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A Christian film maker who loves working with youth and believes in spreading the Advent message through film to each one.

TIDBITS ON CLARENCE

1.  Born and raised in Harlem, NY
2. Attended Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY), but left sophomore year to pursue his dream to be a video music director. Clarence was not SDA at the time, but has regretted leaving school. In Ellen G. White’s The Great Controversy, p. 368 secured his belief that pursuing film was what he should continue to do. His mission now is “to use film as a way to force dialog about the end time events and the hour of God’s judgment.”
3. Attends the Co-op City SDA Church and held positions in the Communications department and served as the AYS/MV leader.
4. Currently works at the Harlem Children’s Zone in its Employment Technology Center as a digital film making teacher.
   

QUESTIONS FOR CLARENCE

GNYCED: We've heard of and/or seen the Christian films "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". What made you decide to create the film "Between Father and Son"?

CM:  Between Father and Son was inspired by an experience I had at the GNYC- Women’s Prayer Retreat. The speaker for the evening asked all the women in the room to pray for their children. At which point some 900 women began to pray, and you can hear the crying and whaling across the room. I had been working with the youth at Co Op City SDA church and I knew that the issue of youth retention was a challenge for us as a local church but I did not realize until I was at the Prayer Retreat how wide spread it really is. I decided then that it would be helpful to use film as a way of engaging the collective church in a dialog about youth retention. I approached Pastor Ruben Merino, the director of GNYC-Media Center about the idea and his response was “let’s do it”. I also approached Pastor Jose Cortez, Jr., the GNYC-Youth Department Director about the film and he also responded positively.

 GNYCED: What has been the response of those who've seen the film?

 CM: To my surprise the response has been overwhelmingly supportive. When we first premiered the film at Co Op City SDA church in April 2008, I really feared that there would be a negative backlash. A little more than 200 people was there and we had a brief discussion afterwards and everyone was so encouraging.  The real test came when Pastor Cortez showed it at camp meeting in ’08. He, as I, was afraid that the congregation may not react too well to seeing a film in such a sacred environment. Nevertheless, because he is passionate about the subject of youth retention and is aware of the fact that it affects many families in the Adventist faith, he was willing to take the chance. To our delight, people were ready to see the film and to have this dialog.   Now, by God’s grace, the film has been seen literally all around the world. DVDs have sold as far as the UK, Germany, all over the Caribbean, and all over the United States. And always, the feedback has been to keep them coming.

GNYCED: There's a rumor mill going that another film is in the making called "The Baptism of Chloe Foy." Is it true and what's it all about?

CM: We are working on a new film called The Baptism of Chloe Foy. We’ve just held our first round of auditions for the major roles.  I like to think of this film as a female version of the prodigal son story that takes place in 21^st century Harlem. Having the opportunity to travel to many churches in both the GNY and NE conferences, some of the feedback that I’ve gotten was to do a story that focuses on a female who grew up Adventist.

GNYCED: What do you hope to achieve through this film that you haven't done with the first?

CM: Really I’m hoping for more exposure and more discussion on the issue of youth retention in general, as well as more prayer and more ministry building. Whereas Between Father and Son took more of a look at the statistical reality of young people opting to leave the church, I think The Baptism of Chloe Foy looks closer at the influences of peer pressure, growing pains and other external realities that may delay a young person’s spiritual development.  I’m hoping that The Baptism of Chloe Foy will be able to reach a non-Adventist audience as well. I’ve made more of an effort to weave a storyline that can appeal to youth and families in general. Only time will tell if I was successful.

GNYCED: When will the film be ready to view?

CM: Realistically, my guess is January 2010. If it happens sooner I would be pleasantly surprised. We will probably start shooting in September and won’t have a finished edit until somewhere around November. I would like to spend November and December marketing and premiere somewhere in January. I’ve learned from the past that things do not always go as planned, but still, we must always have a plan.

GNYCED: Where can we go to access more information about it?

 CM: I have a website up www.chloefoy-themovie.com . I’m hoping to use this site a means of communicating information relevant to the production and marketing of The Baptism of Chloe Foy.