PACIFIC PRESS AND TELLY AWARD-WINNING SAU ALUMNUS HONOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN THROUGH FILM
Films Celebrate Lincoln Bicentennial and Civil War Sesquicentennial
October 5, 2010
Nashville, TN
Loren Small, a Telly Award-Winning graduate of Southern Adventist University and Directing Partner of COGfilm (www.cogfilm.com), announced today that Pacific Press will distribute his new film Abraham Lincoln’s Faith. The film, directed by Small, was produced in conjunction with The Lincoln Project (www.thelincolnproject.com) as part of the celebration of the 2009 Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.
A member of the first graduating class from Southern Adventist University’s film school, Small has produced three films about Abraham Lincoln through his company, COGfilm. Two of the films premiered during the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial. One of them, Abraham Lincoln’s Faith, will be distributed by Pacific Press in Adventist Book Centers throughout America beginning November 1. The second, Lincoln and Emancipation, is already being sold in stores at select National Parks and other historic sites. A third film was shot for the National Park Service as part of the Andrew Johnson Bicentennial and will be used for educational purposes during the Civil War Sesquicentennial.
“I think I am now one of the premier living Lincoln photographers,” said Small. “I feel like a modern Matthew Brady.”
During the Civil War, Matthew Brady gained fame as the great photographer of battlefield scenes and of President Abraham Lincoln. But Brady had nothing on Telly Award-Winning Southern Adventist University Alumnus Loren Small, who has not just been taking still photos of Abraham Lincoln Presenters for over a decade, but has actually captured hours of video and film of the President (or his modern alter ego, at least).
Small has a secret to capturing so many images of “Lincoln.” His brother, Chris Small, (who served as an Adventist pastor in Michigan for six years) has presented Abraham Lincoln on the stage and through film since 1997. Chris is the Founder and CLE of The Lincoln Project, an organization dedicated to “Bringing Lincoln to Life.” Chris portrays Lincoln in all three of the films.
Two of the films--Lincoln & Emancipation and Abraham Lincoln’s Faith--were shown for the first time on July 9, 2009, at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, TN. Attendees, including local and state elected officials, enjoyed period foods (including Lincoln’s favorite cake) at the pre-screening reception. A reenactors’ encampment, which included a 10-pound parrott cannon and Union color guard, provided a festive and patriotic opening to the event.
In the question and answer periods following the film screenings, Loren Small explained that film is a powerful medium to help “shape the culture” and “broaden the discussion” including issues of faith. His brother, Chris Small, says that portraying Lincoln gives him the opportunity to share his belief in God and to address questions of faith, even in secular settings.
It is these exciting opportunities that Small believes led Pacific Press to distribute Abraham Lincoln’s Faith. The film tells the story of Lincoln's personal journey to faith, culminating in a deep regard for the Scriptures and a firm reliance upon God. Near the beginning, Lincoln remembers reading the family Bible at his mother’s knee. He relates how he was raised among Separate or “Hard-shell” Baptists who held to no creed but the Bible, but as a young man “became something of a skeptic.” However, events led him back to the Bible and to a life of prayer. The film climaxes with the explosive and faith-affirming words of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.
DVDs of both Abraham Lincoln’s Faith and Lincoln and Emancipation are available for purchase from The Lincoln Project at www.TheLincolnProject.com. Abraham Lincoln’s Faith will also be available for purchase from Adventist Book Centers beginning November 1, 2010.
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For more INFORMATION,
HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS
or to schedule an INTERVIEW
please contact:
Loren Small
COGfilm
615-403-6648
loren@cogfilm.com
http://www.cogfilm.com
Chris Small
The Lincoln Project
423-620-3604
chris@thelincolnproject.com
http://www.thelincolnproject.com
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