Senior cinema major Makenna Cofer created a short film, “Part of the Kingdom,” that was featured at the 2021 Fayetteville Film Festival. The short film documents the experiences of college students who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community on Christian universities. The film was released in December 2020.
The documentary’s first official screening took place on Friday, Nov. 12, the second day of the festival. Following the premier, Cofer was part of a discussion panel, where she shared the message of her work and answered any questions audience members had.
Cofer was accompanied to the event by the films’ sound designer, Cofer’s creative partner and friend Luke Travis. Together, they underwent the hard process of applying for their film to be featured in film festivals. Together, too, they celebrated their success. “Part of the Kingdom” was also accepted to another festival in New York.
Immediately after its release, the film captured the attention of the JBU community. While there were some negative comments about the film from people who disagree with it—natural for any creative project—the overall reaction to “Part of the Kingdom” was quite positive. Many JBU students, who were the majority of the audience at the time, reached out to them to congratulate them on their work. “Both people that identify with the LGTBQ+ community as well as people who weren’t part of it reach[ed] out,” Travis shared. “People who weren’t part of the community said that they gained a broader perspective on the topic.”
Thrilled with the public’s response, Travis and Cofer were determined to get “Part of the Kingdom” into festivals. Usually, the JBU cinema program helps fund students’ applications, but, in this particular case, Cofer and Travis acted independently. Travis recalled how he felt the day they were contacted with the news that they had been chosen by the Fayetteville festival: “It was really exciting because we could finally hear opinions about the film from people outside of JBU. Right now, all the feedback we’re receiving is from people at the school—people who know us personally that could easily have a bias. I’m excited for people to evaluate the film solely on the work of art itself, without having any context or preconceptions.”
Similarly, Cofer was also head over heels as this was the film’s first screening. “I wasn’t able to organize any screening last school year because of COVID-19 restrictions, so this will be the first time I show my work to a live audience,” she said. Cofer has also thoroughly enjoyed discussing the message of the film with so many new and different people who have reached out to her since the broad exposure that the festival gave to the short film.
Cofer plans on continuing working on documentaries about impactful matters like this one throughout her career. “I definitely want to do another film about the queer experience, specifically within a Christian environment because I think that has to be talked about more,” she said. However, it’s just an idea at the moment. Currently, Cofer is working on organizing the screening for her senior project, a short film that explores the topic of abuse.
Travis shared that, for now, he has taken a step back from cinema and is focused on writing. Still, the two collaborators hold the desire to keep on working together and helping each other out on any projects they come up with. “It’s really fun to collaborate. Our brains meshed really well together, and we complement each other. He sort of fills all the spaces that I lack,” Cofer said. “We’re able to bounce off of each other creatively and create something that feels special, at least to us.”
Although there aren’t any other live screenings of the film at the moment, “Part of the Kingdom” is always available on Cofer’s YouTube page. Cofer and Travis invite anyone to watch it, reach out to them if they have any questions and get involved in supporting local filmmakers. “If you can, donate to the projects, share with your friends and show support at screenings and even on set. Just showing up can be very reassuring for us,” said Cofer.