The Passion Behind 24Flix and ICFF with Marty Jean Louis

Geoff: 00:00:00

Hey, welcome to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.

Geoff: 00:00:02

I'm Geoff.

Jaclyn: 00:00:03

And I'm Jaclyn.

Geoff: 00:00:04

And we're glad to be back with you again today with our special guest.

Geoff: 00:00:07

Marty Jean Louis.

Jaclyn: 00:00:08

Marty Jean Louis, a dynamic producer and visionary, is the driving force behind 24 Flicks, the International Christian Film Festival, and OnlineChannel.

Jaclyn: 00:00:19

TV as their founder and CEO.

Jaclyn: 00:00:22

With his exceptional talent in production, Marty has directed and produced over 800 TV shows, documentaries, films, and commercials.

Jaclyn: 00:00:31

Garnering global viewership.

Jaclyn: 00:00:33

His passion lies in using media as a tool to connect with and uplift those who are lost and broken.

Jaclyn: 00:00:39

Firmly believing that making a positive impact on even a single individual signifies success.

Jaclyn: 00:00:46

Welcome to the podcast.

Geoff: 00:00:48

Thank you so much for having me.

Geoff: 00:00:50

It's great to meet you, Murti.

Geoff: 00:00:52

Now, just listening to that bio, you've got a lot of roles.

Geoff: 00:00:55

It must keep you very busy.

Geoff: 00:00:57

I try not to use the word busy.

Marty: 00:01:00

I try to use the word productive.

Marty: 00:01:02

Good, because you can be busy and

Geoff: 00:01:05

accomplish nothing.

Geoff: 00:01:07

The first thing that comes to mind is, okay, we've got 24 flicks, online channel TV, if I said that correctly.

Geoff: 00:01:14

Your production.

Geoff: 00:01:15

And these festivals that you do, obviously your annual festival, and now these fairly big three free events that you're doing this year, they take time too.

Geoff: 00:01:26

You must have to really schedule your, your time slots.

Marty: 00:01:30

Yeah.

Marty: 00:01:31

Time management is a big thing for me.

Marty: 00:01:33

Otherwise I would go nuts.

Marty: 00:01:35

No kidding.

Marty: 00:01:36

So I really try to manage my time efficiently because there's a lot happening.

Marty: 00:01:42

In my life and around me, and I also have a family, I have to also give them time.

Marty: 00:01:46

So it is important for me to manage my time efficiently so that the things that I do

Geoff: 00:01:52

actually can become successful.

Geoff: 00:01:55

Let's take a step back for a moment as we usually start off with our podcast episodes.

Geoff: 00:02:00

We'd like to know a little bit more about you as a person and how you started, how you got into media to begin with.

Geoff: 00:02:10

Man, how much time do you have?

Geoff: 00:02:11

As

Marty: 00:02:12

much as we need.

Marty: 00:02:13

As a little kid, I was always in love with photography.

Marty: 00:02:18

And video, I've always remember, like, I would love to have a camera one day, whether it's to take pictures, to do video.

Marty: 00:02:28

It was always my dream before I even knew how to use a camera or knew exactly what that is.

Marty: 00:02:34

I knew what it was, but for some reason I was just in love with just being able to do that kind of art.

Jaclyn: 00:02:41

Was it about like capturing a moment or just finding angles?

Jaclyn: 00:02:46

Do you know if there was something specific about it that really drew you to it?

Marty: 00:02:50

So it was about the creativity part.

Marty: 00:02:52

Right.

Marty: 00:02:53

And I just love being able to do something different.

Marty: 00:02:57

I remember like when I started photography.

Marty: 00:03:00

People would say, I don't get it.

Marty: 00:03:02

I would take the exact same picture, but the result is different.

Marty: 00:03:10

So I love the creativity part of photography and filmmaking.

Jaclyn: 00:03:15

So I'm going to take a guess then in high school, this became even more of a passion for you because I find in the teen years is where, you know, you started to really get that.

Jaclyn: 00:03:26

That spark of direction in life.

Jaclyn: 00:03:28

A lot of teenagers anyways, creative teenagers anyways, I know my friends and I, like we were totally in video production, photography, drama, music, all of that stuff.

Jaclyn: 00:03:39

So what was it like for you in your teen years when it comes to that kind of creativity?

Marty: 00:03:44

Yeah.

Marty: 00:03:45

So that's a great question.

Marty: 00:03:46

Thank you for that.

Marty: 00:03:47

So in my high school years, at that time, my dad had bought a Panasonic camera and he was like.

Marty: 00:03:56

Don't use it.

Marty: 00:03:56

I was like, Oh, you should not have said that.

Marty: 00:03:59

So we wouldn't wait for mom and dad to leave the house and my brothers and I would create movies.

Marty: 00:04:07

We knew exactly how long they would be out.

Marty: 00:04:10

We would create movies in that time span.

Marty: 00:04:12

And it was fantastic.

Marty: 00:04:14

And in high school, I did take photography and I just fell in love with it.

Marty: 00:04:18

And even to this day, cause it was like black and white photography.

Marty: 00:04:23

To this day, I'm in love with black and white photography, right?

Marty: 00:04:27

It's just something I absolutely love.

Jaclyn: 00:04:30

Did you learn how to do your own developing as well, like in a dark room?

Jaclyn: 00:04:34

Yes.

Jaclyn: 00:04:35

Oh, nice.

Jaclyn: 00:04:35

So did I.

Jaclyn: 00:04:36

That was fun.

Jaclyn: 00:04:37

That was really interesting to learn how to do that, actually.

Marty: 00:04:40

And it's real photography.

Marty: 00:04:42

Yeah, yeah.

Marty: 00:04:43

Right?

Marty: 00:04:44

Like, you're not only taking the pictures, but you are responsible to actually develop what you just created.

Marty: 00:04:53

And it was just real art.

Marty: 00:04:56

Not that digital is it, but it's just not the same.

Jaclyn: 00:04:59

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:04:59

I think part of it too, is that you can actually, when you're in the dark room and, um, you got the paper and it's got the light already on it.

Jaclyn: 00:05:07

And so you put it in the solution so that the picture emerges.

Jaclyn: 00:05:10

When you can watch the picture emerge, there's something amazing about that.

Jaclyn: 00:05:14

So it's like you do all of this work, not knowing exactly how it's going to turn out.

Jaclyn: 00:05:19

You have to have that vision in your mind the whole time.

Jaclyn: 00:05:22

But it's when it actually emerges on the paper that you actually get to see it.

Jaclyn: 00:05:26

There's just, I think that being so involved in every step of the process and having to hold onto that vision for the whole process, it is, There is something unique about that.

Marty: 00:05:39

Yes, I agree.

Marty: 00:05:40

And I, and I love the process.

Geoff: 00:05:42

Okay.

Geoff: 00:05:42

From there, you mentioned a lot of, or your bio, I should say, mentioned a lot of productions, television and otherwise.

Geoff: 00:05:50

When did you start moving in that direction and what was your avenue for those projects?

Marty: 00:05:55

That was, as I said, in high school, I was already sort of doing my own thing without going to film school.

Marty: 00:06:04

It just felt natural to me and my brothers.

Marty: 00:06:07

And in college, I was going for film and that was the thing that I really enjoyed doing.

Marty: 00:06:13

I took one class, one film class in college, and I ended up quitting for reasons.

Marty: 00:06:22

Then I joined the Marine Corps.

Marty: 00:06:25

In the U.

Marty: 00:06:25

S.

Marty: 00:06:26

I ended up finishing school eventually.

Marty: 00:06:28

I'm just fast forwarding a lot of it, but not in film or broadcast.

Marty: 00:06:33

I ended up finishing my degree in computer science and that degree brought me to the UN in New York.

Marty: 00:06:40

So I ended up working at the United Nations.

Marty: 00:06:43

And that's where, again, that desire, because God had put me in the events department, and And the events department is responsible for every event, everything that happens in the UN, including filmmaking, any major event.

Marty: 00:07:00

And there are major events that happens at the UN and I had access, right?

Marty: 00:07:07

God made sure that there were access and I was able to be there.

Marty: 00:07:13

For instance, when they were making films.

Marty: 00:07:17

I am watching, and that, again, spark, that fire, that was already there.

Marty: 00:07:24

And that's when I got back into it.

Jaclyn: 00:07:27

Okay.

Jaclyn: 00:07:28

And apparently with a vengeance, like how did this all come to be so much?

Jaclyn: 00:07:33

Cause some people, when they get back into it, they could say maybe 10 years later, they've made like a few projects or whatever, even if they do one a year, but you have an average of much more than that.

Jaclyn: 00:07:44

So how did this all happen?

Jaclyn: 00:07:46

When you say you got back into it, what does that look like?

Marty: 00:07:49

Yeah, it took time.

Marty: 00:07:50

I'm 80 years old.

Marty: 00:07:51

So I'm just kidding.

Marty: 00:07:53

So I ended up finishing my time at the UN because I wanted to move to Florida because my son was born and we didn't want to raise our kids in New York.

Marty: 00:08:04

And we were also tired of the weather, so

Jaclyn: 00:08:07

we ended up

Marty: 00:08:10

moving in Florida and that's when it really started for me because now this is my opportunity to either do it or not do it.

Marty: 00:08:21

I met up with some people and we started an organization called My Christian Films and with My Christian Films, that's when it's exactly that, right?

Marty: 00:08:29

Like we were actually doing a lot of television shows for broadcasts.

Marty: 00:08:35

in our own studio.

Marty: 00:08:37

We were doing three or four, I was producing three or four television shows a week, right?

Marty: 00:08:43

So

Jaclyn: 00:08:44

What kind of shows were they?

Jaclyn: 00:08:45

Uh,

Marty: 00:08:45

talk shows.

Marty: 00:08:46

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:08:46

Okay.

Marty: 00:08:47

So, we were doing a music show, we were doing a teen show, and we were doing a women's show.

Marty: 00:08:53

And then there were some other things in between that we were doing.

Marty: 00:08:55

And we were just going, as you say, with a vengeance.

Marty: 00:09:00

So, that's what I felt God was calling me to do.

Marty: 00:09:03

And that's what I did, and I

Marty: 00:09:05

was happy doing it.

Geoff: 00:09:07

Okay, let's fast forward and talk about 24Flix.

Geoff: 00:09:12

There's probably lots to talk about, but some of the questions that might come to mind to our listeners is, where does it fit in the marketplace?

Geoff: 00:09:19

What's unique about it?

Geoff: 00:09:20

And eventually, I'm sure they might be wondering, because we have content creators, of course, and filmmakers that are in our audience, Is it a platform that might be a good fit for their work?

Geoff: 00:09:30

Let's talk about that.

Geoff: 00:09:32

Absolutely.

Geoff: 00:09:33

So, fast forward

Geoff: 00:09:33

many years.

Geoff: 00:09:35

God put it in my heart.

Geoff: 00:09:37

So, let me put some things in perspective.

Geoff: 00:09:40

My mission, and it's my mission, maybe some folks may not understand that necessarily, and maybe they do, is God is always telling me to go after the lost.

Geoff: 00:09:51

And be smart about how you do that, right?

Geoff: 00:09:54

So we decided to start 24 Flicks as a 24 7, originally was a 24 7 sort of online network and not labeling it as a Christian network.

Geoff: 00:10:07

Very intentional, no marketing, nowhere should it say, this is Christian, but having Christian content on it, but not all Christian content.

Geoff: 00:10:18

By that I mean, there would be things that are family friendly, for example, like rom coms, they're fine, and some comedy stuff.

Geoff: 00:10:27

They're not Christian content by any means.

Geoff: 00:10:30

But they're safe.

Geoff: 00:10:31

So that was the purpose.

Geoff: 00:10:33

Promote the ones that aren't Christian and pull them in.

Geoff: 00:10:38

And what we found is when we decided to go on demand, then we could follow them.

Geoff: 00:10:43

Now they have to create an account.

Geoff: 00:10:45

Then we can follow that user.

Geoff: 00:10:48

So when we promote, let's just say a rom com, they're coming for that rom com.

Geoff: 00:10:53

Right.

Geoff: 00:10:54

And after they finished watching it, they're like, what else is there?

Jaclyn: 00:10:59

Yes.

Marty: 00:11:00

So, and we found that they would stumble into Christian content and would watch it.

Marty: 00:11:06

And that is what makes us unique and different is that strategy is go after the lost with a

Geoff: 00:11:13

very strategic plan.

Geoff: 00:11:16

As far as the Christian content goes, then, are you strategic about which content you choose in as far as that strategy goes?

Geoff: 00:11:25

We're pretty bold about

Marty: 00:11:27

who we are and what we do, but when it comes to 24 Flicks, we are still bold.

Marty: 00:11:32

So, as long as the content We feel it fits in terms of quality, in terms of messaging, then yeah, it could be an evangelical content.

Marty: 00:11:46

We don't have any problem with those because that's what we want people to end up watching, something that will change their life.

Geoff: 00:11:55

Now is online channel TV, something similar?

Geoff: 00:12:01

Tell us about that.

Geoff: 00:12:02

I'm actually, I was previously unaware, Jaclyn and I have watched some films on 24 flicks, but.

Geoff: 00:12:08

I was unaware of online channel TV.

Geoff: 00:12:10

Tell us about it.

Marty: 00:12:11

Yeah, absolutely.

Marty: 00:12:12

In the past, we have always used someone else's technology to run 24 flicks.

Marty: 00:12:20

And for 10 years, I really wasn't happy with how and what, and I'm also thinking in the future, because what happens is 24 flicks was for some reason, we had like a ton of followers on social media and we got canceled till today.

Marty: 00:12:36

We don't know why we got canceled.

Marty: 00:12:40

And so, the idea is, using someone else's platform, they can cancel you at any given time and moment.

Marty: 00:12:49

And whatever you built, overnight disappears.

Marty: 00:12:53

Right?

Marty: 00:12:53

And I'm like, you know what?

Marty: 00:12:55

I need to build my own platform.

Marty: 00:12:57

I'm not happy with these platforms that I've been using anyway, so I decided to start from scratch.

Marty: 00:13:04

Right?

Marty: 00:13:05

Hire developers.

Marty: 00:13:06

To build platforms that will power 24 flicks.

Marty: 00:13:12

I built it for me, but with the attention that others can use it.

Marty: 00:13:15

So that's what onlinechannel.

Marty: 00:13:17

tv is.

Marty: 00:13:18

The technology, that platform for people that wants to monetize their content, organize their content that is their own and keep it the same way.

Marty: 00:13:27

Keep it in house in their own brand without having to, when you put something on YouTube, you're promoting YouTube.

Marty: 00:13:34

Your brand disappears, right?

Marty: 00:13:37

But if you're trying to build your brand, then you've got to focus on your brand.

Marty: 00:13:42

And that's what online channel TV is.

Jaclyn: 00:13:46

That's amazing.

Jaclyn: 00:13:46

So did you actually design that or, cause you got your degree in computer science.

Jaclyn: 00:13:53

And so is, did that come into play there?

Marty: 00:13:55

It did in terms of what I want and understanding.

Marty: 00:14:00

I'm not a developer.

Marty: 00:14:01

Yes, I started out by being one, but technology moves so quickly.

Marty: 00:14:07

I can't keep up because I was, I'm into filmmaking now.

Marty: 00:14:10

I can't, but I understand how it all works.

Marty: 00:14:14

So I understand how to speak to the developers and I understand what.

Marty: 00:14:19

I need and how to translate that to them.

Marty: 00:14:22

So I spearhead the project.

Marty: 00:14:24

We did it from the ground so that it's something that is

Marty: 00:14:28

unique.

Marty: 00:14:28

That is ours.

Marty: 00:14:29

You've got something special.

Marty: 00:14:31

And I believe this is the first year.

Marty: 00:14:32

I'm pretty confident.

Marty: 00:14:33

And I'm correct on that with the free one day events across the country.

Marty: 00:14:38

Tell us a little bit about that.

Marty: 00:14:40

Yeah.

Marty: 00:14:40

So even from the beginning of ICFF, that was always like in the plan.

Marty: 00:14:47

It's just timing.

Marty: 00:14:48

Sometimes things take time, right?

Marty: 00:14:50

So we just have to follow God's timeline in that hours.

Marty: 00:14:55

And it took us 12 years to get here.

Marty: 00:14:58

We're doing these one day events again.

Marty: 00:15:01

It's all about God.

Marty: 00:15:04

How do we have these filmmakers get together and do kingdom business?

Marty: 00:15:12

And how do we fellowship together?

Marty: 00:15:16

What happens is that.

Marty: 00:15:17

I may live in the same city as you, and I don't even know you.

Geoff: 00:15:22

That's right.

Marty: 00:15:23

And I, and you might be someone that I need and vice versa.

Marty: 00:15:28

And that's the idea is to connect people in those cities and also bring God.

Marty: 00:15:35

Cause we always start with worship and prayer.

Marty: 00:15:38

That's the most important thing for us.

Marty: 00:15:40

Like we bring the Holy Spirit with us wherever we go.

Marty: 00:15:44

If you ever attend ICFF, you know, so we'll be having speakers as well.

Marty: 00:15:49

We'll show a couple of movies and we will fellowship together.

Geoff: 00:15:54

And I think that's really important.

Geoff: 00:15:56

Are there workshops or just general sessions and speakers and obviously worship, as you said, and yeah, general

Marty: 00:16:03

sessions, because so one day event is going to be like about eight hours.

Marty: 00:16:07

So we are very limited to what we could do, but we wanted to maximize what we are able to do in that time span.

Marty: 00:16:15

So these are going to be general sessions with a Q and a.

Marty: 00:16:19

And then, of course, you'll be able to connect with these speakers and, and talk

Geoff: 00:16:23

to them afterwards.

Geoff: 00:16:24

Three locations, right?

Geoff: 00:16:26

Los Angeles, Nashville, and Atlanta.

Geoff: 00:16:29

Yes, that is correct.

Marty: 00:16:30

Those are very strategic locations, as you can imagine.

Marty: 00:16:34

And we are excited.

Marty: 00:16:36

The response that we've gotten, I gotta be honest, I didn't expect such a huge response.

Marty: 00:16:43

And it was very quick that I noticed

Geoff: 00:16:45

your social media posts were saying that they were sold out.

Geoff: 00:16:48

It happened very fast.

Marty: 00:16:50

Did, that's exactly what I'm saying is we're months away.

Marty: 00:16:53

I was really surprised, especially by Nashville.

Marty: 00:16:55

I wasn't sure because it's more of a music city and Nashville was the first one to sell.

Marty: 00:17:04

And we didn't even realize that happened, and we didn't set a cap for how many people that we would.

Marty: 00:17:11

So we're like, oh my goodness, we're all over that.

Marty: 00:17:15

And the same happened for Atlanta, which is like in October.

Jaclyn: 00:17:19

Wow.

Jaclyn: 00:17:20

I think you've got a reputation for providing excellence, right?

Jaclyn: 00:17:25

Some people, they throw stuff together and then other people, they build something and, and pursue that with excellence.

Jaclyn: 00:17:31

And so to have a reputation, that's what you create.

Jaclyn: 00:17:34

Then when there's an opportunity, people want to go, they want to be part of it.

Jaclyn: 00:17:39

Cause I think we're drawn to excellence.

Jaclyn: 00:17:41

We're just as human beings, we're drawn to that kind of creativity that is beyond just, I have an idea or I'm throwing stuff together.

Jaclyn: 00:17:50

Hey, good enough.

Jaclyn: 00:17:51

But when you see somebody that actually has honed their craft, put in their discipline, and is putting it to use and building something, especially something that is making itself available to other people to also participate in and join in, I think people are really drawn to that.

Marty: 00:18:08

Yeah.

Marty: 00:18:08

Thank you for that.

Marty: 00:18:09

That was very kind of you.

Marty: 00:18:10

We really do work hard because I think God deserves excellence.

Marty: 00:18:15

Look at how he made us.

Marty: 00:18:17

So, so he deserves that.

Marty: 00:18:18

And we try our best to give that back to him.

Marty: 00:18:22

And I think it's important that we recognize who he is and what he deserves.

Marty: 00:18:27

Not just putting, throwing something together.

Marty: 00:18:29

It's good enough.

Marty: 00:18:30

We are not of that mindset.

Jaclyn: 00:18:33

It's been very interesting getting to know you and hearing about all of the different creative adventures that you've had and the things that you're building and working on and providing for the community.

Jaclyn: 00:18:44

As we close out this portion of the interview, I would love to give you the floor and ask you to share some final thoughts with our listeners.

Marty: 00:18:53

For me, what I find is that God has called each and every one of us for a specific task.

Marty: 00:19:00

And sometimes we're not sure.

Marty: 00:19:03

We're not sure sometimes because somebody says, you're not good at that, or I don't think you'd be able to do that.

Marty: 00:19:10

And that has been me.

Marty: 00:19:12

People have told me this.

Marty: 00:19:14

And fortunately for me, I don't listen to that noise.

Marty: 00:19:19

And I want people to understand that these are noise when people says, when you feel deep inside of your heart, this is what you were meant to do.

Marty: 00:19:30

I would say, go for it.

Marty: 00:19:32

It's going to be hard and it's meant to be hard.

Marty: 00:19:37

If it's not hard, then you're not going to learn from the things that's going to happen in that road to make you better.

Marty: 00:19:45

That has been me, right?

Marty: 00:19:47

And that has been people that I've seen in my life, the people that I have talked to, the people that have gone through it.

Marty: 00:19:54

It's exactly that.

Marty: 00:19:56

Go for it.

Marty: 00:19:57

Even though maybe even family might be like, don't do it.

Marty: 00:20:02

We love you.

Marty: 00:20:03

We don't think this is the right path for you.

Marty: 00:20:05

No one knows but you.

Marty: 00:20:07

What God has put inside of you.

Marty: 00:20:10

You are the only one that knows.

Marty: 00:20:13

Don't listen to folks to negativity.

Geoff: 00:20:17

That's

Marty: 00:20:17

right.

Marty: 00:20:17

Go full on

Geoff: 00:20:19

and watch God open doors for you.

Geoff: 00:20:22

Well, we've really enjoyed talking with you.

Geoff: 00:20:25

We are looking forward to talking with you more in the second half of our interview.

Geoff: 00:20:29

And I'd also like to talk a little more about ICFF cause we didn't do much of that yet.

Geoff: 00:20:33

And I look forward to hearing more.

Geoff: 00:20:35

Awesome.

Geoff: 00:20:36

Thank you.