Katherine Stenholm(1917-2015)
- Director
- Producer
In 36 years she directed 72 productions including sermon films,
promotional films, multi-image presentations, and feature-length films.
In 1950, Katherine Stenholm was directing a stage play of "Cyrano" when
she was approached by Dr. Bob Jones Sr., founder of Bob Jones
University, Greenville, SC, to take on the task of starting a Cinema
Department for the school. She was surprised as his request since she
had no experience in film, but continued on to gain an in-depth
education in filmmaking, both in graduate study at USC and through
contacts made within the industry. Peter Mole, founder of
Mole-Richardson Co., provided all the lighting needs for the new studio
built on the campus, called "Unusual Films." After directing a number
of short ministry films for evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Sr., Katherine
Stenholm swung into the feature length production of "Wine of Morning."
This film is based upon a novel written by Dr. Bob Jr., a reinvention
of the story of Barabbas, the murderer chosen to be released in place
of Jesus, right before the crucifixion. In 1955, "Wine of Morning" won
the National Evangelical Film Foundation awards for best film, best
director, best actor, and best producer of the year. This was also
selected by the University Film Producers Association (now University
Film and Video Association) to represent the United States at the
International Film Festival in Cannes, France for a meeting of the
International Congress of Motion Picture and Television Schools in
1958. Katherine Stenholm was one of the keynote speakers at the Cannes
Festival and later gave a keynote address at the International Congress
of Motion Picture and Television Schools held in Paris soon after. In
addition to her teaching responsibilities, she continued to run the
Unusual Films' studios until 1986. Film students gained a distinct
advantage under her guidance as she held high standards of filmmaking.
All students were required to read "American Cinematographer" cover to
cover every month, and countless other texts. All students were
required to write / direct / edit a 16mm short film their sophomore
year (added in late 1970s). All students were required to put in a set
amount of hours working at the film studio, in various positions, to
complement their classroom time. Those who passed these rigors, while
maintaining passing grades in all their other university courses, were
then eligible to assist in the production of the feature films
Katherine Stenholm directed. In addition, she required that EACH senior
level student write / produce / direct / edit a 16mm film for their
senior thesis, in order to graduate-all the while continuing to assist
in the studio's productions. In 1986, while filming in Russia for her
then-upcoming film, "The Printing," she suffered a minor stroke in
Moscow. It was difficult to get through the red tape to get her a
flight from Moscow to Helsinki because she and her team were with a
tour group that was set to fly out from Leningrad to Helsinki. Once the
task was accomplished and she returned home to the States, Tim Rogers
was named as the director of Unusual Films and he directed "The
Printing" in her place. During her illness, many students rallied to
aid her in household chores and anything else needed. Though she
retired from directing when her health recovered, she returned to teach
the directing class until the 1999/2000 school year.