ChristianFilmDatabase.com, LLC (CFDb) is an

online database An online database is a database accessible from a local network or the Internet, as opposed to one that is stored locally on an individual computer or its attached storage (such as a CD). Online databases are hosted on websites, made available as s ...

Christian films The Christian film industry is an aspect of Christian media for films containing a Christian-themed message or moral. They are often interdenominational films, but can also be films targeting a specific denomination of Christianity. Criteria P ...

and their associated information. It was designed to be a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

version of the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

History of the CFDb website

CFDb was founded in 2008 by Roger Rudlaff who had previously created "The Wayhouse Christian Film Library", a library that lent Christian movies to the public. He and his wife Annelie Rudlaff started "The Wayhouse

Film Library" in 2001 by loaning out

books and VHS movies in

Buena Vista, Colorado The Town of Buena Vista (BEW-na Vista) is a Statutory Town located in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 2,855 at the 2020 United States Census. History The Arkansas River Valley and the area of what would become ...

out of their home and showing a few films to the public in their town's

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

building. They later moved to

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

, where they re-opened in 2006. While the Rudlaffs were running this lending library, Roger Rudlaff had difficulty finding certain Christian films, because the different films he searched for were scattered on many different websites. He started a specialist Christian films website called CFDb, after doing some research on

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...

. He was unable to claim the title of CMDb, because that

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. ...

was taken by another

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aro ...

website. He registered the CFDb domain name in 2008 and on Feb. 25 2011, the company became a LLC. The database includes information on the films such as release date, running time, MPAA rating, formats,

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, film score composer,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the c ...

, language and subtitles, film production company,

film distribution company A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company may be the same with, or different from, the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film. The distributor may set the re ...

, cast,

film trailer A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and techni ...

, film website,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

page,

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

page,

movie reviews Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outle ...

, contact info, and synopsis. In March 2012 the company made informal agreements with "Cruciflicks" and with "Indy Christian Review" for sharing Christian

movie review Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outle ...

content. In May 2012, CFDb signed an exclusive deal with Christian Book Distributors to sell the films listed on CFDb via Christian Book Distributors' website. On March 13, 2013 CFDb and the

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance. In 2015, over was rais ...

website FaithLauncher announced a strategic alliance. As of March 2021 the site is undergoing major renovations and is currently down.

Criteria for inclusion

According to their website, the CFDb states that they are a

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

list of what they call "Christian films" and that "We list all films with a Christian message, it does not matter who makes it." The CFDb states that two of their criteria for being a Christian film are: 1. "The film must show a need for

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, or the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts ...

in some way." 2. "The film is marketed to the Christian Community, therefore Christians will be searching for it on the database."

Number of films

On January 1, 2010, there were approximately 1,250 films listed on CFDb, with more added weekly. Rudlaff said, "I list films in many formats, like

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ed ...

, VHS,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

, and now

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

and (VOD)

Video on Demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

" As of January 2013, CFDb had over 1600 films listed, some of which have multiple film titles listed on one page as a series: these are counted as a single film.

Rankings (CFDb's top 100)

In December 2012, the CFDb released its list of the top 100 Christian films for 2012.

Top 30 of 100 films

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.christianfilmdatabase.com/ Film review websites Internet properties established in 2008 Online film databases Religion databases Canadian film websites