Dr. Craig Detweiler – 2014 Spirit of Windrider Recipient

The Windrider Forum at the Sundance Film Festival has always been a model of radical collaboration, and example of how a myriad of partners can create something exponentially greater than their individual contributions. But without the vision and creative instincts of one person, Windrider might never have blown into Park City. On the 10th anniversary of the Windrider Forum it seems only appropriate that we would honor one of our co-founders, Dr. Craig Detweiler, filmmaker, author, and educator, as our annual Spirit of Windrider award winner.

Filmmaker Detweiler has several feature films in his credits including The Duke (1999) and Extreme Days (2001). His 2008 documentary, Purple State of Mind, was both a deeply personal look at the journey of friendship with Davidson College freshman year roommate, John Marks (an accomplished writer and journalist), but also a provocative exploration of the contentious issues that create the Red State/Blue State civil war in our country. The film was selected as the “Best Spiritual Film” at the Breckenridge Film Festival. Detweiler’s blogs and film reviews offer some of the most thoughtful and refreshing perspectives on both mainstream and indie films. Check out his annual list of tops films of 2013 in this recent article on the Patheos website where he writes under the moniker, “Doc Hollywood”.

Author Detweiler could be described as the Captain Kirk of theology and culture, going boldly where no author has gone before. His first book (co-written with Barry Taylor), A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture (2003) was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in Theology/Doctrine. He followed with Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films in the 21st Century (2008), Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God (2010), and Don’t Stop Believin’: Religion and Pop Culture from Ben Hur to Zombies (2012). His recently released book iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives, explores the dizzying role of technology in our daily lives – Google, Facebook, Apple, YouTube, and Twitter – and the role of wisdom and discernment in our interaction with that technology.

Q&A with Cary Fukunaga, Best Director, 2009 for Sin Nombre

It was the Educator Detweiler who made his unique contribution to the Windrider Forum. In 2004, Craig regularly taught a course on Theology and Film for Fuller Theological Seminary. It was his vision to offer an immersive course experience at the Sundance Film Festival, something no other seminary was doing, that provided the spark to ignite the Windrider vision. Craig blended a deep appreciation for the unique contributions of both the artist and theologian in our culture. He modeled a curious and humble approach to dialogue that enabled filmmakers and film lovers to engage in an honest conversation about some of the most important and often divisive issues and questions of our time. Now in its 10th year, there is still nothing quite like the course experience students have at the Windrider Forum at the Sundance Film Festival.

Reflecting on his award, Craig Detweiler had this to say about the vision of Windrider. “What a humbling and inspiring honor. Windrider began as an educational experiment and became a transformative experience. I’m so proud that my former students have won prizes at Sundance and South by Southwest and two from the first group of Windrider students are premiering projects at Slamdance this year. This award affirms how we’ve seen our efforts multiplied across the next generation of storytellers.”

Q&A with filmmakers for Kinyarwanda, Sundance 2011

Craig is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and earned an M.F.A. ifrom the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema and TV. He also completed and Master of Divinity and PhD from Fuller Theological Seminary. This educational background uniquely qualifies Craig to screenwrite, direct, and produce as well as baptize, marry and bury. Craig is currently Professor of Communication at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, where he directs Pepperdine’s Center for Entertainment, Media and Culture.

It is our great honor to welcome back co-founder, Craig Detweiler, filmmaker/author/educator, to the 10th anniversary of the Windrider Forum @ Sundance, a very worthy recipient of the 2014 Spirit of Windrider award.