Impressions

Faith-based books and movies have been a factor in the market for a number of years now. The bible has always been ripe material for storytelling and have scored huge box office and Oscars in decades past. At one point, it was part of an overall market but now it has become a targeted niche.

In 2007, Canadian writer William P. Young wrote a story mainly aimed for his six children. He self-published it. As a result of word of mouth in churches all over North America, the book would eventually reach the bestseller lists and 10 million books would be printed. It wasn't long before Hollywood came calling and Summit Entertainment eventually settled on Stuart Hazeldine to bring the movie to the screen. It was likely Hazeldine familiarity in adapting literary material for film such as Riverworld that sold the studio on hiring the British director. John Fusco (Marco Polo) was chosen as writer.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1qPFqXtbwo The first John Wick movie was a neo-noir revenge movie made in 2014 from a script written in 2012 by Derek Kolstald, a writer...

Doctor Strange originated as a Marvel Comic character in 1963 and was a favourite of the college crowd early on because the character was super as a result of magic and mysticism rather than mutated genes or from another planet. My first exposure to Doctor Strange was in comics around 1971 and beyond, especially partnered with others in The Defenders such as The Incredible Hulk.

Superheros were all the rage in the 1970s in various media. Marvel and DC Comics had TV versions of their biggest properties. The Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman all ran on television as early as 1974 and beyond. Indeed CBS commissioned a version of Doctor Strange that aired as a two hour TV movie in 1978.

In 2012, Tim Crothers wrote Queen of Katwe about young chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi from the Katwe district of the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Crothers, a former Sports Illustrated writer, managed to capture an inspirational tale of a young African woman in sport that rarely attracts attention. The book was reviewed well and got noticed in Hollywood for its plucky feel good story.

Disney senior creative executive Tendo Nagenda was of Ugandan descent and immediately optioned the book for the studio. He then enlisted the help of Oscar nominated director Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay) also of Uganda to sell the studio on the merits of a story. This wasn't as easy as it sounded since the story was primarily set in Africa covering a sport not high on the lists of Americans.

Image axs-philippine - Uploaded by AccessWinnipeg The Philippine archipelago comprises 7,107 islands, of which only about 2,000 are inhabited. The Philippine Pavilion Nayong Pilipino takes...

Image axs-india - Uploaded by AccessWinnipeg If you're looking for a more modern Folklorama experience, then the India Pavilion is one you'll want to see....

Image axs-caribbean - Uploaded by AccessWinnipeg Close your eyes during the live Steel Drum performances and you could swear you were sitting on a beach...