Shownotes
Episode 69 - Perseverance and Faith: The Story Behind ICFF with Marty Jean-Louis
In this inspiring episode of the Faith and Family Filmmakers podcast (part 2 of our interview with Marty jean-Louis), Geoff and Jaclyn talk with Marty about his journey in creating the International Christian Film Festival (ICFF). Marty shares the origins of ICFF, highlighting a personal story that motivated him to take on this significant project despite his initial reluctance. Through candid anecdotes about his struggles, fears, and numerous divine interventions, Marty emphasizes the importance of perseverance and trust in God's timing. He recounts several testimonies showcasing how faith and steadfastness led to miraculous outcomes, encouraging listeners to pursue their calling even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges. This episode offers valuable insights and encouragement for filmmakers and believers aiming to fulfill their God-given purposes.
Highlights include:
- The Origin of ICFF
- God's Calling and Initial Hesitations
- The First ICFF Festival
- Growth and God's Guidance
- Trusting God's Timing
- Encouragement for Filmmakers
- A Testimony of Faith and Provision
- Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts
Marty on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089541444400
24Flix Free Movies: https://24flix.tv/
ICFF: https://internationalcff.org/
OnlineChannel.tv https://www.onlinechannel.tv/
Bio:
Marty Jean-Louis, a dynamic producer and visionary, is the driving force behind 24 Flix, The International Christian Film Festival, and OnlineChannel.TV as their Founder and CEO. With his exceptional talent in production, Marty has directed and produced over 800 TV shows, documentaries, films, and commercials, garnering global viewership. His passion lies in using media as a tool to connect with and uplift those who are lost and broken, firmly believing that making a positive impact on even a single individual signifies success.
Under his leadership for the past twelve years, the International Christian Film Festival has flourished, uniting filmmakers, actors and producers from around the world in a vibrant four-day event. Additionally, Marty is at the forefront of 24 Flix TV, a free streaming service dedicated to faith and family. This platform provides a wide range of movies, TV series, and documentaries that are safe for viewers of all ages, focusing on content that uplifts and aligns with family values, without any hidden agendas..
Marty's commitment to his craft is unwavering; he's continuously involved in producing, writing, directing, and honing his skills. Marty resides in Orlando, Florida, with his wife and two sons, where he continues to inspire and innovate in the world of media.
Content Christian media Conference Discount Code: 50FAFF
Jaclyn's Book, In the Beginning, Middle, and End https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9R7XS9V
The Faith & Family Filmmakers podcast helps filmmakers who share a Christian worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. Releasing new episodes every week, we interview experts from varying fields of filmmaking; from screenwriters, actors, directors, and producers, to film scorers, talent agents, and distributors.
It is produced and hosted by Geoffrey Whitt and Jaclyn Whitt , and is brought to you by the Faith & Family Filmmakers Association
Support Faith & Family Filmmakers Our mission is to help filmmakers who share a Christian Worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. If you would like to assist with the costs of producing this podcast, you can help by leaving a tip.
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Copyright 2024 Ivan Ann Productions
Transcripts
Welcome to the members only portion of the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.
Jaclyn:I'm Jaclyn and Geoff is here with me.
Jaclyn:And today we've got Marty JL on Facebook.
Jaclyn:That's what I see.
Jaclyn:Marty JL.
Jaclyn:And we've been talking in the first portion, we were getting to know him and his history and all of the various things that he does, and we're going to dive into ICFF, a lot of people already know what it is, but I want to find out how to get started and where did that idea come from?
Jaclyn:Tell me the history of ICFF.
Marty:Yes, thank you for that opportunity.
Marty:Years ago when my kids were much, much younger, I would take them to this event that happens every year in Orlando.
Marty:And it was great.
Marty:I loved it.
Marty:They loved it.
Marty:It was great ministry.
Marty:It was awesome.
Marty:And fast forward a couple of years or two to three years, I'm waiting for this event because I knew it happens in the fall.
Marty:We're excited because this is time that I spent with my two boys and it was just great times.
Marty:It was awesome.
Marty:And it never came and I never see any email notifications, no advertising, nothing.
Marty:And I reached out to a friend of mine, Mark Goldstein, and I called Mark and I said, Hey, Mark, what's happening with this event?
Marty:He's like, Oh yeah, they're not going to do it anymore.
Marty:Oh, what a bummer.
Marty:It just crushed my heart because it was time that was awesome with my kids.
Marty:And so I've felt, I don't think I'm the only one I've felt that way.
Marty:And at the time God's like, why don't you do it?
Marty:And I'm like, nope, because if it's one thing I don't like to do is putting out events.
Marty:I love producing, but I don't like doing events.
Marty:I don't like to produce.
Marty:I'll produce a film.
Marty:I'll produce a documentary.
Marty:I'll produce a TV show all day, but events, no, very, very different.
Marty:And so a year goes by and I just, God's like in my heart.
Marty:Like, ah, you should do LA.
Marty:No, no.
Marty:Dentosis.
Marty:Second year, I feel it like, it's just like killing me.
Marty:Like, you've got to do this.
Marty:You've got to do this.
Marty:And I'm like, okay, God, if you can show me like a sign, like a real sign, like something that I cannot deny.
Marty:And one month later, I get a phone call from Mark Goldstein, the gentleman that I had spoken with about that event.
Marty:He said, Hey, Marty, let me invite you to this event.
Marty:And I want to talk to you afterwards.
Marty:I said, cool.
Marty:And I go to this event and after the event, I'm talking to Mark.
Marty:Mark is like, Hey, do you remember that festival that event that took place?
Marty:I'm like, yes.
Marty:Are they going to bring it back?
Marty:He said, no, but you should do it.
Marty:And at the time I am just speechless because I did not expect that at all.
Marty:And I said, okay, God, you got me, but I still don't wanna do it.
Marty:So God gave me specific instructions.
Marty:The first instruction is do not research any festivals.
Marty:Don't do it.
Jaclyn:Interesting.
Jaclyn:Yeah.
Marty:And I like, oh, I gonna do this , I don't know, festival.
Jaclyn:You're not allowed to research.
Marty:I'm not
Marty:gonna do this.
Marty:So I did, I was able to research names, right?
Marty:So he gave me the name at the time, International Christian Film Festival.
Marty:That he gave me, it was very clear.
Marty:I said, okay, bought the domain and I put on a website.
Marty:I said, fantastic.
Marty:Here you go guys.
Marty:I did it.
Marty:Get off my back.
Marty:It's done.
Marty:So we were still producing television shows.
Marty:So we were very busy.
Marty:I told Chris, who was my partner, and Chris is like, yeah, whatever.
Marty:He was busy too.
Marty:He's like, yeah, whatever.
Marty:And we intentionally did not promote it.
Marty:Like we, we just put on a website and like,
Jaclyn:Oh yeah, I'm creating an event.
Jaclyn:I'm not going to research.
Jaclyn:I'm not going to promote it.
Jaclyn:I just put it online.
Jaclyn:That's right.
Jaclyn:Like.
Jaclyn:That's exactly what people say that if you do that, it's not going to go anywhere.
Jaclyn:Correct,
Marty:and it shouldn't, in the natural world, it shouldn't, and that's what I was expecting.
Marty:I was banking on that, but for some reason, people found it.
Marty:That first year, we had 72 submissions.
Marty:How they found it is still a mystery to me today.
Marty:And did you have a live event?
Marty:No.
Marty:So that's the thing, right?
Marty:So people are like We want to come to this event and I'm like, what event?
Marty:This is just online.
Marty:There's no event.
Marty:The second year we had doubled it.
Marty:So we had about 150 submissions and we can't deny at that point, people from coming, they're like, we're coming.
Marty:Like, so we had to put an event and that was just the beginning of these events.
Jaclyn:What year was that?
Marty:This was 2009 or 2010, I think.
Marty:I can't remember.
Marty:12 years
Marty:ago.
Jaclyn:Okay, yeah, okay, okay.
Geoff:And of course it's grown into something quite significant.
Marty:Yeah, so I realize now what God was doing, right?
Marty:I didn't know what he was doing.
Marty:I really didn't.
Marty:We just did it.
Marty:God has told me, like, look at the events that you've been to.
Marty:I've been fortunate to have gone to very high profile events.
Marty:I've been very fortunate to basically walk by presidents and heads of states, like right next to me, and many, many occasions, I've been very fortunate to talk to celebrities, you know, use what you know, don't research any festivals, but use what I've shown you these past years.
Marty:And one year, God opened a door for us to go to the Oscars.
Marty:So that was another eye opening, like, wow, this is pretty cool.
Marty:So when you step and follow what God has called you, I promise you, he will open the right doors for you.
Marty:It will be dark at first, you're not gonna know where you're going, and you shouldn't, and it'll be very difficult, it will be very painful.
Marty:You're going to cry, yes.
Marty:You're going to want to quit and many do, but if you could stick with it, and that will become your testimony, right?
Marty:If you stick with it, God will open doors for you.
Marty:It's supposed to be hard.
Marty:Yes,
Marty:it is supposed to
Marty:be hard.
Geoff:If it's not hard, you're not pursuing your full potential.
Marty:Exactly.
Marty:If it's not hard,
Marty:what will come out of it?
Marty:You're going to think that it's all you, but when it is hard, then you know that it could not have been you.
Marty:You, there's no way you could do these things.
Marty:There's no way these doors would have been open.
Marty:It can only be God because he wants to get the glory.
Jaclyn:Yeah.
Jaclyn:And I like what you said at the beginning, it's dark and it just immediately made me think of a seed.
Jaclyn:You know, when you plant a seed, it starts out in the ground, in the darkness, and then it has to break through that soil in order to come through as a sprout.
Jaclyn:And then it's just a sprout.
Jaclyn:It doesn't have fruit for a while, right?
Jaclyn:And, yeah, I appreciate what you're, what you're saying.
Jaclyn:And, and some things sprout faster than others, but the thing is that it does have to start in the darkness, in the ground, and struggle to get through to the light.
Marty:And be patient.
Marty:Because it will take time.
Marty:You know why?
Marty:Because it builds character.
Marty:It builds trust in God.
Marty:If it happened overnight, and some things do happen overnight.
Marty:Don't get me wrong, but for 99.
Marty:99 percent of us, it will not happen overnight.
Marty:And that's why you will want to quit.
Marty:They say that most people quit right before their doors opened.
Marty:Imagine that.
Marty:Imagine the opportunities that were lost just because you're like, I can't do this.
Marty:And I get it.
Marty:There are many times I'm like, I want to quit and I'm going to quit and I get it, but don't you do it.
Marty:I'm telling you, don't you do it.
Jaclyn:Yeah.
Geoff:Very encouraging.
Geoff:This is encouraging words for us at many stages in our life and I'm sure many of our listeners as well.
Jaclyn:Yeah, and I like it how You were saying that God was using the skills and the experience that he gave you from your other experiences that had nothing to do really with film and what you're involved in now, like when you were working at the UN, like, yeah, you learned a lot.
Jaclyn:You understood.
Jaclyn:I'm sure that you actually learned a lot also about etiquette and things like that, where I think that's one of those things that can sometimes be lost when you do understand that there are procedures and protocols and things like that, it does make you approach life differently.
Jaclyn:And I'm sure that God has been able to use so many of the things that you've learned in other aspects of life to be able to bring into building what you're working on today.
Marty:Yeah,
Geoff:that's how he develops us.
Marty:I am so glad that you brought that because all of my life, people have told me, focus on one thing and you'll be successful at it.
Marty:And it's great advice.
Marty:It really is.
Marty:And I try to focus on one thing and be good at that, but there are some of us that are not built that way.
Marty:So every skill, everything that I've learned, every single one, every life experience, everything I have used, and I'm like, okay, I get it.
Marty:It's not that people were wrong in their advice, it's just that they didn't understand what my specific calling was.
Marty:And that's why I talk about calling, right?
Marty:No one will understand your calling more than you.
Marty:People will give you advice based on their own experiences, what they have seen, but when it comes to God, what God has put in you, no one will understand it.
Marty:They will say, don't do this or don't do that.
Marty:Because it hasn't worked well for this person, it hasn't worked well for me, but God is telling you this is what you need to do.
Jaclyn:And I think sometimes, let's say for me, if I thought, Oh, that idea that you have is just, it's a really, really big idea, and something in me tells me that is just beyond anything that I would be able to do, and so then I could project that on someone and say, That's impossible, that's a really big undertaking, and It's just too much.
Jaclyn:And so I think sometimes people might mean well to discourage someone from pursuing big dreams.
Jaclyn:But it's because they can't envision it themselves.
Jaclyn:It's not because the dream itself is too big.
Jaclyn:If God gave it to you, then that's what he gave you.
Jaclyn:Right?
Jaclyn:And I mean, you look at all the people throughout history and in the Bible, sometimes God calls us to very simple things and very local things, but a lot of the time he is calling us to something that is beyond what we are currently doing.
Jaclyn:It is something that is going to challenge us and put us in a position where we have to.
Jaclyn:Be dependent on Him in order to achieve it and pursue that goal.
Marty:Yes.
Marty:One thing that is important to note is that a lot of us, first of all, God has put things inside of us from the time that we were conceived.
Marty:That's why sometimes you're like, man, I didn't know I had this.
Marty:You had it the entire time.
Marty:God had put it in you the entire time.
Marty:Sometimes.
Marty:We stop ourselves from developing a talent that we had that's in us because we're afraid, we're afraid to fail, we're afraid what people are going to say, we're afraid of this, we're afraid of that, and that's a real thing.
Marty:For me, fortunately for me, I'm the opposite, which is not a good thing also.
Marty:I'm Finn!
Marty:So if somebody says go jump on that bridge, in my past I don't ask questions.
Marty:I'm already running.
Marty:I don't know if there are sharks down there.
Marty:I'm already jumping.
Marty:So I'm fearless in that way, but after having so many bruises, then I, I'm still fearless.
Marty:I ask questions.
Jaclyn:Yeah, we learned some wisdom.
Marty:There have been wisdom, but fear is a big thing.
Marty:People are afraid of trying new things.
Marty:When you try something new, you discover something about yourself.
Marty:One is either, This is definitely not for me.
Marty:But now you know that.
Marty:Or, Man, this is fun.
Marty:I didn't know I could do this.
Jaclyn:Yeah, yeah, it is amazing, actually, um, when you do get to that point where those doors are opening, and sometimes I think, especially if it's a big kind of dream that we're being called to, he'll give us, like, this glimmer, or, or, like, this window to show us just, like, a sliver of what it's going to be so that we understand and we can have that connection to it, yeah, and I, that's why I brought up the teen years in the previous episode, because I find that in the teen years, there are those moments where you get that glimpse of who you're going to be in the future.
Jaclyn:It takes a while to get there, a lot of the time, but like, it, it does give you that hint, like, this is who you are.
Marty:Yeah, and a lot of times people are like, oh my goodness, I'm already in my thirties, I missed out.
Marty:No, you did not.
Marty:Right.
Marty:No, no, no, no.
Geoff:There's a lot of life experiences, like you talked about a few minutes ago, all of what you did at the UN, for example, all of what you did developed you, developed your skills, developed your knowledge base.
Geoff:God doesn't waste a thing.
Geoff:Nope.
Geoff:Our experiences are failures.
Geoff:We learn from all of it.
Geoff:And it makes us capable of what we're going to do in the future because we didn't arrive ready.
Geoff:We arrived called, but like you said, a lot of that calling has been within us from birth.
Geoff:But it doesn't mean we don't have to develop and grow and develop our skills and our knowledge.
Geoff:And like you say, even our experiences and failures create the person that we need to be.
Marty:Yeah.
Marty:So here's what's going to happen.
Marty:And this has been my experience and this is true.
Marty:It's like looking at a mountain and you're like, man, I got to climb this.
Marty:I am not a mountain climber, but you have to climb it.
Marty:So you're like, okay, let me get some gear.
Marty:Let me get ready.
Marty:Cause you have to prepare, right?
Marty:Let me get ready to climb this.
Marty:And then when you finally decide to climb it, you're like, okay, I'm doing it.
Marty:It's really hard, man, but I'm doing it.
Marty:I'm doing it.
Marty:And you reach of what you think is the top, you're like, I'm there.
Marty:And what you don't know is that there's another side of the mountain that you did not see.
Marty:And when you reach there, there are two decisions, really important.
Marty:You could quit.
Marty:Because you know what you've been through from the first time you climb.
Marty:Now you realize there's more.
Marty:And you don't know, perhaps in your mind you're like, what's after that?
Marty:You don't know.
Marty:You could quit.
Marty:And say, I've done some of it, I'm good.
Marty:You could find out what's after that.
Marty:And what's after that is usually amazing.
Marty:That's when people normally quit, when they think they've reached that.
Marty:They're like, Hey, I'm good.
Marty:I've reached it.
Marty:I'm good.
Marty:But there's more.
Marty:So I think it's important for us as Christians, one, to lean on God and never to quit, because He's called us to do these specific things.
Marty:I'm sorry, because I keep saying the same thing over and over, it's because I really mean it.
Marty:And I think A lot of times people just don't get it because I've talked to so many people and they just don't understand that part.
Marty:Don't quit because God has a specific thing waiting for you.
Marty:It will be
Marty:hard.
Geoff:I think this conversation is very relevant in general to our audience.
Geoff:I guess it's not an accident, but our audience of filmmakers, everything about this conversation is very important.
Geoff:Perfectly relevant to, to their lives, their careers, their projects, because every aspect of that brings about moments when a person could feel they've arrived and they're done, or more commonly, perhaps, places where they feel they're ready to quit.
Geoff:And I think that's such great advice and really good content today.
Marty:Let
Marty:me share something.
Marty:Thank you.
Marty:With the filmmakers, if that's okay.
Marty:Perhaps that could be helpful in not quitting.
Marty:So in 2018, I was approached to produce a film on human trafficking.
Marty:I said, oh my goodness, this is perfect timing.
Marty:This is great.
Marty:I wanna do that.
Marty:I'm passionate about that.
Marty:How?
Marty:How do I help?
Marty:And this and that.
Marty:We decided to move forward to it and we figured it's gonna cost a lot and we have no idea.
Marty:I'm gonna fast forward six months before we shoot.
Marty:We still don't have the money.
Marty:Three months before we shoot, we don't have the money.
Marty:Two months before we shoot, we don't have the money.
Marty:And the people around me are saying, maybe we should cancel this, reschedule this.
Marty:I said, no, we were not going to do such thing.
Marty:God's going to provide.
Marty:Okay.
Marty:God called us to do this, not to quit.
Marty:If we dare to say we will reschedule, this will never happen.
Marty:Wow.
Marty:They're like, Marty, I don't know, like everybody around me is getting nervous.
Marty:So I have to rebuke these negativity around me, but the pressure now falls on me, right?
Marty:Because I'm like the one that says we got to move forward.
Jaclyn:Mm hmm.
Jaclyn:You're Joshua and Caleb.
Marty:Yeah.
Marty:So one week before, we still don't have the money.
Marty:In fact, we have less money now.
Laughter:No!
Marty:Two days before, nothing.
Marty:Oh no.
Marty:Let me tell you this, and this is where God comes in.
Marty:At 11pm, the night before we go to production, The Money King, there are many reasons to quit.
Marty:But God is saying, are you going to trust me?
Marty:Are you gonna trust me until the very last minute?
Marty:Wow.
Marty:That's what he does.
Marty:He puts you to the test to see if you really, you say all the time, yes, I trust you, Lord.
Marty:But do you Really?
Jaclyn:Yes.
Jaclyn:Yeah.
Jaclyn:Wow.
Jaclyn:Yeah.
Jaclyn:That is a testimony.
Jaclyn:Yeah.
Jaclyn:I sometimes, I think God is saying, you know, when it, when we say, God, I need this.
Jaclyn:I need the money.
Jaclyn:I'm filming in six months.
Jaclyn:Okay, you don't need it now.
Jaclyn:I need the money.
Jaclyn:I'm filming in three months.
Jaclyn:Yeah, three months you need it.
Jaclyn:You don't need it now.
Jaclyn:I'm filming in two weeks.
Jaclyn:Yep, in two weeks.
Jaclyn:And so, he gave it to you when you needed it, so he wasn't late.
Jaclyn:No,
Jaclyn:no.
Jaclyn:He just wasn't early, which is what we always hope for.
Marty:He's
Marty:never late.
Marty:He's one on time, but he wants us to trust him.
Marty:And out of that comes the testimony.
Marty:I'm now able to share this with you.
Marty:That's right.
Marty:So, that's what I'm saying.
Marty:When I say don't quit.
Marty:I've learned it.
Marty:Amazing.
Marty:And I could tell you many more.
Marty:Oh, I bet.
Marty:I bet.
Marty:Like that.
Jaclyn:That's the kind of
Jaclyn:thing where you're the kind of person that has a lot of testimonies like that because you're willing to let God show himself that way.
Jaclyn:When you are the type of person that will step into that level of trust, God can do incredible things because he can have so much fun.
Jaclyn:I think it's fun probably for him.
Jaclyn:Not in the sense of fun to, to tease us or make us struggle or anything like that, but just that because he knows he's going to give you an amazing testimony and that you're able to wait for it and count on him and then you can share it and inspire other people and to partner with God that way is something really special and amazing.
Marty:When we were doing My Christian Films, like I said, we were, we had our own studio and there was a lot of expenses in owning your own studio and we had a Jewish landlord.
Marty:And there was one time we were 5, 000 behind in rent and they're knocking, they're knocking and it's like, Marty, where is it?
Marty:And I'm like, Lord, you called us to do this.
Marty:So we went into fasting and prayer and says, God, you have to deliver us from this.
Marty:And I don't know how.
Marty:But it's amazing how God does things.
Marty:Let me tell you, God does the impossible.
Marty:About maybe two or three weeks after we prayed and prayed, and it's stressful, and I'm not saying that it's easy, right?
Marty:It's super stressful.
Marty:There are nights you can't sleep.
Marty:All of it, right?
Marty:And I get a phone call from Africa.
Marty:Listen to this.
Marty:I get a phone call from Africa saying, Hey, do you guys have any broadcasting equipment?
Marty:And we happen to have a bunch of stuff that we were not using, right?
Marty:And I said, yeah, we do, we have this, we have that and so on and so forth.
Marty:And I'm going to cut the story short.
Marty:And I said, we'd love to help you guys.
Marty:We understand your ministry.
Marty:Please tell us your budget.
Marty:Comes back the next day.
Marty:Guess how much?
Jaclyn:5, 000?
Marty:Exactly.
Marty:$5,
Marty:000.
Marty:Wow.
Marty:You could say all day, this is a coincidence, but to me, that was not a coincidence, and coincidences don't happen in my life.
Marty:If it was, let's say, 300, I'd say, okay, what?
Marty:If it was 1, 000, I'd say, okay, what?
Marty:But to come up after we started praying for that amount to come from Africa?
Marty:Really?
Marty:Mm hmm.
Marty:Yeah.
Marty:That's when you know for sure it is God and you cannot deny that.
Marty:Yeah.
Marty:So when I say don't give up, when I say lean on God, I really mean it.
Jaclyn:Amen.
Jaclyn:That's fantastic.
Jaclyn:Thank you so much for sharing about your life, about your testimonies and, uh, and the festival and, and everything that you're doing.
Jaclyn:It's been really great getting to know you and I look forward to meeting you in person someday in the future.
Marty:Yes,
Marty:me too.
Geoff:Yeah, very inspiring.
Geoff:And I really appreciate it.
Geoff:And again, as Jaclyn said, nice to meet you and God bless.
Marty:God bless you both.
Marty:Thank you.
Geoff:Take care.
