I’m in Los Angeles this week, to attend a celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the Act One program:

Act One is a Christian community of entertainment industry professionals who train and equip storytellers to create works of truth, goodness and beauty.

The celebration is happening today (Saturday, August  17) at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood.
Here’s a summary of what will be happening:

As part of our year of twentieth-anniversary celebrations, ACT ONE is hosting a day of thoughtful consideration of what we, as a community have learned. We are calling it, “Towards an Authentic Christian Cinema”.
Our speakers and topics for the day will include:
“Religious Metaphors in Art and Movies”
by Enzo Salveggi
Enzo Selvaggi leads a team of designers, artists, and craftsmen to create singular, compelling liturgical space and sacred art through the firm he founded in 2008, Heritage Liturgical. Through acclaimed murals, award-winning mosaics, exquisite hand-carved statuary, authentic french paneling,  decorative finishes and effects, and fine art both new and antique, artisans at Heritage employ the grammar of traditional art to create spaces of aesthetic value and spiritual meaning. American-born, Selvaggi grew up in Italy and continued his university education in the Tuscan hills, where his connection to art and architecture blossomed. Tapping into his traditional European education, Selvaggi weaves the ancient canons of composition with the dynamism and breadth of contemporary styles and techniques.
“Towards a Christian Aesthetic of Cinema”
by Dr. Zach Cheney
Zach Cheney is an assistant professor of Screen Studies in the Department of Cinematic Arts at Azusa Pacific University. He is also a graduate of Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, GA), Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO), and San Francisco State University. He has presented at numerous academic conferences on film and media, as well as published an essay on Alfred Hitchcock in the anthology Faith and Spirituality: Masters of World Cinema, Vol. III, published by Cambridge Scholars Press in 2015. His current undertakings include expanding his dissertation into a book manuscript along with a book-length project addressing film and media studies within a biblical-theological framework.
And much more including Dr. Barbara Nicolosi on Flannery O’Connor and Haunting Moments as well as writer/producer, Thomas Bernardo, from the hit show, “Bosch,” on the topic of “Making Television Through A Christian Lens.”
We will also have panels discussing successful writers groups and how to get your indie projects off the ground.
Plus a lot more surprises throughout the day!
Reconnect with your Act One classmates, meet lots of new friends from the other groups, and thank the faculty who have served throughout these last two decades.

---

SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY

• 9:00 am – Welcome/Opening Remarks (James Duke)
• 9:15 am – “Towards a Christian Aesthetic of Cinema” (Dr. Zach Cheney)
• 10:00 am – “Religious Metaphors in Art and Movies” (Enzo Salveggi)
• 10:45 am – Break
• 11:00 am – “A Tribute to David, Ava, and Jack” (Charles Slocum)
• 11:15 am – “Act One…The Next Twenty Years” (James Duke)
• 11:30 am –  “Writing Groups That Work and Last” (Panel Discussion)
• 12:15 pm – Lunch
• 1:30 pm – “Making Television: A Christian Lens” (Thomas Bernardo)
• 2:15 pm – “Just Get it Done: Getting Your Indie Project Off the Ground” (Panel Discussion)
• 3:00 pm – “Flannery “OConnor Meets Sergei Eisenstein: Moment Centered Cinema” (Dr. Barbara Nicolosi)
• 3:45 pm – Time of Prayer & Celebration
• 4:30 pm – Event Concludes

You can still register at the door for the conference, though it’s too late to sign up for lunch. 🙂
Here are two video interviews about the history of Act One with founder Barbara Nicolosi: