Contact: George Escobar, Advent Film Group, 540-751-1021

PURCELLVILLE, Va., Aug. 30, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Four years in the making, Advent Film Group has launched the Advent Associates Film Program to advance the careers of its young Christian filmmakers. The program's inaugural film, WRITERS' BLOCK, goes into production October 2011. Advent's associates, those who worked on previous Advent productions, are filling the leadership ranks of writer, director, producer, and all department head positions: cinematographer, production designer, wardrobe, etc.

Advent will use film revenues to fund subsequent films in the program and provide profit-participation for associates, which may potentially fund an associate’s own future film projects.

"This is exciting for us," said David Cook, WRITERS' BLOCK producer. "It's a blessing for me, as someone without prior film background, that after only two years since attending Advent's film workshop, I could apprentice on two movies by Advent. Now I'm producing one with some of our best associates."

This training and career-building combination from Advent turns the traditional film school model upside down, and a number of students have noticed. Among them is Ian Reid, who planned to attend Biola's film school. However, after learning about Advent's approach, Ian instead chose to go to Patrick Henry College (PHC) to get a liberal arts education. He interned with Advent during summer breaks, working on two feature films. Recently, Ian made a 25-part educational series on Constitutional Literacy for PHC's founder, Mike Farris. Ian will be director of photography for WRITERS' BLOCK. Instead of paying film school, Ian was the one paid as he received training while working for Advent and others.

"Film schools, while necessary in the past to obtain equipment and industry access, are no longer needed in today's realm of digital production and distribution," said George Escobar, Advent founder and former film school graduate. "The indie film world and programs like ours go far beyond what film schools can offer. Students are catching on, telling us: 'Why should I pay an institution $100,000 or more for permission to make non-marketable student and short films, when I can apply that money to produce my own feature-length films that have actual market value.' These students seek Advent to mentor them.

Advent advocates that students learn storytelling first and foremost by taking literature and history courses taught from a Christian worldview. Additional training happens on Advent's set and at their production office where students learn all aspects of film: business, legal, finance, sales, marketing and distribution.

Visit: www.adventfilmgroup.com or www.writersblockmovie.com.