Full House in Tulsa

This past Sunday, The Jesus Guy screened at the Tulsa United Film Festival to a crowded audience. It was a huge success. "The screening was great and packed," said Executive Director of the festival, Jason Connell. This is the festivals 6th year in running. Connell states, "I love that it keeps evolving, because that's interesting and it helps us keep growing the festival."

Image of Executive Director: Jason Connell

Tulsa United Film Festival

We're very excited that The Jesus Guy has been selected to play at the Tulsa United Film Festival. At this festival art and creativity come together to create a united film community. The film is screening Sunday, December 7th, 2008 at 6:00 PM, at the Circle Cinema. The theater is located at: 10 South Lewis Avenue Tulsa, OK.Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Tulsa United Film Festival website. Click here to see the great line up!

TJG: Coming to South Carolina

The Jesus Guy documentary will be showing at Anderson University.  Anderson University is a Baptist school located in Anderson, South Carolina.  The film will be screened on Wednesday, February 11th at 8 PM in the Sullivan building.   The event is free and hosted by Alpha Psi Omega (theatre fraternity).

Coming To a Theater Near You!

We've had a lot of requests to screen The Jesus Guy movie, especially from cities and towns that the barefoot evangelist, "What's Your Name?" has been. If you think there might be a strong interest in your area, and know of a good independent movie house, church, college or other location that might host the film, please email us your ideas and contact names and places. We're starting to line up a tour for the movie, including a Q&A with the director, Sean Tracey.

Spirit in the House Film Festival

The Jesus Guy will be screening in Minneapolis, at the Spirit in the House Film Festival in March 2009. Check back for the film lineup on the website. Thank you Jason Carney of the Phoenix film festival for recommending The Jesus Guy to the festival. Stay tuned for more information, regarding the screening!

The Free Films Program 2008

The Jesus Guy will be shown this December as part of The Free Films Program 2008 in Australia.  The Free Films Program has bi-weekly film screenings at the Velvet Lounge.  The Jesus Guy will be shown Monday, December 22 at 8 p.m.  The Velvet Lounge is located at 639 Beaufort St., Mt Lawley, Australia.  Check out Free Films facebook group or send an email to splif_@hotmail.com for more information.

Marlin's Mystery Box

We received a box at our office from Marlin Heckindorn. He managed a website for "What's Your Name?" before Sean started the movie and took over from there. Marlin tracked WYN's whereabouts online for all to see. When Marlin contacted us to see if we were interested in a "box of WYN stuff" left over from when he was running the website, we were eager to receive it.

The mystery box arrived and with great care we examined the contents. Enclosed were various newspaper clippings, press interviews and notes WYN made along his journeys. We admit we were hoping for an old robe, a lock of hair or an old prayer book, but what we discovered was just as interesting, including a letter from the Scranton Diocese, articles with photos of a "young" WYN (not the full beard) and "fan notes" from Pennsylvania to Michigan.

Update from Italy

Simone Fratini of the Biografilm Off Festival 2008 reported the screening of The Jesus Guy was "a great public success" as it was one of their "diamonds" at the festival.  The film was presented by Franco La Polla, one of the most important professors of literature and film at the Bologna University, and "influential film critic" around the world.  Approximately, 70 people attended the screening.  More details to come once the festival's press office completes their reviews and festival report.

Indianapolis Fringe Festival

The Jesus Guy will be screening at the Indianapolis Fringe Film Festival. This is the Indiana (and Mid-west) Premiere!

Saturday, August 16 at 5pm

Lockerbie Central UMC, 237 North East Street, Indianapolis

To purchase tickets, click here.

And to check out the line up, click here.

Back in Cullman

John Arsenault just confirmed this morning that "What's Your Name?" is back in Cullman, Alabama. "What's Your Name?" was gone for about 2 weeks to visit his mother in Midland, Michigan and his father and brother in Toledo, Ohio.

"What's Your Name?" is on the move!

Reporter, Angela Lackey of the Midland Daily News has spotted "What's Your Name?" in Midland, Michigan this past week. To see her full article click here or to read her blog about her encounter with "What's Your Name?" click here. "What's Your Name?" is now on his way to Bay City and then on to Toledo. If you spot him, please keep us posted. Ask him to call us!

Doug Harris, front, of Midland, talks to a missionary known only as "What's Your Name?" Thursday morning on Ashman in Midland. "What's Your Name?" has been traveling the country for more than 17 years, sacrificing all his worldly possessions to live as Jesus and his disciples once did. "What's Your Name?" who resembles Jesus, does not claim to be him. He only intends to travel the world spreading the message of Jesus to others. (Daily News/NATHAN MORGAN)

Foreign Broadcast

Nha-Uyen Chau of Looking Glass International (our foreign distributor) just contracted our first foreign broadcast of The Jesus Guy.  The film will be screening on the Biography Channel in Australia and New Zealand, on Wednesday, July 16 at 8:30pm EAST.  Tune in, if you can!

Screening Info for European Premiere at BiografilmOff

The Jesus Guy will be screening as part the Biografilm Festival's program, BiografilmOff:

Tuesday, July 8 

Courtyard of the Quadriportico of Saint Leonardo

Bologna, Italy

According to Riccardo of the BiografilmOff Staff, "Everyone is talking about the film."  It should be a great turnout.  For more info on the festival, click here.

Connecticut Film Festival - Doc Panel

The screening at the Connecticut Film Festival went well.  Sean even participated in a filmmaker's panel about making documentaries, from concept to screen.  

(L-R: Sean Tracey - director of The Jesus Guy, Kelly Nyks - director of Split: A Divided America,  Michael Patrick Kelly - director of Operation Lysistrata, David Sauvage - director of Carissa)

European Premiere

The Jesus Guy will premiere in Europe at the Biografilm Festival in Bologna, Italy.  The screening will take place at the internal courtyard of Quadriportico of Saint Leonardo next month.  

Connecticut Film Festival

The Jesus Guy screening at the Connecticut Film Festival is:

Saturday, May 24

5:00pm

All Nations Church, 234 Main Street, Danbury, CT

*The film will be screened in English with Spanish Subtitles.

Director, Sean Tracey will be attending the screening and participating in a Q&A following.

For ticket info, click here.

Having a Ball!

Director, Sean Tracey shares behind-the-scene info in a Q&A with Josh Armstrong at ConversationalBall.com.  Josh, thanks for a great article!

Click here for the complete article.

The Verdict is in!

"All in all, The Jesus Guy is a very good example of what a filmmaker can do with an interesting subject and a commitment to objectivity, making the film well worth any viewer’s time."

-Ben Saylor, CinemaVerdict.com

To read the entire article, click here.

News from the LA United Film Festival

The Jesus Guy premiered in Beverly Hills at the LA United Film Festival on April 20th.  The film was in good company, with a roster of award-winning films and documentaries...some that played with The Jesus Guy at other festivals.  I finally got to see Darius Goes West, which I highly recommend, now available on DVD at dariusgoeswest.com.  Jason Connell's fun film, Strictly Background, strictlybackground.com  also played, and is one of my favorites from the festival circuit that I've seen. 

The LA festival kicked off with a great party at the Gibson Guitar Museum and showroom, with a live performance from one of the festival film's subjects, Larry Pierce, from Dirty Country, dirtycountrymovie.com.  Let's just say it wasn't politically correct, but it was hilarious.  

Perhaps the best part of the festival in LA is that a lot of my friends, who have moved there to pursue careers in commercials and movies showed up to support the movie. actor/writer, 

Brian Connors, producer/writer, 

Kim Reeves, singer/songwriter, Kelly Slattery, art director Rob Engel, actress, Lea Renay-Contarino, 

actor/comedians, 

Jim & Tamra Meskimen, 

found at: appliedsillyness.com...thanks to all for coming!

Additional Screening in Connecticut

Just in, another screening on the tour of the Connecticut Film Festival has been added.

Sunday, April 13 at 1:15pm 

Marquis 16 Theaters

100 Quarry Road

Trumbull, CT 06611

Don't forget the big event for the Connecticut Film Festival in May 20-25. Sean will be attending that screening and participating in a Q&A immediately following.

Private Screening at Seacoast Academy

At 8am Monday morning, in lieu of their normal chapel service, Seacoast Academy (private middle school in the NH Seacoast area) screened The Jesus Guy with a Q&A following. Scott Votey, Head of School, invited Sean to screen the film because Scott believed that the documentary and having Sean there to answer questions about the subject and about filmmaking would be a value to the students. Sean is also a Trustee of the Academy and has been a part of it since the very first "visioning" meeting in 2002. It was a pleasure to have a private screening of The Jesus Guy at the school. The students asked pointed questions about the life and philosophy of the barefoot evangelist and they were very curious and smart about the filmmaking process.

IMDB

The Jesus Guy is now listed on IMDB (Internet Movie Database). Be sure to add your reviews or start a forum discussion.

Director's Recap from Ozark Foothills FilmFest

Click here for the story in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Ozark Foothills is a great little film fest with great big heart!
Bob and Judy Pest have put together a fantastic venue (the Independence Hall Auditorium) and a great group of people to see an artfully-selected group of films. Bob Pest has been involved and on the Board of Directors of some other fine festivals (Indie Memphis, Hot Springs, PBS, etc.), so when he gets behind a film and programs it, you can be sure it's worth the watching. Bob is passionate about film and supporting the filmmakers. He knew my film and understood its meaning and message as well as anyone who's seen it. Thanks for paying attention, Bob!

During this trip, I especially enjoyed the time I got to spend meeting Chris Eska (writer/director) and Jason Wehling (producer), of August Evening, this year's Cassavetes Award Winner at the Indie Spirit Awards. Chris and I were picked up and dropped off at the airport together (going our separate ways to the East and West Coasts), and had much time to talk about indie distribution, festivals, and filmmaking in general. On the way, we saw the areas flooded out by the Mississippi and the White Rivers. Just a few weeks earlier, on a trip via Memphis to the Oxford Film Fest, I saw the ravages of the tornadoes that passed thru just days earlier. If The Jesus Guy is scheduled to air in your town, better watch the weather!

Sean Tracey, Chris Eska, Jason Wehling

Photo by Keith Sturch

More Reviews

The Jesus Guy continues to receive great reviews.


MovieMaker Magazine by Melissa Rose Kimbler, features Sean Tracey as a first-time director. Click here.


Indie Express by Shane Morton, click here.
" I found myself strangely admiring this person who seemed to transcend human emotion, fear and needs. Then, the film became truly fascinating. Sean Tracey found the chink in the subjects finely tuned armor. His hidden humanity."


Arkansas Democrat Gazette by Philip Martin, click here.
There is an audio file of part of the interview, as well.
"Ultimately The Jesus Guy gives us an opportunity to examine our convictions and beliefs. "What’s Your Name?" is confounding because he’s obviously not a run-of-the-mill Jesus guy. He talks the talk, he walks the walk. In the end it may be that his example is more important than any of the soothing platitudes he utters. You can question his efficacy, but not his commitment."

New Press on The Jesus Guy

A big thanks goes to Angela Lackey who ran her article about the film in the Midland Daily News (Michigan) on Easter, click here to read the full article.

Also, the film was noted last Thursday in the St. Petersburg Times (Florida). Click here to read that article by Jack Bray.

"Best of" Screening Last Night

Last night, The Jesus Guy screened in Manchester, NH at St. Anselm's College as part of "The Best of the New Hampshire Film Festival." Director, Sean Tracey attended the screening and once again had a great Q&A session. A special thanks to Michael Wynne for putting it together. And thanks to all those that attended. We'd love to hear your thoughts and encourage you to continue your discussion here (just click on "comment" below). Sean is happy to answer more questions!
In press matters, Sean is being interviewed today by the Midland Daily News in Midland, Michigan for a feature story about The Jesus Guy that will run this Sunday (Easter). "What's Your Name?" was in that area for a while and stayed with a family there. Stay tuned for that article. In the meantime, you can see the original story on him that ran in 2003 here.

Harvard University Divinity School Screening

What can you say when a 66-minute movie is followed by a 2-hour Question & Answer session?

Fantastic! That's what happened recently when The Jesus Guy screened at Harvard Divinity School to an enthusiastic audience of religious scholars, students, and clergy. We had to shut down the questions, because they just wouldn't stop. The audience's questions were thoughtful, incisive, deeply probing—what I had hoped for from Harvard. For me, being invited to screen at the Divinity School (see HDS link above) legitimizes the film. We've had great success and reviews from film festival audiences, but I wouldn't expect them to be as critical as the Harvard group. This cross-denominational group, it seemed from the Q&A, was surprised at the depth of the film and its subject, and was very curious to learn more about "What's Your Name's?" beliefs and background. We had a similar experience with an early screening with the Bishop and clergy from the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. At this event, the questions went well into the night and some clergy commented that they "lost sleep" over issues that this film and WYN's life illuminated, including what commitments and sacrifices they had/had not made for their own mission and the relatively comfortable lifestyle they had as priests. Thanks, Harvard!

The Jesus Guy goes to Beverly Hills

Watch out West Coast, here comes The Jesus Guy! The film will have its West Coast Premiere at the Los Angeles United Film Festival on Sunday, April 20 at 1:30pm. The screening will be held at the Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA. Director, Sean Tracey will be attending the event. Purchase tickets here. We are currently scheduling press interviews for Sean. If you would like to meet with him, please contact us ASAP.
A big thanks goes to Jason Connell for making this West Coast Premiere possible!

Mark Your Calendar, Arkansas!

The Jesus Guy will be joining the fabulous line up of the Ozark Foothills Film Fest. Screening on Saturday, March 29 at 6:00pm at the Independence Hall Auditorium, University of Arkansas Community College in Batesville, AR. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 870-251-1189. Director, Sean Tracey will be attending the screening.

Touring Connecticut

The Jesus Guy is currently touring various theaters in Connecticut as part of the Connecticut Film Festival, now until May. The film will screen in May at the main event of the Connecticut Film Festival in downtown Danbury. Director, Sean Tracey will be attending the event, May 20-25. To find out where and when the film will be screening in a Connecticut town near you, click here. Screening dates continue to be added. So far the film has been at the Stamford Majestic Theater in Stamford, the Hartford Cinema City in Hartford and the Regent 8 Theaters in S. Norwalk.
Thanks goes out to Tom Carruthers for all his help and continued enthusiasm for the film!

International Premiere in Cartagena, Colombia

The film goes international, screening at the 48th Annual Cartagena International Festival of Film & TV (the "Sundance" of South America) on March 7, 2008. We are thrilled to have been accepted to such a prestigious festival. Unfortunately, Sean was unable to attend. We are anxiously awaiting to hear how the film was received!

More Southern Exposure - Magnolia Independent Film Festival

The film screened at the 11th Annual Magnolia Independent Film Festival on Saturday, February 16 in Starkville, MS.  Heard the screening was well attended.  Unfortunately, director Sean Tracey was unable to attend.  

Oxford Film Festival Screening

The Jesus Guy screened at the 5th Annual Oxford Film Festival on Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 4:00pm at the Malco Oxford Studio Cinema at 1111 Jackson Ave. W in Oxford, MS. Director, Sean Tracey, attended! The film received "#1 Top Buzz" for the festival (before the screening) according to the B-Side (website administrator).

Comments from the director:
It’s been a couple weeks since I returned from the Oxford FF. We had another great screening. This time in a brand new multiplex with Dolby Sound, a huge screen, and stadium seating. We had a great audience, too. It’s fascinating to see people in different theaters, different cities, states, etc., all have the same reactions at the same moments in the film. Better yet, they’re the reactions I had hoped for. Laughs when I expected them, and suspicion-detecting “hummmms???” when they should occur.
I saw a couple of other great documentaries, including “The Devil Rides on Horseback” and “Nobody”. I met the directors of Nobody and hope to share info about distribution and theatrical release. Unfortunately, What’s Your Name could not make it to the festival.
Oxford is an enigma on it’s own. So beautiful, quite upscale, classic Southern looking town square. The disconnect is every Thursday-Saturday night when shuttle busses full of University of Mississippi kids funnel into the town to drink themselves silly.
By midnight, the streets are strewn with staggering frat boys and coed girls sitting (or laying prone) on the sidewalks because they’re so drunk they can’t walk in their high heels. Yes…they get decked out in expensive little cocktail dresses to drink beer! (There’s a documentary film waiting to be made here.)
The film is on to screenings at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, the Connecticut Film Festival, and St. Anselm’s College (”Best of the Best of the NH Film Festival” night), all in March. More later. Thanks for checking in.