Local filmmaker brings the church to the big screen
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
The box office success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ surprised many Hollywood insiders. Inspired by Gibson, a local filmmaker hopes to take the message of redemption beyond the four walls of the church and into the surrounding neighborhood.
David Martyn Conley has been lauded locally both as a playwright and filmmaker. His latest work, Tapestry of Shadows, showcases a stellar cast of local actors and musicians that may put The ‘Lou on the Christian filmmaking map.
“Tapestry of Shadows is about a minister named Vincent Purejoy who, after witnessing a little girl being shot outside of his home when she was innocently caught in crossfire between drug dealers, decides he must take matters into his own hands to change the neighborhood. He feels that the church and his family should be responsible for bringing about that change,” Conley said.
The film is based on an award winning play Conley wrote as a Lincoln University student almost 12 years ago. Although Tapestry of Shadows is still in post-production, Conley is marketing it to churches across the country.
“We are currently marketing the film in St. Louis as well as Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Kansas City and Chicago. We want to reach 500,000 people or an average of 50,000 per city,” Conley said.
The movie, which relies heavily on local talent, is scheduled for release in May 2006.
“I’ve always believed in growing where you’re planted. If you look around at the talent here people would be surprised. It’s amazing the musical talent and acting talent that’s here,” Conley said.
“Other people think that someone from outside of St. Louis has to tell them that something made here is good in order to believe it. It’s incredible the amount of talent that is largely untapped here because of that attitude. That’s why we need to support local talent and the Cardinals are a great example of that. We have to take that same kind of mind set and put it behind people who are doing good work,” Conley said.
Conley said African Americans are always looking for good films created with their culture and community in mind. He said for that reason, many would be able to relate to the story and characters of the Tapestry of Shadows.
“People want to see stories that affect them and this does that. We complain about not having these kinds of movies, but Hollywood responds to dollar signs,” Conley said.
“When we support these films it makes a statement about the Christian viewer. We need to come together as the body of Christ and support these types of films.”
To view the movie trailer for Tapestry of Shadows visit www.tapestryofshadows.com. For more information about Munirah Entertainment call 866-732-9219 or email info@tapestryofshadows.com.
