Great Wonders Productions began in January 2023 with only three individuals, a screenplay, and a dream of making a film. After creating Great Wonders Productions, we decided to put our own screenplay on the back burner and put our focus into developing a true cinematic arts organization. Over the next few weeks, we added an awesome board of directors and, (similar to some other arts organizations in our area), formatted the organization as a membership group. We wanted to create a NETWORK of professionals and creatives that could work together, both in creating film projects, but also benefiting each other by our association together as members! As members of Great Wonders Productions, we can benefit from the network and connection to others filmmakers and creatives in our area.
If anyone has ever tried to get a screenplay or a cinematic idea or project into the hands of major film production companies, you’ve probably already discovered that the odds of success are near zero. That’s why a small group of aspiring filmmakers decided to create a nonprofit cinematic arts organization. We wanted to give Southwest Missouri creative artists a platform to self produce projects that otherwise would have been impossible. Our Mission is to promote the video production and film making arts in Southwest Missouri. We want to be engaged in helping produce cinematic projects that have socially redeeming qualities; that benefit our society and our culture, as a whole; and in so doing, provide artists a platform to learn and practice their skills. Great Wonders Productions wants to provide not only resources, educational and experiential opportunities to area artists, but to also help produce films and video projects that are otherwise not traditionally possible outside the existing movie making industry.
In 2023, our first year, Great Wonders Productions has focused in on two main projects:
• Production of our own documentary film “The Butterfly People”, about the F5 tornado in 2011 that destroyed a large portion of Joplin, killed 161 people, and the stories of children and others who experienced otherworldly, “angelic”, encounters during the storm.
• Our second focus was to develop a new film festival in our 4-State region that would help expand our connections and our film making possibilities into a wider geographical area. This new film festival would also be a great benefit to our fellow cinematic creatives and film making professionals within our 4 State region. Most people in our 4-States are within a day's drive, or so, to each other, offering a way to work and band together on future projects. For example: A movie being produced in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Overland Park, Kansas, or Bentonville, Arkansas could reach out to Great Wonders Productions and offer casting calls for actors or seek film crews, location help, etc. This film festival would bring us all together once a year to meet each other, support, and encourage each other and ultimately benefit each other. With this in mind, Great Wonders Uplift Film Fest was born!
As we look to 2024, Great Wonders Productions will be seeking to create another film project and to keep growing as a cinematic arts organization. The Great Wonders Uplift Film Fest will continue to happen every January and we will continue to promote and lift up fellow filmmakers and creatives in our region of the country.
