7 replies to this topic

[Follow My Film]

Hello Fellow Filmmakers,

Due to good fortune, I recently came across the A&F Top 100 Films, which lead me to these forums. I've set-up a profile; however, I thought I would formally introduce myself prior to jumping in with my opinions!

My name is Christopher J. Boghosian, an independent filmmaker in Los Angeles, where I was also born and raised. After receiving an MA in theology from Fuller Seminary, Pasadena, I decided to pursue may passion for film and photography.

I made my first short film, Fade to Red, in 2008 and made two others since then. In fact, my last short film, Jasmin & Josephine, was modeled after Paul Schrader's theories from his book, Transcendental Style in Film. In fact, Mr. Schrader watched my film and liked it! This September, I wrapped production of my first feature film, which I wrote and directed, titled Girlfriend 19. FollowMyFilm.com is the blog I started where I journal my filmmaking process and experiences. Now I am crowdfunding in an attempt to raise money for post-production.

Filmmaking is a great passion of mine and, unfortunately, I have found myself on the outskirts of the filmmaking community, especially the "Christian film" community. I've attended a lot (too many?) Christian entertainment seminars, conferences, panels, etc. and they all tend to be the same thing: "How can we make films for Jesus that are as good (entertaining/marketable?) as Hollywood films?" That question pierces my heart and I believe it is the single greatest contributing factor to poorly made films by Christians.

The A&F Top 100 Films really impressed me!!! I'm a HUGE Bresson, Ozu & Dardenne fan and to see so many of their films on the list simply blew me away! Many of the Top 100 Films are amongst my favorite and I'm sad to say most of my Christian colleagues have never heard of them, let alone the filmmakers. And what's up with Shawshank Redemption being practically worshiped by so many Christian filmmakers - it's not even on the list - hallelujah!!!

Okay, I'll stop there! Nice to meet you all and I'll see you in the forums....

Sincerely,
Christopher

Edited by Follow My Film, 21 October 2010 - 01:48 PM.

[Overstreet]

It's good to meet you, Christopher.

I read Shrader's book last year in preparation for leading a film seminar at The Glen Workshop and found it to be very thought-provoking.

I look forward to seeing some of your work, and I hope you find the A&F discussion rewarding.

[Follow My Film]

Overstreet, on 21 October 2010 - 01:55 PM, said:

It's good to meet you, Christopher.

Good to meet you too! Thank you for the speedy welcome

It's great that you used Schrader's book in your workshop? I'd love to hear how you incorporated it...

I looked into the workshops and they are for writing, correct? I did not see any for filmmaking...

And thank you for taking an interest in my films. Here is a the link to my Vimeo Page.

cB

[NClarke]

Christopher,

Good to meet you as well. I'll be interested to see how you experience goes using kickstarter. I used it to get a little help with a feature doc I am finishing up. I was able to raise the money but it took a lot of work to get that amount. I'm on the fence as to whether it was worth it. (And now we'll have to hear everyone, especially Christians, talking about how great kickstarter is because Blue LIke Jazz was funded - if Donald Miller is behind your film, then sure. If not then good luck.)

I found that my finished trailer worked a lot better in terms of building buzz and that most of my backers were family, friends and fellow filmmakers.

My project.

Nate

[Thom]

Hi, Christopher. It is great to have you here and I look forward to your participation and hearing more of your thoughts in the future.

I am currently reading my way through Paul Schrader's Transcendental Style in Film for the second time. I am looking to apply some of his theories to ethnographic documentary thought. It must have been a wonderful feeling and experience to have Paul Schrader watch your film - him enjoying it is icing on the cake.

It is always encouraging to see a filmmaker siding with film-thinking on a more theoretical level.

Welcome. It sounds like you will fit right in.

Thom

[Follow My Film]

Nice to meet you too, Nate! Watched your trailer - great work!!! "White Harley Davidson" - LOVE THAT!!! And congratulations regarding your successful campaign - that's wonderful....

Me? I'm getting my butt handed to me big time! LOL I've got two weeks left (halfway through) and I've raised less than 10% of my goal. However, I did have an anonymous donor offer a $2,500 match-fund over the course of the next week, so that is huge!

Your project looks great and I'm excited for you. Please keep me in-touch and I look forward to watching your film...

Blessings,
Christopher

Thom,

Great to meet you and so darn nice to meet another Transcendental Style fan!!! We really are rare!

The last section that discusses "religious" films is so incredibly poignant and relevant to "Christian" films today.

If you get a chance, please send me a message on here and tell me more about your documentaries. Believe, I would LOVE to connect with another filmmaker who appreciate Schrader's book.

And, yes, it was absolutely amazing to hear back from Paul Schrader after he watched my film. BTW, I am entertaining the thought of writing a feature based on the style....

Blessings,
Christopher

[Mark Turner]

Hi, Christopher, -- I just registered for A&F and saw your post. Thanks for your openness. I look forward to learning from your shared experiences and the many resources you list on your blog. Perhaps I will have something with which to reciprocate from my odd collection of knowledge mixing visual arts, poetry, video/film, theater and storytelling. Yours, Mark Turner

[Follow My Film]

Great to meet you, Mark. I checked out your website and I love the mission of your ministry. Us artists need support!!!

And thank you so much for checking out my blog. It's been a real labor of love and I'm still trying to figure out how to do it correctly.

Blessings,
cB