The next offering in the Malone College Worldview Forum series will take a look at the influence of Hollywood on our culture.  Faith, Film, and Society: This Forum is Not Yet Rated will take place Monday, March 31 at 7:30 in the Johnson Center for Worship and the Fine Arts, located at 2600 Cleveland Avenue NW in Canton.  The program is free and open to the public.   Panelists include:

 

Jack Hafer is president of Boulevard Pictures and produced the award-winning feature film To End All Wars. Prior to that, as vice president and general manager of GMT Studios in Culver City, Hafer oversaw the complete operations of this state-of-the-art film studio, best known for film projects such as Wag the Dog, LA Story, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Predator, Minority Report, Tequila Sunrise, Blade 1 & 2, and The Fan. He also formed the Culver City Film Studio Consortium which included the heads of MGM Distribution, Culver City Studios, Columbia Pictures/Lorimar Studios, as well as GMT Studios. Recent projects include The Culture Wars, Campus Culture Wars, Cruel Logic, Praying the Hours, James Dean The Movie, and Safety Zone.

Rev. Rebecca VerStraten-McSparran is the director of the Los Angeles Film Studies Center which provides an intensive semester of study and internships in Hollywood for Christian college students. She also directs the City of Angels Film Festival and has served on the planning committee of Reel Spirituality, a think-tank for filmmakers and theologians sponsored by Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to her work with LAFSC, she was principal/executive director of Mid-Wilshire Christian School and founding pastor of TRIBE of Los Angeles church. She has earned degrees from Bethel University (B.A.) and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.).

 

Joe Siebert is a Malone College senior communication arts major with a media emphasis and a Spanish minor and is working towards an honors degree. He spent the fall semester of his junior year attending the Los Angeles Film Studies Center where he interned at Silver Pictures at Warner Bros. Studios. He now interns at StoneKap Productions. After college, he will pursue a career as a screen writer and film director.

 

Linda Leon (moderator): Linda Leon is the director of campus ministries at Malone College where she serves students through a variety of programs, speaking engagements, and reflective studies, as well as discipling students in the practical integration of the Christian faith with all areas of life. She is the co-founder and director of the Malone Film Forum. She has earned degrees from Malone College (B.A.) and Geneva College (M.A.).