American Film Market Dailies

Barbara Mudge, President & Founder, Worldwide Film Entertainment, and from left, Bobby Downes, CEO & Founder, ChristianCinema.com, Jim Mhoon, VP, Content Development & Integration, Focus on the Family, Mark Borde, Co-President, Freestyle Releasing, Ash Greyson, President & CEO, Ribbow Media, and Sophia Karteris Kelley, SVP Programming, UPtv are seen at the 2014 American Film Market (AFM) at the Loews Santa Monica Hotel on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014 in Santa Monica, Calif. (Alexandra Wyman/Invision for IFTA/AP Images)

 

Barbara Mudge, President & Founder, Worldwide Film Entertainment moderated the panel conversation that included speakers: Mark Borde, Co-President, Freestyle Releasing; Bobby Downes, CEO & Founder, ChristianCinema.com; Ash Greyson, President & CEO, Ribbow Media; Jim Mhoon,VP, Content Development & Integration, Focus on the Family; and Sophia Karteris Kelley, SVP Programming, UPtv. All the panelists agreed that having a film with a good message and story is the key component to successfully marketing to a faith based audience. They advised that the Christian audience won’t turn up for any film simply labeled “faith based”. Distributors and marketers need to convince the audience that the film was made to tell an inspiring message and not that the message was created just to market the film.

 

“You can’t just label a movie a faith based film and expect it do well. It’s whether a message resonates with that [faith based] audience or it doesn’t.” – Mark Borde, Freestyle Releasing

 

“[Marketing] is not about convincing the pastor why his church should see your film; you need to show the pastor why this movie will send people back into the church.” – Ash Greyson, Ribbow Media

 

“It all starts with a good story… You want something that’s going to engage the audience.” -- Sophia Karteris Kelley, UPtv