GENERAL SESSION

Global Media Celebration (Testimony, Panel, Recognition from Content Creators around the Globe)

Name: Global Media Celebration (Testimony, Panel, Recognition from Content Creators around the Globe)
Start: 2026-09-22T18:00
End: 2026-09-22T20:00
Location: Stage B

6:00 PM – 8:00 PMStage BTuesday, September 22

Celebrate what God is doing through Christian media around the world during this inspiring evening of fellowship, screenings, and storytelling. Experience powerful content, connect with creators from many nations, and join us as we honor the creativity, excellence, and Kingdom impact of media that is changing lives across the globe.

Rough Structure:

6pm - Testimony - Ed Grifenhagen

630pm - Israel Ministry of Tourism - Lorin Maugery

645pm - Global Panel (Lorin Maugery, Bright Wonder, Aleksa Ristovic, Henry Zammit Cordina, Bozkurt Palanduz and Host Tim Shields)

745pm - Host Bright Wonder: Three Short Film Winners of AICFF will be Screened (Africa Int'l Christian Film Festival)

845pm - Feature Film Screener from Aleksa Ristovic (Malta) "Illusion of Faith"

SPEAKERS

Tim Shields

Lead Events Mgr, Pastor · CONTENT Christian Media Association

Pastor Tim Shields is a forerunner and is passionate about prayer and helping the body of Christ find their God given destiny - promised land. He is the co-founder of the CONTENT Media Conferences and is on the staff at Capernaum Studios and has served as a pastor for many years. Tim is blessed with five grown children. Tim is happily married and resides in the Dallas, Texas area.

Speaker's Contact Details

Ed Grifenhagen

Pastor | Speaker | Author | Set Shepherd · Christian Film Foundation

As a pastor, Ed has utilized Christian films for years to impact people with the Gospel in his church and community. As a Set Shepherd, Ed has provided spiritual guidance and pastoral care for hundreds of cast and crew members on multiple Christian film sets. As the director of the Christian Film Foundation, Ed is passionate about championing a Christ-centered vision in filmmaking by equipping and inspiring the next generation of filmmakers. Ed spent three decades in the business world before transitioning into a career as a pastor, author, and speaker. He is the Lead Pastor at Church On The Trail in Columbus, GA. He and his wife founded M2540—a nonprofit ministry serving the homeless, which currently has over 40 member churches. He also co-founded Set Shepherds, which provides chaplains on film sets. Married to Susan since 1988, he is the father of two sons and the grandfather of four. Ed was raised in a devout Jewish home. However, for much of his life, he dismissed the Bible as nothing more than a book of fairy tales—useful for moral guidance perhaps, but hardly true. At thirty-five, he decided it was only fair to read the book he had so easily rejected. Disproving it, he assumed, would be simple enough. But God had other plans. On January 2, 2000, he opened to Genesis 1:1, spent the next year voraciously engulfed in God’s Word, and on January 17, 2001, he surrendered his life to Christ.

Bright Wonder

Filmmaker · AICFF (Africa Intl Christian Film Festival)

Bright Wonder Obasi is a multi-award-winning film and television writer, producer, director, and acting coach, with over two decades of experience advancing faith-driven storytelling, He is the Founder and CEO of High Definition Film Academy and Studios (HDFA), a leading film institute in Nigeria, through which he has trained over 2,500 filmmakers and creatives, and produced several award-winning faith and impact films—including Chains, If I Am President, Broken, and Diary of the Triplets. As Founder and President of Gospel Cinema International (GCI), he leads a fast-growing Christian film ecosystem- equipping Christian filmmakers with skill and proper spiritual formation through the Africa Gospel Film Project, and convenes the Africa International Christian Film Festival (AICFF), a strategic gateway for Global Christian films into Africa and a launchpad for African faith-based films to reach the world. Bright Wonder Obasi has been happily married to Chinenye Nora Obasi for 16 years, and together they have three wonderful kids, Somto, Muna, and Dubem (The Wonder Trio).

Aleksa Ristovic

ALEKSA RISTOVIC is a Serbia-born, Malta-based independent filmmaker, writer, director, cinematographer and editor whose work explores faith, loss, spirituality and the quiet relationship between humanity and the divine. Born in Serbia in 1973, Ristovic moved to Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia, in the early 2000s, where he studied and worked in graphic design, 3D modelling and computer animation. He moved to Malta in 2015 and later studied Cinematography and Film/Video Production at MCAST’s Institute for the Creative Arts. He has since built a professional career in television and video production, working as a director, producer, editor and cinematographer for Maltese national television and independent productions. Alongside his professional work, Ristovic has developed a distinctive body of independent films, often working as a one-man filmmaking team, writing, producing, directing, filming and editing his own projects. His short films include: I Resign?! (2017), Losin’ You (2019), Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining (2020), Monumental (2021), Stations of the Cross (2024) and The Chapel Door (2025). His debut feature film, Illusion of Faith (2026), marks the continuation of this independent journey into long-form filmmaking. The film premiered internationally in the United States and received Best International Feature Film at Hard Faith Fest in Los Angeles, alongside further festival recognition. Ristovic’s films have received 37+ international awards, with more than 180 selections and nominations across festivals in the United States, Europe and internationally. His filmmaking is rooted in poetic visual language, contemplative imagery and emotional storytelling, with a particular interest in the spaces between faith, doubt, suffering and revelation. His guiding philosophy is simple: “Seeking the Soul in the Frame.”

Henry Zammit Cordina

Actor, Photographer, Editor

Henry is a well-established Maltese actor and is based in Malta – an Island in the Mediterranean, known for servicing many International Film and Television Productions. With a prolific career in Maltese television, Henry has taken part in more than 50 TV dramas, numerous commercials and social media features. He is also a Stage and voice actor. His talent has earned him two nominations at the Malta Television Awards. He is also a Videographer, Photographer and Editor. Internationally, in Film and TV productions, Henry has been featured in prestigious productions for Netflix, Sky One UK, Mediaset and Rai - Italy, Smithsonian USA, ZDF History – Germany, BBC, Channel 5 UK and the History Channel among others. As a character actor, Henry enjoys playing a wide range of roles, from biblical and historical figures to villains and kind-hearted characters. Apart from his native tongue which is Maltese, he speaks fluent English and Italian, has a good knowledge of French, and is adept at delivering lines in various languages, showcasing his versatility and skill in the acting world. His performance as a lead actor in a full feature - Illusion of Faith, has earned him an award for Best Lead Actor at the Christian Film Festival 2026 in Fort Lauderdale - Florida and Best Actor at the Miracle Makers IFF 2026 in Newport Beach – California for a short film – Onesimus portraying Paul of Tarsus. Henry has also been nominated for the same two productions at Content Film Festival 2026 at Capernaum Studios in Poolville – Texas.

Bozkurt Palanduz

Writer, Director, Producer · Salvador Films

Bozkurt Palanduz — Panelist Bio Bozkurt Palanduz is a Turkish-born writer, director, and producer based in Mexico, and the founder of Salvador Films. After more than a decade living and working across Latin America, his storytelling explores migration, spiritual identity, fatherhood, reconciliation, and freedom from inherited wounds. He is currently developing The Missing Face, a faith-driven international mystery drama about a Turkish-Mexican son searching for his absent father, a former masked wrestler and cult-screen personality. The project is being positioned as a potential U.S.–Mexico collaboration for faith, fatherhood, Hispanic, and international audiences. Bozkurt has been invited to CONTENT 2026 as an international filmmaker and panelist for the Global Media Celebration.

Speaker's Contact Details

Lorin Maugery

Consul-Director · Southern United States at the Israel Ministry of Tourism, based in Atlanta

Lorin Maugery serves as Consul-Director for the Southern United States at the Israel Ministry of Tourism, based in Atlanta. He leads Israel’s tourism promotion across 11 Southern states, focusing on building relationships with Christian leaders, media, churches, and faith-based travel organizations. Originally from France and later relocating to Israel, Lorin brings international experience in tourism, diplomacy, and public affairs. He is passionate about strengthening connections between American Christians and Israel and encouraging meaningful travel to the Holy Land.