Actor/producer Kirk Cameron had a captive audience at Liberty University on Monday, as he visited with students of the new Liberty University Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center, who were among the first to watch a sneak preview of his upcoming film project.
Traveling from California with a film crew, Cameron toured the center and gave students a chance to document his visit on tape, including an interview with Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. Cameron held a one-hour Q&A session after the film preview, offering advice as a Christian filmmaker trying to impact the world for Christ.
“I encourage you: have convictions, have standards, don’t let others set them for you. They will set the bar too low,” he told students. “Set the bar high and perform for an audience of One (God)—and you’ll get the applause of Heaven; you can just trust God to take care of everybody else. That’s the motto I go by.”
Cameron struck up a relationship with the school and with Falwell after his first visit to Liberty in October 2012, when he was a guest speaker for Convocation.
“We began talking about ways that we might be able to help each other further our respective missions,” Cameron said. “What we have in common is that we want to impact the next generation and the culture for Christ—we want to change the culture, and we both want to do that through media.”
He said when he heard of Liberty’s new venture with a film school, he knew all the more that he wanted to partner with the university, pooling resources to help train a new generation of filmmakers who share his values.
“I thought, here’s a film school that has a solid Christian foundation, they’re fully funded to be able to have all the tools the students need, they’ve got fantastic speakers coming in to inspire the students, and they can be a world-class film school, and maybe we can partner together. … It gives us hope for the future, knowing that there are these young, talented passionate students and filmmakers who want to tell stories that glorify God—and that will change the culture.”
Senior Jonathan Wymer said he is thankful for the opportunities the program has given him to learn from industry professionals.
“(Cameron’s advice) is probably by far the most influential advice I could possibly hear approaching the film industry as my career. It has definitely helped me to understand exactly where I want to go, and how I can get there … and (learn how) to tell original stories, not only what’s close to my heart, but also knowing I will actually be able to shine the Gospel of Christ, and be able to reflect what I have learned in my personal relationship with Him.”
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