect actor or actress who said “Yes. I’ll do your film for scale.” Or the best cinematographer you ever worked with, who said “I’m in for less than half-union scale, with the other half coming his way only when the film made that much money. “These are miracles Hollywood won’t believe themselves,” Gary continues. “I can hardly believe that Joe DiMaggio agreed to be the real Angel in the Outfield and coach our little hero to trust those who loved him. I’m betting you believe in prayer and we know who really gets the credit.”

• 2:00pm – 2:45pm – DISTRIBUTION:  WHAT SELLS IN FAITH-BASED ENTERTAINMENT – Dave Mechem, Head of Acquisitions & Domestic Theatrical Distribution for Pinnacle Peak Pictures, gives all filmmakers a practical guide to aligning vision with audience demand.
  • Speaker: Dave Mechem has 20 years of experience in acquisition & distribution of faith-adjacent films with Affirm Films (Sony), Working Title, Pure Flix and Pinnacle Peak Pictures. He served as executive producer of the theatrical releases for ‘Unbroken: Path to Redemption’ (2018) with Universal Studios and ‘The Shift’ (2023) with Angel Studios and resides in Franklin, TN.   Magnolia A

• 3:00pm – 3:45pm – SEMINAR: IF IT AIN’T FUNNY, IT AIN’T COMEDY – Join two veterans from the comedy side of faith and film, where they will show you how to effectively and authentically use comedy in faith-based film.
  • Speaker: Brad Mix: His experience in faith-based film distribution worldwide spans four decades. Brad became manager of Crown Entertainment (then, Crown Video Canada) in 1987 and eventually came to own it, along with comedian Leland Klassen. Crown was the largest Christian film distributor in Canada, and in the late 90s they branched into the US, eventually setting up shop in Franklin TN.  Brad was a Producer on the feature films ‘Birches’ & ‘Sleeper Agent’, and Executive Producer on a number of films, including ‘ The Trial’ and ‘From One Blood’. He served two terms as President of ICVM and is Founder and CEO of Crown Entertainment. Brad and Sandy Mix live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They have four kids and three grandkids.
  • Speaker: Leland Klassen: For more than twenty-five years, Leland’s he’s been delivering a unique blend of storytelling, quirky charm, and physical comedy.  He has appeared on Just For Laughs, the Winnipeg and Halifax Comedy Festivals, CBC Radio’s The Debaters, and has been featured on Bananas, The Huckabee Show, Thou Shalt Laugh on Netflix, and the viral sensation Dry Bar Comedy, where his performances have been viewed by millions. He also hosted the nationally syndicated TV series Popcorn TV, which ran for 170 episodes. Leland has expanded into acting and filmmaking, starring in Extraordinary, writing and starring in the award-winning action-comedy Sleeper Agent, and most recently, the feature film Empty Nets. Magnolia A

• 3:00PM – 3:45PM – FILM LESSON FROM NEW ZEALAND:  CREATING THROUGH OUR IDENTITY – Magnolia C – Jared van Berkel: During my three years of filming behind the scenes in New Zealand, my home, two biggest rival gangs brought a huge amount of pressure into my life. During this time, God began to reveal to me what it means to create out of our identity as His children rather than the performance of our skill set. Come hear stories from the other side of the world, designed to ignite hope, renew vision and uplift creatives in the identity of God’s calling!
  • Speaker: Jared van Berkel: Spending 10 years as a pastor in the middle of my film career has had a huge impact on how I lead teams, create films and walk with God. For me, having a real supernatural relationship with God is centric to the creative process. I don’t make room for God to be a part of a project because I know the project belongs to Him and out of His kindness, He’s made room for me.

• 3:00pm to 3:45pm – FILMMAKERS: TWELVE ROOKIE MISTAKES THAT WILL WRECK YOUR FILM – Palms ABC – Most indie films fail not because of bad ideas, but because of avoidable mistakes. In this seminar, you’ll learn the twelve most common pitfalls that derail filmmakers from treating film only as art to rushing into production with an unripe script and much more. Heartstrings’ CEO Roger Lindley will strip away the myths, show you how professionals avoid these traps, and equip you with the clarity, strategy, and mindset needed to turn your vision into a sustainable career.
  • Speaker: Roger Lindley has over 40 years in film and television as a cinematographer, director, and executive producer. His credits include ‘Faith of Angels’, ‘Brothers in Blues’, ‘Revelation Road: The Black Rider’, and the award-winning films ‘Meant to Be’, ‘Taken by Grace’, and ‘The Kurdish Factor.’ He co-founded Profound Studios and its Heartstrings distribution brand.  He authored the brand-new book, ‘Greenlight Yourself’.

• 4:00pm – 4:45pm – WRITERS: ADAPTING YOUR SCREENPLAY INTO A NOVEL – Magnolia A – Do you want your screenplay to reach an audience even if it’s not produced yet? Novelizing your script can bring your story to life now — while also building a fanbase and attracting industry attention. Rene Gutteridge and Cheryl McKay, co-authors of ‘Novelizations: How to Adapt Scripts Into Novels’ and five adapted works (including their Carol Award-winning Never the Bride), will guide you through the creative and collaborative process of turning scripts into novels — and why it might be the smartest next step for your story.

• 4:00pm – 4:45pm – FILMMAKER CASE STUDY: Global Content & Director Aaron Greer Takes You Inside Their Success w/ UPtv’s ‘A Soldier for Christmas’ – Palms ABC – Don’t miss this ICVM exclusive with content licensing veteran Joshua K. Carpenter of Global Content and director Aaron Greer of A Soldier for Christmas—airing this holiday season on UPtv.  Discover the no-fluff, in-depth Global Content Framework strategies that turned a $20,000 micro-budget movie into macro results—paying back all 9 investors their ROI in the very first payment!  Get your movie shot and your investors paid back!

• 4:00pm – 4:45pm – SEMINAR: LEVEL UP YOUR SOUND – Magnolia C – Your film may look cinematic and have a compelling story—but if the sound falls short, the film is instantly dismissed as amateurish. This seminar dives into practical strategies to take your audio to the next level without breaking the bank. We’ll go beyond mic placement and into 1. Budget-friendly setups for a production sound kit; 2. Efficient on-set sound strategies and file organization tools; 3. Sound workflows that can save time and money; 4. Emerging AI tools for post-production sound mix.  You’ll walk away with tools to enhance your project’s audio quality and professionalism so your audience can hear your story!
  • Speaker:  Ashley Zahorian Selg, M.F.A., is an award-winning producer/director and seasoned production sound mixer with over 1,200 days on set as production sound, capturing audio for Discovery, OWN, CBN, and on dozens of independent films. She serves as Assistant Professor of Cinema and Television at Regent University. She is currently producing and directing a film on human trafficking and did ‘FantomWorks’ (Discovery Network) and ‘The Preacher to the Popes: Raniero Cantalamessa’.

• 5:00pm – 5:45pm – CASE STUDY: FROM SHELF TO STREAM: The Indie Production Journey of the Animated Pilot ‘My Neighbor’  Palms ABC – Dominic Carola – A real-world case study of how a small team took a dormant I.P., ‘My Neighbor’, into an award-winning series pilot for the world to see. Learn practical lessons you can apply to get your own projects made, from testing and validation to “festival runs and global distribution.

• 5:00pm – 5:45pm – MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION Q&A: ANSWERS TO UNLOCKING SUCCESS – Join us for an exclusive Q&A session where Christian filmmakers can ask the experts about distribution, marketing and promotion.  Learn insider secrets from industry pros Scott Schuford, founder of FrontGate Media, who has pioneered innovative marketing strategies for faith-based films; Steph Carse, a 6X Emmy-Award-winning producer, director, social marketer, and songwriter; and Glenn Wagner, a veteran in global film distribution, and all a part of FrontGate Media’s entertainment team.  Unlock the keys to maximize your project’s reach and impact!

• 6:00pm – 8:00pm – CLOSING NIGHT DINNER   – Palms DEFG – KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  STAN JANTZ
  • • We welcome Stan Jantz, who is the founding CEO and Global Ambassador of Come and See, a nonprofit that supports ‘The Chosen’ by making it possible for the acclaimed television series to be produced, translated, and globally distributed so that 1 billion people can experience the authentic Jesus. Tonight he will share that vision, and the path that led him here – and what is next. Previously, Stan was the President and CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Stan is also a bestselling author, having written or co-authored 75 books with more than 4 million copies sold. His latest book is ‘Ten Essentials for New Christians’.

• THE 53^rd ANNUAL CROWN AWARDS FINALIST CELEBRATION! For 53 years, the ICVM Crown Awards have honored the best in indie Christian film, television and media. This year we had 638 entries into our 22 categories from 28 countries. Tonight, we announce the 5 finalists in each of our 22 categories.  The 110 finalists will move on to the Crown Awards Ceremony at the NRB Media Convention where three in each category will win either the Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards for excellence.  The 53rd Annual Crown Awards Ceremony will be held Feb. 18, 2026, at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville.   Congratulations to all of our Finalists! And a special thank you to our many jurors who faithfully watched and judged many entries this year.