Sparks-The Ken Sparks Story
For 46 years, Ken Sparks devoted his life, despite the sacrifices it demanded of him, to coach the game of football in such a way that it led players, coaches, families, and fans to Christ, and in so doing made the man a legend. At the end of his career and life, he had ended up being the 5th all-time winningest coach in NCAA, in front of Bear Bryant of Alabama, and behind Bobby Bowden of Florida State University. He also was the all time winningest coach in the NCAA Div II. His record was 338-99-2.
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Jeff JoslinDirectorThe Danger of Strangers, Fish Bait-The Movie, The Quarry
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Ciera DanielleProducerThe Last Train, His Wake, The Danger of Strangers
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Jeffrey Joslin IIProducerThe Danger of Strangers
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Jeff JoslinProducerThe Danger of Strangers, Fish Bait-The Movie, The Quarry
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Ciera DanielleWriterThe Last Train, Brick Walls, Rhonda and Holiday
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Jeff JoslinKey CastMadea’s Witness Protection, Army Wives, Drop Dead Diva, As The World Turns, The Right Stuff, Faking It, All My Children, Fish Bait-The Movie, The Quarry
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Chad SparksKey Cast
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Ken SmithKey Cast
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Tony DungyKey CastNFL Head Coach, Revelations Cafe, Today, NBC Sunday Night Football, Norte Dame Football, The Rich Eisen Show, ESPN First Take, 30 for 30, and many more credits
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Chanda ChildressKey Cast
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Carol SparksKey Cast
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Gail ChristianKey Cast
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Scott CagleKey Cast
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Jay FloydKey Cast
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Mike ClowneyKey Cast
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Alan DuncanKey Cast
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Curt DuncanKey Cast
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Stan CottenKey CastThe 5th Quarter
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Jim KlonarisKey Cast
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Mark IsomKey Cast
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:1 hour 29 minutes 48 seconds
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Completion Date:July 12, 2021
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Production Budget:70,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Accolade Global Film CompetitionLa Jolla
United States
August 24, 2021
Award of Excellence - Documentary -
Accolade Global Film CompetitionLa Jolla
United States
August 24, 2021
Award of Excellence - Christian Film -
Mindfield Film FestivalAlbuquerque
United States
August 26, 2021
Gold Award Best Documentary -
Knoxville Film FestivalKnoxville
United States
September 19, 2021
World Premiere
1st Place Tennessee Documentary Feature -
Knoxville Film FestivalKnoxville
United States
September 19, 2021
World Premiere
Audience Favorite -
Knoxville Film FestivalKnoxville
United States
September 19, 2021
World Premiere
2nd Place Documentary Feature Film -
CineMagic Film FestGreer
United States
December 30, 2021
Award Winner -
Faith FestHuntington
United States
November 6, 2021
The Vanguard Award -
IndieFest Film AwardsLa Jolla
United States
November 2, 2021
Documentary Feature -
IndieFest Film AwardsLa Jolla
United States
November 2, 2021
Religion/Ethics -
Salty Earth Film FestivalFort Atkinson
United States
November 13, 2021
Silver Award -
ICVM Crown AwardsOrlando
United States
November 13, 2021
Nominee -
Depth Of Field International Film FestivalNassau
United States
November 30, 2021
Excellence
Stroke survivor, Actor, model, and producer, and author of seven books, Jeff Joslin is a former professional football player, and two-time national champion quarterback at Carson-Newman University. He entered the entertainment business in 2006, moved to New York City and became a quick success. National print campaigns for Lipitor, Bermuda Tourism, Biltmore House led to commercial roles for Barron's, Bermuda Tourism and Cialis which launched Joslin to television and movie roles.
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Jeff was a star quarterback at Farragut High School and signed to play at the University of Tennessee along with former NFL legends such as Reggie White, Bill Bates and Willie Gault. He transferred to Carson-Newman College in nearby Jefferson City, Tenn., to be with his former high school coach, Ken Sparks. There, they won back-to-back NAIA national titles in 1983-'84 with Joslin being named honorable mention all-America. Later, he was selected to the Carson-Newman "Team of the Century."
Joslin played in the Canadian Football League with Toronto, Saskatchewan and Ottawa, and then served as a director with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A second-degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo, Joslin created X-Treme Team, a martial arts live program for middle and high school students that performed over 150 live shows worldwide, including a numerous street performances in Sydney during the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games. Martial arts organically led Joslin to train as a stuntman and under Scott Leva of Precision Stunts, one of Hollywood's top stunt coordinator.
Joslin has appeared in several TV shows such as Drop Dead Diva, Army Wives, Murder In Manhattan, Faking It and recently some top films such as Carjacked with Maria Bello and Madea's Witness Protection as Tyler Perry's boss.
"I got involved in The Ken Sparks Story to honor him for the impact, the "spark", he had in my life at Farragut and Carson Newman as my coach. He used football to impact my life for eternity with the message of Christ. I couldn't have imagined that I would be the one to tell his story when I got into the entertainment business in 2006, but that was my goal. I wanted tell his story to show others, that it only takes a spark.
On 10/30/2018, I had a stroke and lost my speech and memory. It was through my faith and persistence in the entertainment industry that I started this project on 2/2020. Covid shut it down, but through an act of providence, my son and his wife came on board to help us revive the project on 9/1/2020. It was though grace and being thankful, that we've been able to get this finished" - Jeff Joslin