From the now-it-can-be-told department:

Thursday, in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Heartland Film Festival announced its 2010 line-up of award-winning films.

My partner Michael Landon, Jr., and I are grateful to be among the 7 winners of the Crystal Heart Award in the dramatic short films category for our latest screen adventure, Jamaa, which we made together under our Believe Pictures banner on behalf of the respected relief organization, World Vision. I wrote, Michael directed and we produced together.

Shot entirely on location in the nation of Uganda in May, Jamaa is a dramatic retelling of the true story of two AIDS orphans who must journey from the slums of Kampala across Uganda to find a new home in the rural north — pushing a mysterious cargo in a box made of scraps.

We’re deeply honored by the award and will be in Indianapolis on October 14 to participate in the event.

There will be more news forthcoming in the weeks and months ahead about this very special little film which we created for World Vision as our “loaves and fishes” to assist children around the world.

And now, here for the first time, is our trailer for Jamaa.  Please let me know what you think.

Coming soon to a church near you… Jamaa… a film we’ve made for the Christian relief organization, World Vision.

In many ways, the experience of making Jamaa was as much of a journey of faith as it was a filmmaking venture.  It is both the smallest… and biggest… film we’ve ever made.  In coming posts, I’m going to explain why I can say that, along with retracing our Believe Pictures partnership with World Vision, dissecting the incredible journey of trying to make a narrative film with theatrical- level production value in a third world country, and sharing with you the significance of the film’s title, Jamaa.

I’ll also explain its purpose and the vision behind it, along with the paradigm-busting way World Vision is going to distribute it… with the ultimate bottom line (a.k.a. box office) resulting not in tickets sold, but in the lives of children across the world being transformed.

Behind-the-scenes production stills will also be forthcoming in future posts.

But for now, please enjoy this gallery of production stills.  I can’t wait for you to see the whole film.