I am very proud to announce that all of us at Neverending Light Productions were awarded Telly's (www.tellyawards.com) for Jacob's Turn (Click HERE then click "Documentary Films"), a short documentary film Directed, Edited, Produced, shot by my partner and friend Amardeep Kaleka.  It was an extremely tight time schedule to get this project completed, but not only was it done on time but I think just about everyone involved was ecstatic on how the project turned out.

Jacob's Turn came to be with a chance encounter with Nick Nanton, who had met Jacob's family in an airport while on one of his many business trips.  Given a short narrative written story by Patricia (Jacob's mother), Nick was inspired to put this project on film, and looked for a production company to take the project under their wing.  After meeting with Nick, I knew that NEL was the perfect choice, and immediately called up Amardeep and we began to brainstorm on how to complete the project.  A short script later, a couple of plane rides across the country and a few long nights, Jacob's Turn was completed and released on the world wide web.

Jacob's Turn was a project that signified what NEL is all about, not only telling stories that we think are relevant and entertaining, but stories that highlight the pure human spirit we believe is in all of us, and should be highlighted as much as possible.

Thank you to everyone that was involved, including Nick Nanton, the driving force behind the project, Amardeep (of course), Matt Ulm, and many others that helped contribute to this project's success.

With love,

Jared Bonshire

Wamba, the movie that NEL produced, edited, and shot for an African audience is premiering at the Pan African Film Festival in LA on 2/18/2011 and 2/23/2011.

Independent film gets missed for one reason: marketing budget.  Most Indy movies have friggin incredible production value, amazing acting, cinematography, direction, and more.  But I admit it, I too get caught up in what's put in front of me.  Do I want to see the Green Hornet?  Yup.  Did I wait in line to see Inception?  Well no, but I did for the Dark Knight.  I love big, bad, beautiful movies and see the artistry in following the formula of cinematic success.

Going into the 3rd week of Amardeep's trip to India, while he continues to work on the foundation for the documentary project we are undertaking with Lost Horizen (1001 Monks), I have had some time inbetween phone calls oversea's and abroad to watch a few movies that I just haven't had time to enjoy over the past few years.  Life and work has gotten in the way of taking time to learn about films, rather than take in whatever is shoved in front of me.

What has changed?  Wonderful technology through my little ps3.  The streaming world of Netflix has allowed for quick immediate access to a group of films that I would have never thought twice about just 6 months ago.  My life of time compartmentalization now includes the ability to grab a movie anytime, without having to commit extra dollars, nor an investment in the time to search, drive and decide.  And I think it is a wonderful movement that all filmmakers need to not only embrace, but take advantage of.  This type of film distribution puts even more importance on cover design, one line plot synopsis and most importantly, casting.

With so many modern day "stars" taking time out of their blockbuster schedule to execute passion projects, it offers a great deal of opportunity for small production companies not only to grab a few weeks of someone's schedule to skyrocket their film's financial success, but even more importantly get someone to click play as they flip through 200 movies on a Thursday night of terrible TV. 

Now I know all small production companies like NEL try to create product that sells, we all are still driven by the need to express a vision, tell a story, teach a lesson; and the greater the audience that can be a part of that experience the better.

Now that I'm done pontificating on market strategy, back to my point on the world of Netflix streaming.

Case Study:

I was flipping through the list of potential 90 minutes of entertainment with my wife when we came across a Ryan Reynolds Indy film Chaos Theory from '08 directed by Marcos Siega (a long time TV guy).  Didn't know much about the film, hadn't seen any advertising and don't think it was any part of the general public's consciousness, but it had Ryan Reynolds in it (whom by the way my wife thinks is one of the hottest men alive), so we gave it a shot.  I realized shortly after it's finish that our decision making progress is a reality that is going to become more prevalent as streaming movies over the internet becomes more common.

There will be different decisions on movie rental choices as more TV's add Netflix buttons.  No longer will be a movie watching experience be based on the 4 dollars in the audience's pocket.  There won't be a thought pattern of "Well, this doesn't sound bad, but I don't want to waste my money so I need to make a safe blockbuster choice."  The new movie consumer will be able to start a movie, hate it, and move on; but more movies will at least get a chance to be enjoyed, not just sit on a shelf with the hope of consumption.

Obviously, it's up to the creators of film to be able to capture an audience.  But now more than ever I am incredibly excited to seize these opportunities to help tell Amardeep's stories throughout his career, because the potential audience is growing with each passing day of broadband cable installation.

Neverending Light and Lost Horizon Productions is teaming up for a new documentary on meditation.  We are focusing on Mantra and Sangha Meditation (e.g. Transcendental Meditation and Mahayana Buddhism) as they apply to modern science and the troubles of the modern world.  This journey of getting to the core and the strength of meditation will take more than two years.  We are beginning the interviews for this documentary in January when we travel to India.  If you know a scholar or practitioner of meditation who would be willing talk about their experiences, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .