Tag Archives: filmmaking

In Memory of a Wonderful Mentor

Posted on July 24, 2025 by mitchteemley

Twenty-six years ago today, my mentor Janet died in the most unthinkable of ways. But I’d rather focus on how she lived. On her kindness and wisdom. I launched my filmmaking career with an internship in L.A.’s Fox Plaza tower, … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 56 Comments

Five Years Ago This Week

Posted on May 23, 2025 by mitchteemley

In May of 2020, Healing River, my first feature film as a writer-director, premiered on Amazon Prime. After winning over twenty major festival awards, it became one of Prime’s highest-rated inspirational dramas. And it remains so to this day. Since then, Healing … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Memoir, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 78 Comments

The Day My First Feature Film Premiered

Posted on May 17, 2025 by mitchteemley

A Filmmaker’s Journal 25 years ago today, my first feature film premiered on Showtime. I was doing a producing internship in a glass skyscraper a few floors below former president Ronald Reagan’s office. Interestingly, it was also the building (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Memoir, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 51 Comments

Confession: I Like Acting Stuffy

Posted on March 6, 2025 by mitchteemley

I’m primarily a writer, director, producer, but I enjoy acting on-screen as well. Here’s a fun little promotional piece I did a few years back for an advertising company called Epipheo. I confess: I liked playing this rather stuffy British fellow … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

I Have Promises to Keep

Posted on February 15, 2025 by mitchteemley

A Filmmaker’s Journal Twelve years ago, I met a man who altered my life forever. Mike, a producer and fledgling screenwriter, had spearheaded the formation of a production company called St. Michael Movies. And now they were casting their second … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

Is Life Just a Game We Play?

Posted on September 19, 2024 by mitchteemley

Music From My Movies Creating music for the films I write and direct is the primary way I pursue my other love, songwriting. Hence, I embedded the song “Healing River” in the opening of my feature film Healing River. Later … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Listen to “Healing River”

Posted on August 29, 2024 by mitchteemley

Music From My Movies When I was young, it was a toss-up whether music or writing would be the focus of my career. Writing and filmmaking eventually emerged as my creative core. But composing inevitably found its way into my … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

My Homemade Horror-Thriller

Posted on August 15, 2024 by mitchteemley

A Filmmaker’s Journal One of my earliest efforts at filmmaking, this little 5-minute horror-thriller was a family production, with my wife as “the Mom,” our youngest as “the Star,” our oldest as “the Crew,” and me as “the Mogul.” Shot … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment, Videos | Tagged , , , , , | 30 Comments

50 Years Ago This Month

Posted on June 26, 2024 by mitchteemley

Movies That Have Moved Me As a kid, I loved the Three Stooges, and then, as I acquired a smidge of subtlety, moved on to Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. Mark Twain mentored me as an aspiring writer (my … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Movies, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , | 55 Comments

When Your Kids Surpass You

Posted on February 22, 2024 by mitchteemley

A few years back, while capturing some pre-production images for an upcoming feature film, I turned to our director-of-photography, Jeff, and launched into one of my legendary “which reminds me of the time when…” narratives (something I limit myself to … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir, Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 53 Comments