Beliefnet is proud to recognize the films and filmmakers whose work is of the highest quality while also being imbued with significant spiritual and inspirational themes.

The Panel of Judges

Saul Austerlitz, a writer and film critic living in New York City, is a frequent contributor to Beliefnet. He is the author of "Money for Nothing: A History of the Music Video from the Beatles to the White Stripes."

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat are the directors of the multifaith website SpiritualityandPractice.com, where they have a database of more than 3,500 film reviews as well as discussion guides to movies for small groups and other special features. They are the authors of "Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life," now available on DVD.

Craig Detweiler is a screenwriter, the co-author of "A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture," and directs the Reel Spirituality Institute at Fuller Seminary.

Patton Dodd is Beliefnet’s Christianity Editor and the author of "My Faith So Far: A Story of Conversion and Confusion."

Tim Hayne is an editor at Beliefnet with a degree in film from the University of Michigan and a contributor to Beliefnet's Idol Chatter blog.

Douglas Howe is a writer/speaker and contributor to Beliefnet's Idol Chatter blog, and also the owner of The HOWe Team, which provides leadership development solutions to executives and professionals in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sharon Linnéa writes the Reel Inspirational column, in which she reviews family films for Beliefnet, where she served as the founding Inspiration Producer; she has a background in film history at NYU, and her new thriller, "Chasing Eden" is being released by St. Martin's Press in June. 
 

Frederica Matthewes-Green is a longtime columnist at Beliefnet, a film critic for National Review Online, and author of several books about icons, prayer, and the spiritual disciplines of ancient Eastern Christianity (most recently "First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew.")

Ellen Leventry is a longtime Beliefnet writer/editor and contributor to Idol Chatter.

Nell Minow is Yahoo.com's "Movie Mom."
 

Sister Rose Pacatte, FSP, MEd in Media Studies, is the film/TV columnist for St. Anthony Messenger and has been a member of ecumenical and Catholic juries at Berlin, Venice, and Locarno, as well as the Newport Film Festival (short films).

Gerri Pare headed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Office for Film & Broadcasting, has published more than 2,000 movie reviews, and is currently the film critic for Liguorian magazine.

Kris Rasmussen is a contributor to Beliefnet's Idol Chatter blog and the author of "WonkaMania," and has been a contributing editor to the Christian music magazine CCM and a feature writer for Relevant magazine.

The Process
For each category, we will be naming two winners: The Judges' Award, named by vote of our panelists, and The People's Award, named by vote of the Beliefnet community. 

How the Judges' Award works: For each category, judges cast votes for first, second, and third place. To tally the votes, five points are assigned to first-place votes, three points to second-place votes, and one point for third-place votes. A single winner in each category, the nominee with the highest total points, is then named.