With an ever-expanding network of people and programs, Olivet’s Communication department has brought in its share of interesting individuals. Professor Chris Retts is no exception. Retts, who lives in the Los Angeles area, was hired in the fall semester to teach the introduction to film course in a fully online format.
Retts, though just recently having become a part of the teaching team, has helped Olivet’s film studies program for some time through the LAFSC program. The Los Angeles Film Studies Center has been a pivotal academic and career step for Olivet’s students for years, and is required for the film studies concentration for multimedia communication majors. Because of the pandemic, the LAFSC program was suspended, so Retts was available to teach for ONU.
Retts brings unique film experience to the program, having written and produced various film projects, including his very own feature film called Wade in the Water, released in 2019. The trailer for his film can be found here.
His work has even received professional endorsement from some rather famous names:
WADE IN THE WATER (Amazon Prime): No big FX, no expensive sets, but two pretty exceptional performances. It's a little movie with a big heart.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) December 4, 2020
A full list of Retts’ filmmaking accomplishments can be found on his IMDb page.
Faith and Film
For Retts, the connection between filmmaking and his Christian faith has always been prevelant.
“For the longest time, I felt like I needed permission to make movies,” Retts said. He elaborated that there were two levels of “permission” he had sought. The first level was answering whether or not it was a faithful pursuit for a Christian to spend their whole lives storytelling. Second, he wanted to know what kind of stories he should tell as a Christian.
“Do I have to make movies that say something definitive, or can I make movies that raise questions?” he wondered.
The journey for answers led him to pursuing and completing a seminary degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. Ultimately, this process brought him peace in the answers and freedom to proceed into filmmaking with a faithful Christian heart.
From Set to School
Much of Retts’ faith journey influenced his desire to teach.
“I felt like I could shorten the learning curve for other people,” Retts said. He hoped to help other aspiring filmmakers who may be dealing with the same questions he did, “If I could shave a few years off of them wondering if [filmmaking] was okay for them to do, that would be really positive.”
The consensus among Olivet students and faculty is that Retts’ teaching has been a success. “I definitely learned a lot of good stuff about filmmaking in his class,” said Olivet junior Jared Honey. Fellow student Adam Lee expressed similar sentiment, “It was great learning from someone with so much hands-on experience about making movies.”
Communication department chair, Heather McLaughlin, was excited to bring him in to the program.
“There was just something about him, with his expertise, knowledge. You could tell he had a passion for the content, as well as for students,” she said.
