It's okay when He says no!

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It's okay when He says no!

Hey Family!

The last few weeks have been very important for the Final Call Productions team, especially since Jermaine was preparing for the final round of The Pitch competition and also just to give the team some time to plan for the next coming months.  

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As you're aware, Jermaine’s been competing at The Pitch these past few months and was able to make it to the final 10. His experience alone has taught us a great lesson, which has influenced us to strengthen our faith, especially when God says No. See, how many times have you ever wanted something so bad that in your mind there is nothing else that can ever beat what is presented to you. Something you have prayed for days upon months and even years? You’ve even gone as far as fasting. But in the midst of your deepest prayer request, God comes to you and says one word that just breaks your heart, “No”. It’s painful and upsetting, and all you can think of is “why God, why me, why not?” Well, through experiences we’ve come to realise that God doesn’t exactly say no. Instead, he provides us with a replacement which would provide us with a better opportunity to gain a better experience and at the same time maximise our potential with our attained skills and networks.

So here is what happened… 

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Following the retreat in the Lake District with The Pitch, Jermaine was able to note down some really interesting techniques that would help improve his presentation in front of the judges. Everything went really well, even on the actual finals day of The Pitch. Jermaine was competing against some very interesting stories.

On the day of the finals at Pinewood Studios, Jermaine had some time to go through one more round of coaching, before the real deal took place.  Meanwhile, the rest of the FCP team was nervously awaiting some feedback from Mrs Wong (Wife & Business Partner) as to whether we had won or not. By 6:19pm, the message came through “Bad news guys, he didn’t get through”.

 

 

Here’s Jermaine’s account:

“Speaking with the judges afterwards they encouraged me not to give up, some of them were in there fighting for me so I definitely know I was on to a good thing!
I’ve made some excellent contacts and connections, new friends, well-needed expertise and a tour of the Pinewood studios OUR future project base!! 😏 Some people I spoke to about my film had never considered some of the concepts I addressed in my film pitch so actually, I got the opportunity to impart knowledge and minister! Even though we didn't win I'm still of the belief that God put me here for a reason. I'm grateful and look forward to seeing what God does next!”

So even though we didn’t win this time the feedback Jermaine got was amazing!  “I added spoken word to my pitch which they loved, they liked the film idea and my pitch was superb. I did my best and I'm proud of what I learnt, applied and achieved” (Jermaine). So we are extremely excited to have had this experience because it’s not always that you have the opportunity to reach this far into a competition for such a large amount of money. Hopefully, this inspires you all to not give up on what you want and at the same time not to lose hope when the options you are provided with don’t exactly match your request because your never know what doors that one experience will open.

Stay encouraged, God Bless,

 

Thalie Brown

FCP Blogger

 

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Here's to 2018!!

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Here's to 2018!!

Goodbye 2017. Hello 2018!!

Firstly let me take the opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year!

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Thank you Lord that you make all things new, that you bring hope alive in our hearts. This year, may You hold us in the palm of Your hand and guide our minds, fill our imaginations and control our will so that many will see in us, the wonders of You! IJN Amen!

 

Let's just take a minute to reflect on 2017 and what it meant for FCP. I think this past year has  definitely proven one thing is true, no matter what plans we had here at FCP to spread the word, impart wisdom and share knowledge, God always had his own plan! Sometimes it might be a difficult pill to swallow, but trusting in Him and knowing that His plan will always exceed your own, will not only mean greater things for your life but also a greater relationship with the big man Himself. Right now, in these times, nothing could be more important #lastDays

 

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ATWW

Early 2017 saw performances of And There Was War (ATWW) in Birmingham and London where we SOLD OUT!! We had some fantastic feedback which confirmed that this play still needs to be seen by many more people!

We began preparation to perform ATWW again in December. The script was tweaked, we cast some fantabulous actors and actresses, booked a venue and started selling tickets! However, a crisis meeting was held and a decision was made to put the production on hold to due to lack of funding. Which, needless to say devastated the whole team. However...God always has a plan... 

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The Pitch

.....doors were opened for FCP in the way of the Pitch competition to win £30k to make our short film The Day After! We just scraped in only finding out about the competition 2 days before the deadline!! But before Christmas we successfully reached the final stage of the competition as a top 10 finalist! 

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No Poetry

Our first short film No Poetry was released which now has almost 3k views on YouTube! Our most amount of views on a single upload to date - which means that we are continuing to reach people and share the Good News!

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New Years Eve

Finally, planning and casting for our brand new web series 'New Years Eve' began in the latter quarter of last year.

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Germane Thinkin

And let's not forget the launch of our highly entertaining and thought-provoking Germane Thinkin' Spot videos on YouTube which have been hugely popular!

 

So What are our plans for 2018??

  • The last stage of the competition happens THIS WEEKEND!! Jermaine will give his final pitch and the winner of the competition is announced! The creative and management team have worked their butts off!! Competition was tough, but I think, I hope, I pray, I have faith, that WE GOT THIS! #justsaying #IJN
  • Filming for New Year's Eve commences shortly, we are really excited to get this six part web-series with a twist, out to you!
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  • We have a lot of new ideas and ventures we are looking forward to putting in place. One of which is bringing back our popular play I'm Having Sex as a Theatre in Education (TIE) production. We will be taking the play and delivering it in schools, holding workshops to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation. 
  • Writing has also begun for a new play focussing on knife crime which will also be performed in schools as a TIE with workshops to raise awareness of this issue which is rife already and sadly still on the increase, particularly in the capital. We will be holding a fundraising event to get the project up and running so look out for that date.
  • We also plan to adapt ATWW into a TIE production to take into faith schools and explore the themes of the play in workshops! Let us know if you know a school who'd want this!

 

  • Towards the middle of this Year, we will re-launch our Inspire acting classes with summer classes available for young people in the holidays and evening classes for adults. We are also hoping to approach schools with a view to running after school clubs.

As you can see we have a lot in mind and a lot of plans for a very busy 2018! We are praying for guidance and for God to lead in the direction that He wants us to go in. So though we have all these ideas, don't be surprised if things might change a little here and there, because we will always pray, listen to God and take FCP in the direction that He points us! Don't worry though, we will always keep you up to date with what's happening!

Please keep us in your prayers and may you have a blessed, happy year!

 

Jade Lewis

FCP Blogger

 

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COUNTDOWN: 30 days 'til Pinewood Studios!

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COUNTDOWN: 30 days 'til Pinewood Studios!

Let the 30 Days countdown begin! 

English Lakes, Windermere, Lake District

English Lakes, Windermere, Lake District

Hey Family!

Hope you’ve been keeping well and warm these past few days.

At FCP in the last few days, Jermaine’s been taking notes and gaining a heap of information from his intensive finalists residential, which took place in the beautiful Lake District last weekend.

 

Jermaine received some excellent feedback regarding his pitch and script for The Day After, and was able to pick up a few gems to develop his next pitch, which is in exactly 30 days from today! He's been advised to try and incorporate some of his Spoken Word into the Pitch to really give them a treat too! (Praise God for this unique gift!)

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Our bid to win an outstanding £30,000 fund for our film to be made will surely not come easy BUT we are trusting in God and are more than determined to do all the work and learning necessary (as well as enjoy the entire process), in order to reach that goal.

Like mentioned in our previous blog post, the pitch will entail an in-depth 20 minute interview in front of the judging panel at Pinewood studios. It will be there that they will announce the winner of this competition!!

So keep us in your prayers and wish us luck!

Not many people know about this fantastic competition and they hold it every year! If you would like to read more about it, click here for the link.

 

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And speaking of luck…. We are looking for some extras (age 18+) to come and participate in filming a New Year's Eve party scene for an episode of our new upcoming web-series New Years Eve. You’ll need to be available for filming 6th January 2018 (pm). 

You've just gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"

For more information, please email us at finalcalproductions@gmail.com

 

Wishing you a lovely week.

 Thalie Brown, FCP Blogger

The Final Call Productions Team

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