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Judges
Michael O. Sajbel
Michael's most recent film, "THE ULTIMATE GIFT," was released nationally March 2007 by Fox Faith Films. Based on the novel by Jim Stovall, it stars James Garner, Brian Dennehy, Drew Fuller, Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and others. The film tells the story of a Grandfather (Garner) leaving a gift to his grandson (Drew Fuller), but only if he can successfully complete 12 tasks that change his character. It was shot on location in Charlotte, NC.
One very favorable review stated "...its sincerity, optimism and air of open-minded tolerance go down well, and it makes a nice change-of-pace from the kind of hip cynicism that seems to infuse even the most genial of Hollywood family films these days." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
The film went on to win a host of awards, including the Crystal Heart from the Heartland Film Festival, one of the year's best family films from MovieGuide and a Camie Award for virtues of character, integrity and inspirational themes. When released on DVD this past August it immediately became an audience favorite, receiving great reviews on Yahoo, Amazon and other voting sites. To date it has sold beyond the $20 million mark on DVD and rented well past $20 million.
Michael also directed the 2006 theatrical feature, "ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING," based on the Tommy Tinney novel of the same name. A faithful interpretation of the Old Testament Book of Esther, the film was shot in Jodhpur, India with an international cast that includes Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, John Rhys-Davies, John Noble, Luke Goss and Tiffany Dupont as Esther.
Read more about Michael O. Sajbel.
Joshua Grover-David Patterson
Joshua Grover-David Patterson's three produced films have won 13 awards and appeared in 29 film festivals all over the world, including Japan, Australia, Hungary, Norway, the UK, and throughout the United States. His feature screenplay, "The Paper Boat", took 4th place in the 2006 Hollywood Nexus screenwriting competition. His articles on film have appeared in The Post-Crescent and Bull Magazine, and he is a frequent contributor to Film Threat. Patterson works as a technical writer for ImproMed, Inc., and resides in Appleton with his journalist wife, Kara.
Donald Meckiffe
Donald Meckiffe is an Assistant Professor of Communication at UW Fox Valley. He began his formal study of film in 1987 at the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK. In 2002, Professor Meckiffe completed his PhD at the University of Madison Wisconsin where he also taught video production and Cultural Studies as he does at UW Fox. He currently lives in Appleton with his wife and one son.
Rick McNeal
Rick has been one-half of the morning show on 105.7 WAPL for most of the last 21 years. The highlights of his film class at the University of Montana included visits by then first time directors Paul Schrader and David Lynch. He's a big fan of the movies of Woody Allen, Christopher Guest, Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie (pre-Madonna). His weekly trips to the movie theater are his only means to silence the voices in his head.
Richard Ostrom
I am Richard Ostrom, and I have a monthly column in the local newspaper "The Scene". In said column I attempt, to the best of my ability, to shed light on some cinematic output of a less "commercial" fashion. After all, is there not more than enough ink devoted shamelessly to the latest over-priced Hollywood product? I tend to favor films that adhere to a philosophy that the art itself is of the utmost importance. Such films tend to challenge, enlighten and take chances rather than simply conform to formula standards. A few of the filmmakers who have made a significant impact upon me include, but are not limited to: Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam, and David Lynch. A few favorite films would include: "American Movie", "Brother's Keeper", "Brazil", and "2001-A Space Odyssey".
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