Lutheran Film Associates

See LFA 0/4 Administrative History.

See LFA 0/8 Administrative History

Lutheran Film Associates assumed the assets and rights of both Lutheran Church Productions, Inc. and LFA Productions, Inc. upon their dissolution in 1965. Lutheran Film Associates was faced with further change in 1967 when the Lutheran Council in the USA was created. LFA decided to merge into the LCUSA Department of Films and operated within the framework and procedures of the Lutheran Council. Yet Lutheran Film Associates was able to maintain its independent corporate status. An administrative agreement was established in 1972, whereby LCUSA became the service agency for LFA. The Trustees voted to keep Lutheran Film Associates a separate incorporated agency beyond the breakup of LCUSA in 1986.

See LFA 0/10 Administrative History.

See LFA Administrative History.

See LFA 0/8 Administrative History.

See LFA Administrative History

See LFA 0/1 Administrative History.

See LFA 0/7 Administrative History.

See LFA 0/2 Administrative History.

See LFA 0/10 Administrative History

The history of the Lutheran Film Associates (LFA) production, ACTS, differs from that of previous films in that it reached the stages of a nearly finished product only to be shelved for lack of interest by commercial distributors and, to some church leaders, a perceived controversial quality about certain subject matter presented in the film. ACTS was a project that began as an idea for a film that would exemplify the theme of the 450th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, ʺLife - New Life.ʺ A United Methodist church in Greenwich Village in New York City, Washington Square Church, served as the backdrop against which the film portrayed the activities of the Rev. Finley Schaef, the churchʹs pastor, and Eugene Lion, a writer by profession who served as an arts consultant to the church. The film follows these two men as they minister to a variety of people who have in common being outside of the church or society in general, but are searching for answers to life questions and using religion to help them on their journey to find answers.

The purpose of film was to help people gain insight into how to live their lives better when love, grace, faith, and forgiveness played a central role in how they treated people in everyday encounters and situations. The ʺLife-New Lifeʺ as theme of the film meant that the filmʹs message represented life with revitalized meaning. Robert E.A. Lee of LFA and executive producer for this project stated that, ʺWhen man discovers that his life has worth and meaning and a purpose related to Godʹs will for the world, he discovers who he really is as a human being.ʺ

Aid Association for Lutherans (AAL) initially invited LFA to develop a film proposal that AAL could finance and that would contribute to the Lutheran churchʹs public witness through mass media. LFA spent a considerable amount of time researching possible themes, cinematic styles, and story lines, before deciding on the cinema verite style and a story that would reflect the ʺLife - New Lifeʺ theme. It hired William Jersey, first as a consultant for the project, but eventually also as its producer, director, photographer, and first editor. Kathy Collins researched possible storylines for the project and was charged with finding the most interesting people who lived the ʺLife-New Lifeʺ concept, that is, people involved in a quest to re-energize the meaning of their lives as they made their way in the world. Her research came across an article that appeared in the newspaper, The Village Voice about Washington Square Church. She compiled additional information on the ministry of the church and personality profiles of its principal staff.

AAL and LFA created a ʺbill of particularsʺ that delineated a pattern of procedure for development of a film concept. The bill provided for a consulting committee that would review and comment on early research. Given the variety of research material discovered, the committee believed it would not be possible to make a decision about a storyline without preliminary screen tests. It proposed that LFA ask William Jersey and his production company for a complete story outline and production proposal. After the committee viewed preliminary filming of Washington Square Church, it decided to proceed with the church and its pastor and layperson staff as the main storyline and backdrop for the film.

AAL provided a grant of $250,000 to produce the film and an additional grant of $30,000 to use for promotion and distribution. It was stipulated that when revenues from the film reached $50,000, $20,000 of the second grant would be refunded to AAL. Filming began in May 1968 and included locations in and around Washington Square Church, Fire Island, New York, and in Detroit, Michigan, at an Episcopal church where Mr. Lion conducted a theatre workshop for young persons. There was no script and no actor portrayals. The process of editing the footage took more time than usual. The first cut was unsatisfactory and one year after filming began, an editor, Tom McDonaugh, was hired to edit the film so that it had the subjective point of view that was essential for the filmʹs meaning.

With filming completed in early 1969, LFA had hoped to have the film ready for release in early 1970. However, as of September 1969, arrangements for its distribution had not been made. As of December 1970, LFA had still been unsuccessful in finding a distributor for the film. There was also some ʺinternal pressureʺ in regards to releasing the film due to what was perceived as the filmʹs more controversial qualities. Most experts and distributors agreed that while the film was of overall good quality, they did not see it as a commercially viable product.

The decision was made to shelve the project. LFA returned unused grant money totaling approximately $9,000 to AAL, who expressed that they believed they would have no future interest in the project. LFA board action in 1987 authorized the ʺdisposition of the negative and other production elements of the films ACT[S] for educational purposes by having these materials offered without cost to any interested party such as a film school or independent producer provided that any use of the material will not include reference either to LFA or AAL on the credits.ʺ