1,340 miles. 2 vans. 10 days. 11 people. Let’s just say, we all had an awesome time!
For those of you who don’t know, the “Texas Trek” is a carpool/lodging group we put together for people attending the 2016 Christian Worldview Film Festival. And by “we”, I really mean Lori Kenney our logistics coordinator! She put a ton of effort into setting it all up, including coordinating hotel rooms for around 30 people, expenses, lining up the rental vehicles for the trip down and so much more. A huge thanks goes to Lori for making this trip a success!
A special thanks also goes to the Texas Trek drivers for braving the roads and also providing the ground transportation for us during the festival and guild! Y’all are the best.
On Saturday, March 12th we met in Fargo, ND at the Texas Trek base location. We took the 20+ hour trip in two days, the first night staying in Topeka, KS and then arriving late Sunday night to our hotel in San Antonio. Some folks flew down and joined the group when we got there, and we all tried to get to bed as early as we could so we’d be ready for the Guild Monday morning.
“The CWVFF was so refreshingly focused on Christ. Philip Telfer is very open and honest about his desire for this festival to glorify Christ. The speakers also shared his passion and kept pointing back to Christ. It’s not about filmmaking. It’s about honoring God and making Him known. It’s about spreading the Gospel.” – Angela W.
The first 3 days of the filmmaker’s guild were filled with countless workshops, networking, and keynote sessions. Even more than the workshops themselves (though they were awesome!), the networking and meeting new people I think was probably the highlight for a lot of us. Just to be able to ask questions, listen to what others have to say, and make new connections was an amazing experience!
Another highlight during the guild was having our MWCFA Alumni dinner at a local restaurant. It was awesome hanging out with all the students and teachers from past (and future!) academies. It was a huge blessing to have Jack and Erlene there as well (from the 2015 production “Memories”).
Thursday morning we were able to sleep in and gear up for the festival that started that afternoon. We had a booth set up in the vendor hall, and it kind of served as the “rendezvous” for the group.
Hannah, Carol, Courtney and I took turns visiting with people and sharing about the Academy, Motion University, and running the “Movie Poster Photo Booth”.
It was great fun to see the different poses and facial expressions people came up with for their posters!
The award ceremonies on Saturday night was another highlight – seeing all the winning films announced, going out for ice cream, and staying up until 3:30am visiting with people. It was very hard knowing that an amazing week was coming to a close!
“The CWVFF was such a blessing as it was clearly Christ centered. . . . I had a great opportunity to network with filmmakers from all across the country . . .I was particularly impressed with the Filmmakers Guild list of core values that not only apply to filmmaking but to all of life. It is a wonderful place for anyone who is excited about learning, making, helping out with, acting in, and/or simply watching God glorifying Christ centered films.” – Gwendelynn M.
“I was so blessed this year at the Christian Worldview Film Festival, not only by the excellent speakers and informative workshops, but also the fantastic networking and fellowship opportunities. Meeting new filmmakers and building on the foundations of previous years’ acquaintances, I was able to connect with other attendees and instructors, not just about filmmaking, but also about other real-life issues. For me, I think the fellowship really was the best part of the guild and festival, and I am so grateful to the Lord for blessing me with the opportunity to be there!” – Courtney G.
Sunday morning we said our goodbyes, packed everything up and headed out around 7:45 am to start the trip home. Traffic ended up delaying us quite a bit, but other than that the trip was fairly uneventful! We stayed overnight again in Topeka, KS and made it the rest of the way back on Monday.
We all had way too much fun on the drive down and back – laughing, talking, watching movies, making puns (ok – certain people in the group making puns), and overall just enjoying each other’s company!
To all my fellow Texas Trekkers – I already can’t wait for next year! It was a blast hanging out with you guys.
Who would be interested in doing it again (or joining us) next year?!
