Comments on: Future of Mormon Cinema

By: Randy Astle

Randy Astle — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:09:09 +0000

Thanks for the great post. I think Mormon filmmakers are getting increasingly savvy to the market conditions, not just for Mormon films but all indie films in general. DVD won’t recover with the economy–it’s a waning technology–but you’re right to point out purely streamed distribution as the wave of the next few years. This is the avenue LDS film will have to take to remain economically viable, with perhaps one or two four-walled screenings in a theater as a sort of launch event (but not a whole week’s worth of screenings!). Like we saw with “Jer3miah,” LDS filmmakers are starting to think outside the box office, as Jon Reiss says, and I expect we’ll see some really innovative distribution models in the next twenty-four months. That’s what we’re trying to do with the upcoming film/transmedia property “Saints,” and developing the business plan and distribution strategy is just as exciting as working on the film itself. (Check out the blog to see what we’re doing.)

Also, it’s nice to know that LDS film has been around a lot longer than “God’s Army” (over a century longer) and that Mormon filmmakers have worked their way through tough economic situations before. We’re seeing a shift in Mormon film, but not its demise.

(And, Lynda, maybe what we need is a distribution venue like Hulu or Fandor dedicated specifically to low budget Mormon films. Since I like ultralow budget films better than costlier pictures anyway, I think this could be a very vital service…)

By: Lynda McElhaney Balch

Lynda McElhaney Balch — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:46:55 +0000

The sad thing is that a lot of members of the church do not know about LDS movies….I didn’t for a long time and I have been a member since 1970′s.
I think that Relief Society and other organizations need to make members aware of these products. A flyer could be posted on boards at the church, if that is allowed.
It is disturbing to me that members go to the movie and complain about the profanity and other aspects that make a movie distasteful but do not support this cause.
Maybe we need a wake up call.
Suggestions?

By: Kathie

Kathie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:51:34 +0000

This is truly sad. I try to purchase as many of the LDS DVDs as possible, to help support these people, and to get the message out there that we need more of this type of film. And although I often encourage others to purchase them as well, I’m only one person, and I can only purchase one copy per film.

I think part of this is also the economy, and when that picks up, people might start purchasing DVDs again.

I know that part of the reason people rent instead of buy is that it is much cheaper to rent a movie for $1, than it is to pay $20 for a smaller-budget movie, which is what they are running, instead of the $10 for the bigger budget films. This is due to publishing in volume, so the bigger budget films recoup their costs a lot faster than the smaller ones do.

Just my two cents.