Edward McDougal | Director/Producer/Playwright
After teaching junior high English in the northern suburbs of Chicago for five years, Edward started writing and directing a series of highly successful, hour-long religious dramas for film, video and television distribution in more than 30 countries worldwide. Three of these films -- "Never Ashamed", "Gold Through the Fire", and "Geronimo," were voted Best Film of the Year by the 400-member religious film and video trade organization, ICVM and also won numerous awards at international film festivals.
In 1998, Edward finished production on the 35mm feature, "The Prodigy", which opened at the Cineplex Odeon in Chicago and was released nationwide through Vanguard Video and Blockbuster June 5, 1999. The video has had an exceptional run for Blockbuster -- 9 months on the new release shelf, continuing to be rented in thousands of stores nationwide.
McDougal Chicago Production Services, a separate equipment rental and production facility located in downtown Chicago, has provided 35mm camera, grip and lighting packages and support services for many Chicago independent features, television commercials, and music videos which include such productions as "Scenes for the Soul" (Savoy Pictures), "American Reel" (Muriel Hemingway), and "Never Said Nothin'" (music video, Liz Phaire), as well as award-winning television specials for PBS.
Edward initiated and has helped to fund a series of non-profit films aimed at helping urban youth cope with the temptations of using and selling drugs. The series includes the films, "Through the Cracks", and "Crackdown" which won two Emmy awards and is currently distributed to thousands of African-American churches, schools and institutions nationwide through Urban Ministries in Chicago.
Edward has conducted yearly seminars in screenwriting and film production since 1985 at Regent Universitys graduate program in cinema television, and has been on staff at YWAM's School of Video in Burtigny, Switzerland (1998-2001), developing and teaching an intensive program in screenwriting and filmmaking. Ed has also taught filmmaking seminars in Nigeria, and Hungary, and at the Cornerstone Music Festival, and most recently in Russia and Kazakhstan where he spoke at the Christian Broadcasters convention in Moscow (2002) and taught video and writing classes in St. Petersburg (2002) and Alma-Aty, Kazakhstan (2002, 2003 and 2004).
Edward has appeared as a panelist on more than 10 network television talk shows including Geraldo, The Sally Jesse Raphael Show, PM Magazine, and the 700 Club where he has discussed filmmaking and family values.
From 2000 to 2003, Edward participated in a three-year professor-in-residence program as professor of film and screenwriting at Regent University's Graduate School of Communication. During his tenure at Regent, Edwards students produced numerous award-winning scripts and movies including a film produced for Joel Freeman, former chaplain of the Washington Wizards titled Return to Glory, which is currently in worldwide distribution. Edward currently lives in Northfield with his wife Nevila, Eddie (7 years) and Emilia (22 months) where he is working on his newest feature film.
