Sonscreen Films is proud to announce that "Color of Threads," a historical short film, will screen at its first in-competition film festival, the Walla Walla Movie Crush, this weekend (July 5-7, 2024).

The film, produced by Walla Walla University (WWU), has been accepted into two additional festivals: The Albuquerque Film & Music Experience and the Gig Harbor Film Festival, both this fall. Filmmakers expect further screening announcements in the coming months.

"Color of Threads" transports viewers to 1909 Oregon, where a group of women compete for employment at the now-famous Pendleton Woolen Mill. It’s a vibrant adventure in the American West with deeper themes of healing and human connection that reach beyond the 1900s into today’s polarized world.

“I think we see a great deal of division in our world just between neighbors,” said writer Josie Henderson, a WWU graduate. “I believe if we had more tenderness for what another person is going through, we could begin to heal some of those wounds.”

“This is exactly the kind of film that Sonscreen wants to make in the future,” said Sonscreen executive director Julio C. Muñoz, an executive producer of the film. “We want to tell stories that heal, and stories that minister to people beyond our own faith community.”

This project was a lofty goal for the university team, in part due to its historical setting. Lead producer Matt Webster, who teaches at WWU, worked overtime and partnered with many generous community organizations to procure filming locations, including a period-accurate train interior and depot.

"What Matt and the whole crew have accomplished is impressive,” said Rachel Scribner, costume designer for the film, and associate director at Sonscreen Films. “Historical accuracy takes time and resources, and it’s rare for a school to undertake a period piece on this scale.”

Webster cited support from the North American Division as a major reason Walla Walla University was able to fund this production at such a high level of craftsmanship. He said the NAD’s modest grant allowed the school to hire professional actors, and bring in experienced crew members to mentor students on the production.

“Students got work and learn under professionals who work in the industry. They got to feel what it was like to be on a real set,” Webster said.

For Henderson, receiving a funding grant to bring her film to life was “a dream come true.” She said the film gave her “another family of friends and creatives who love God and want to serve Him right where they are with their talents.”

And with “Color of Threads” already set to screen in three film festivals, and with the possibility of international screenings, the story of healing that Henderson started writing years ago is reaching a broader audience.

Those in the Walla Walla, Washington, area can catch the film on July 6 at the Gesa Powerhouse Theater, while viewers near Albuquerque, New Mexico and Seattle, Washington will get their chances in September. And Webster has teased more potential screening announcements in the near future.

For Muñoz, it’s important that this film reach beyond the church community. “It’s a message of healing, and it’s not Adventist-specific,” he said. “It speaks to all walks of life, and we want to share it.”

“We wanted to make a piece that was for humanity – that was for people,” Henderson said during a Q&A for the film, “because I’m a person of faith, but I believe faith is about loving people.”