How do you tell a story that’s happened six months in the past and has far too many levels of complexity?

That was Nathan Clarke’s task when he arrived in Jos, Nigeria, a relatively peaceful city that every couple of years is engulfed in violence between Christians and Muslims that had led to bloodshed and death.

As the filmmaker’s day in the village began to wind down, his guide took him to a small church just outside Jos. There he met Victor, the pastor, who told the story of his congregation. As the violence engulfed Jos, the Muslim community situated just next door attacked the church, killing two of Victor’s parishioners. As Victor told this filmmaker this story, a group of about 15 Muslim youth, none older that 18 (and some were as young as 8), were performing military style marching drills in the opening adjacent to the church. As the pastor talked about struggling to forgive his neighbors, Clarke was deeply moved by what he heard and saw.

Directed by Nathan Clarke

With team names like the Bodacious Oinkers, the Chicago Chitlins, Pigger Me Timbers and the Super Sows, it’s clear these athletes are on a novel mission.

They gather from around the state to compete. In teams of three they enter a mud-filled ring with the goal of wrestling a pig into a barrel in just thirty seconds.

Fourth Line Films produced this video on a sunny summer day in small-town Wisconsin. Pigs protest in loud squeals though in theory their welfare is of utmost importance and leg, ear or snout grabbing is cause for instant disqualification.

This wacky video includes interviews with a variety of teams about their strategies and reasons for competing, including the city slickers from Chicago who admit to never before having touched a pig.

Directed by Nathan Clarke

We are Adam, Jared, Jamison, Laken, and Mikey; a group of 5 students that attend Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Between us we are majoring in Business, Social Entrepreneurship, Film, Religion, Communications, and Linguistics. Between these five filmmakers, we have 20 years of film experience and 10 years with social work. Our goal is to build a system of self-sustaining projects like this. Our ultimate mission is to both empower communities to begin to turn problems into prosperity and capture the stories of their transformation. Currently, we are working solely from spare time and extreme passion but we are certain that this is what we want to do with our lives. We believe that from this project, the future of our work is being established and given a foundation.

Jamison and Jared have been working and learning together since the age of 15. Both are skilled and proficient in business development, creative development, marketing, and various film production skills.

Laken is a double major in film and religion at Carson-Newman University and has grown in his skill of cinematography and editing in the last 4 years. Laken is very creative and proficient with editing tools and never ceases to provide an incredible film at the end of his work.

Adam is extremely entrepreneurial and is vital to the success of the film. Adam’s creativity and passion fuel much of what happens with this project. Within production, Adam’s speciality is cinematography, he’s always consistent in getting fantastic and compelling shots.

Mikey is a creative and talented writer, of both words and music. Mikey works to make the script of the refuge film flow and be without blemish. He’s also an extremely talented composer, musician, and vocalist. Some of his instrumental and vocal tracks will be premiered in the film.

This Is Our City, a multiyear project of Christianity Today, seeks to spotlight in reporting, essays, and documentary video how these Christians are responding to their cities’ particular challenges with excellence, biblical faith, and hope. The six cities we are profiling differ dramatically from one another in size, economic climate, ethnic and racial composition, and in their history of Christian presence, leadership or abdication, at crucial moments. But they all have stories worth telling. Wherever we live, we can learn something from these cities about faithfulness to our own place.

What happens when a generation of young men grow up without families? These are the stories of young gang members incarcerated in a Central American prison. They tell of their hunger for belonging, heartache at the church’s hostility, and hope that they can change and contribute to their communities.

       Directed by Nathan Clarke     

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Developer Kristopher Kendrick distinctly impacted the history and direction of Knoxville. He not only introduced many Knoxville residents to the idea of urban living, but also inspired a new generation of preservationists to experience the challenges and rewards of restoration. Downtown developer, David Dewhirst, said Kendrick was “the father of preservation in Knoxville, and certainly the guy who made it cool and interesting to be urban again.”

Conceptions, Visions, Dreams: The Kristopher Kendrick Story showcases Kendrick’s pioneering efforts to preserve and revitalize important buildings in Knoxville. It honors the city’s rich architectural heritage, and creates a visible and permanent link between past, present, and future generations.

Conceptions, Visions, Dreams: The Kristopher Kendrick Story premiered on June 6, 2008, at the historic Bijou Theatre and was later rebroadcast by local NBC affiliate, WBIR TV 10.

A Kristopher Kendrick quote on the city of Knoxville, TN: “I can relate to Knoxville as though she were a beautiful woman who needs to be dressed up and taken out. She has all the potential in the world.”