BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Lutheran or Lutheran-related projects won
top awards for films and books in the 2004 Wilbur Awards
competition. The awards, presented here March 27 at the
Birmingham Museum of Art, recognized outstanding secular media
entries that feature religious issues, themes and values. The
awards are presented annually by the Religion Communicators
Council (RCC).
The Wilbur Awards are named for Marvin C. Wilbur, a pioneer
in the field of religion public relations. The RCC, based in New
York, is the oldest and largest organization of professional
communicators of religion. This year the RCC is celebrating its
75th anniversary.
Wilbur Awards were presented in 17 categories for
newspapers, magazines, editorial cartoons and comic strips,
books, radio, television and films.
Two films related to Lutheran historic figures were awarded
Wilburs in the categories of film documentary and film drama. In
the documentary category the winner was "Bonhoeffer," distributed
by Journey Films, Alexandria, Va., and narrated and directed by
Martin Doblmeier.
"Luther" was the winner in the film drama category. That
motion picture was distributed by NFP teleart, Berlin, Germany,
and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Minneapolis. Producers
were Christian P. Stehr, Brigitte Rochow and Alexander Thies;
Eric Till was director; and Dennis A. Clauss, Kurt Rittig,
Gabriela Pfandner and J. Daniel Nichols were executive producers.
The Rev. Heidi B. Neumark, Trinity Lutheran Church,
Manhattan, N.Y., author of "Breathing Space: A Spiritual Journey
in the South Bronx," was awarded the Wilbur for non-fiction
books. Neumark's book was published by Beacon Press, Boston.
The Wilbur Awards presentation was hosted by Kathy Times,
investigative reporter for WVTM TV, an NBC-TV affiliate in
Birmingham. The Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director of the ELCA
Department for Communication, Chicago, chairs the Wilbur Awards.
Winners received a stained-glass trophy.
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A list of 2004 Wilbur Award winners is at
http://www.religioncommunicators.org/ on the RCC Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
