The public premiere of this film was at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.  Documentary Film .Net’s Bryan Newbury attended the premiere, and you can read his Fall from Grace review here.  The film is continuing on to the film festival circuit with a high profile showing at SXSW in March.

News on the showing at SXSW reported by KC infoZine.

“Fall From Grace,” a film created by University of Kansas senior K. Ryan Jones, has been selected for screening at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas.

The announcement of the premiere of Jones’ documentary about the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka was made Feb. 6 in Austin. The screening times for the film will be announced Feb. 15.

The film festival, which attracts nearly 5,000 people, takes place March 9-17. Included during the festival are screenings, panels, workshops and one-on-one mentoring sessions for new filmmakers. Some of the major guests for the 2007 festival are directors Morgan Spurlock, Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater.

“Fall From Grace” started in fall 2005 as a project for a class taught by Matt Jacobson, associate professor of theatre and film. Jones continued working on the documentary during the spring 2006 semester when he wasn’t in class or working. He credits Jacobson and Kevin Willmott, associate professor of theatre and film, for providing advice and assistance. The original cut, completed in May, won the 2005-06 Tensie Award, given by the Department of Theatre and Film, for Best Of Show. For the next few months, Jones shot additional footage and re-edited the film before it was first shown in November at the Kansas Union.