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.

  • Jeff Joslin
    Director
    The Danger of Strangers, Fish Bait-The Movie, The Quarry
  • Ciera Danielle
    Producer
    The Last Train, His Wake, The Danger of Strangers
  • Jeffrey Joslin II
    Producer
    The Danger of Strangers
  • Jeff Joslin
    Producer
    The Danger of Strangers, Fish Bait-The Movie, The Quarry
  • Ciera Danielle
    Writer
    The Last Train, Brick Walls, Rhonda and Holiday
  • Jeff Joslin
    Key Cast
    Madea’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
  • Chad Sparks
    Key Cast
  • Ken Smith
    Key Cast
  • Tony Dungy
    Key Cast
    NFL 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
  • Chanda Childress
    Key Cast
  • Carol Sparks
    Key Cast
  • Gail Christian
    Key Cast
  • Scott Cagle
    Key Cast
  • Jay Floyd
    Key Cast
  • Mike Clowney
    Key Cast
  • Alan Duncan
    Key Cast
  • Curt Duncan
    Key Cast
  • Stan Cotten
    Key Cast
    The 5th Quarter
  • Jim Klonaris
    Key Cast
  • Mark Isom
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 29 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 12, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    70,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Accolade Global Film Competition
    La Jolla
    United States
    August 24, 2021
    Award of Excellence - Documentary
  • Accolade Global Film Competition
    La Jolla
    United States
    August 24, 2021
    Award of Excellence - Christian Film
  • Mindfield Film Festival
    Albuquerque
    United States
    August 26, 2021
    Gold Award Best Documentary
  • Knoxville Film Festival
    Knoxville
    United States
    September 19, 2021
    World Premiere
    1st Place Tennessee Documentary Feature
  • Knoxville Film Festival
    Knoxville
    United States
    September 19, 2021
    World Premiere
    Audience Favorite
  • Knoxville Film Festival
    Knoxville
    United States
    September 19, 2021
    World Premiere
    2nd Place Documentary Feature Film
  • CineMagic Film Fest
    Greer
    United States
    December 30, 2021
    Award Winner
  • Faith Fest
    Huntington
    United States
    November 6, 2021
    The Vanguard Award
  • IndieFest Film Awards
    La Jolla
    United States
    November 2, 2021
    Documentary Feature
  • IndieFest Film Awards
    La Jolla
    United States
    November 2, 2021
    Religion/Ethics
  • Salty Earth Film Festival
    Fort Atkinson
    United States
    November 13, 2021
    Silver Award
  • ICVM Crown Awards
    Orlando
    United States
    November 13, 2021
    Nominee
  • Depth Of Field International Film Festival
    Nassau
    United States
    November 30, 2021
    Excellence
Director Biography - Jeff Joslin

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.

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Director Statement

"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