Students go to college for one reason alone – to follow some ambition.

Whether this be simply money or a passionate dream, it’s easy to forget amongst our own ideas that those who stand at the front of the classroom are just as ambitious.

Enter Jeff Barrie, an independent filmmaker who has been teaching film production at Lipscomb since 2010. Barrie’s classes are small, and his area of study is very particular. But his work is award-winning, and he has been the main topic at film festivals across the state on more than one occasion.

Every dream has a beginning, and Barrie says his passion stemmed from his first time seeing Star Wars in theaters as a child.

“I was captivated by the images, the effects, the story, the characters, and I was powerfully moved,” Barrie said. ” I wanted to be part of creating those positive feelings for others.  My uncle George noticed my fascination and loaned me the first movie camera he had bought as a teenager in the 1950s. From that moment on, I made one short film after another, year round for the next 10 years.”

But as many independent filmmakers know, the road to success, or failure, is never straight. Barrie’s film school application to UCLA was declined two years in a row during his college years, devastating him and forcing him to choose an alternate major. But, the change led to a new opportunity.

“I graduated with a degree in geography and environmental studies,” Barrie said. “I loved the classes I was taking and made many good friends in the major.  During a study-break conversation with some friends, the ‘A-Ha!’ moment arrived. I could make documentary films about environmental solutions. I felt an exhilarating rush of clarity and purpose.”

Barrie’s first big picture, Kilowatt Ours, became a reality when it released in 2008. Running 56 minutes long, Barrie’s film examines the problems caused by energy production, including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming.

As he journeys towards the environmental answers he seeks, Barrie continually gives feedback to his audience by educating them on how he as one man can make a difference, and in turn, easy ways they can as well.

“I have come to know every failure as an important ingredient in every success, not only making success possible, but making success all the sweeter,” Barrie said.

“When doors have closed, and I felt all hope was lost, even greater doors have opened for me. When I pray to God and things unfold that seem contrary to what I want, I trust God’s wisdom, and the gift in every unfolding.

“Seeming disasters have always become the very things I have asked for. These perspectives that I have gained are inherently reflected in my film projects in every step of the creative process.”

During its release, Kilowatt Ours won the Greenspirit Award from the GreenDance Film Festival, the Katherine Knight Award from Earth Vision Film Festival and the Conservation Educator of the Year award from the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.

But an artist is never satisfied, and Barrie is no exception. He documented a journey he took across the country by bicycle in 2000 and is currently making all the necessary preparations to turn it in to something that reaches just as far as Kilowatt Ours did.

“My aspirations are to have fun making the film, to attract the financing I desire to make this film to my heart’s content and to see that it is a film that people will want to watch over and over again,” Barrie said.

“The purpose of the film is to inspire, and to make the world a better place in many ways, particularly in how we treat our wilderness, the fuels that we use to drive our civilization and in the individual choices we make to follow our dreams.”

The project, known as Pedaling a Dream, has been a three year process for Barrie that he says will likely take another two or three years to finish.

“Some stories need more time to incubate and grow before they are ready to fly,” Barrie said. “So I have adjusted my expectations and continue to live in faith that the extra time it takes to make this film is essential to its ultimate success.”

Barrie is a firm believer that success starts with a strong relationship with God and says he has spent many years learning to understand how God gives and takes away to make our lives beautiful. He is a family man and sees inspiration everywhere he goes.

“I draw inspiration from many sources – movies, friends, life, prayer, my wife, other artists, my children and my own dream of what comes next,” Barrie said.

“When my spirits are low, I derive great support from the words of Jesus in scripture like ‘Have faith in God,’ and ‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’”

Barrie is an old-soul when it comes to filmmaking, and carries with him a heavy wisdom of the art. He believes that not every project that turns out different than envisioned is a failure.

“As storytellers, we strive to transform the vision in our heads into a tangible form that we can share with others,” Barrie said. “We strive to put together stories using visuals and sounds that most accurately represent our vision.

“Sometimes, our productions are just what we envisioned, sometimes better than we imagined, and other times we miss the mark. But it is our job to continue striving to bring our finished products as close to our imagined visions as possible. When we succeed, the audience feels the inspiration, the joy and the love that we are here to express.”

With a head full of dreams and film-knowledge, Barrie was recruited to the Lipscomb faculty in January 2010. The opportunity could not have come at a better time, as he had been busily trying to find some way to sooth the urge to teach and share his work.

“After 17 years of making documentaries, I was feeling a calling to teach documentary filmmaking and storytelling on some level,” Barrie said. “I prayed about it. I daydreamed about it. Then, one day, I received a phone call from Lipscomb University saying they urgently need someone to come in and teach some video and audio production classes in the communications department. I have been here ever since.”

Aspiring filmmakers on campus are not necessarily aware that they have an easy and friendly contact to make within the communications lab in the Ezell Center. But Barrie is serious about the trait and is always willing to share any information he can provide to artists with an itch.

“Create as often as possible,” Barrie said. “Make films for fun, for clients, for friends or for a cause. Get a camera, shoot, edit, and tell the stories.  You will get better at it, and you will find your own style and voice.  Internships are invaluable, even if unpaid. Most importantly, spend time dreaming and praying. This is the foundation of all success.”