MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — As we approach the Oscars and see your favorite movies win awards, we’re bringing you a little closer to home for a look at a local film festival bringing in moviemakers from our area and across the country.
- The Family and Faith International Film Festival in Waco showcases independent filmmakers and promotes positive storytelling, providing a platform for films often overlooked by mainstream theaters.
- Filmmaker Gerald McBride presents his film "The Rhythm", which addresses racism in hockey through the story of a young Black player, inspired by his own experiences as a minority at an arena.
- The festival, organized by Dr. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, aims to uplift both audiences and filmmakers while creating opportunities for meaningful films that inspire others.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“A lot of folks get started at film festivals just like this one,” Dr. Tyrha Lindsey- Warren said.
Filmmakers from across the world are making a stop in Waco for the Family and Faith International Film Festival.
“These films could easily be shown in mainstream theater, you know, there’s, but a lot of time, they just don’t get the opportunity. And so film festivals like this one and other across the country give audiences exposure to positive stories,” she said.
Dr. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren has been organizing the festival for the past 6 years.
This year, one filmmaker flying into Waco from Detroit Michigan, Gerald McBride writer and director of “The Rhythm” is screening his film for the first time in Central Texas.
“It is a story of a young black guy who plays hockey and is dealing with the racism in the sport, he gets into a brawl on the ice and just his anger just goes too far and he ends up almost killing the guy on the ice, and he ends up going to jail for attempted murder,” said Gerald McBride
The idea came to McBride 15 years ago after attending a hockey game. That's when he noticed he was the only Black person in the arena. Now his personal story has turned into a film that communities can relate to.
“When I started recruiting hockey players from an organization here in Detroit, and I started telling them about this story, they were like wow that really sounds like some of the things that we go through playing hockey,” said McBride.
Dr. Lindsey-Warren said uplifting and empowering people is exactly what this film festival is all about—but it doesn’t just empower the audience—it’s also an opportunity for the movie makers.
“The filmmakers need that spotlight that shines to just raise the whole level of what they’re doing and taking it to another level, We can give people the opportunity that the big boys aren’t doing yet, like the Oscars,” said Dr. Lindsey-Warren
And because of that spotlight, it gives McBride the chance to make a film that is more than just entertainment, he gets to create inspiration.
“I’m going to continue to do more movies like this, where you get something out of it, where you learn something, where you’re going to lean something where you’re inspired to be a better person, I think that’s what movie making is all about,” said McBride.
For details on the Waco Family and Faith International Film Festival, you can visit here.
