Tuesday, April 17, 2007
“Fall From Grace,” an hour and 15 minute documentary surrounding Fred Phelps, was shown last night at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. The documentary was shown for the second time on campus by student filmmaker Ryan Jones, Wichita senior.
The film was selected to be screened early last month at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas. The annual event features the art and business of independent filmmaking by young cinematographers. Jones said he was one of the youngest filmmakers at the conference.
“For anyone to get into the festival is really a big deal,” Jones said. “It was very well received.”
“Fall From Grace” was such a success at the conference that Jones’ brother Garrett said Morgan Spurlock, director of “Super Size Me,” expressed interest in Jones’ film. Garrett and his parents traveled with Jones to the conference.
“He was handing out flyers for the film and handed one to Morgan Spurlock,” Garrett said. “He said he wanted to see his film.”
The documentary was enjoyed among the emotionally charged audience last night, too. Applause broke out twice during the movie, both times in response to the silencing of the Phelps’ family message: God hates fags.
Phelps is the minister of his 75-member church in Topeka. Ninety-eight percent of the church’s members are in the Phelps family. Members picket thousands of events worldwide, including several University of Kansas events.
Jones spent several weeks with the Phelps family and at Fred Phelps’ church, Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka. He said the most difficult part of taping was obtaining access to interview Fred.
“I see them as very flawed individuals,” Jones said. “But I can’t shake how nice they were to me.”
Adrienne Rainger, Quinter senior, said she attended the screening of the film after having some classroom knowledge of the Phelps family.
“I wasn’t really that surprised by anything I saw,” Rainger said. “It’s an interesting group of people that can’t be understood.”
Jones showed the Westboro Baptist Church members the completed film before its debut at the University last month. He said the congregation was pleased with the outcome, even though they disagreed with the opposing positions the movie presented.
“It didn’t surprise me that the family liked it because they told me beforehand that even if there is only one of their signs seen in the film then it would be a success,” Jones said.
Kansan staff writer Bethany Bunch can be contacted at bbunch@kansan.com.
— Edited by Katie Sullivan
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