Talent Transplant: Jason Campbell

By Maggie Hatfield

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In celebration of those who have adopted our Mountain Mama as their own, “Talent Transplant” recognizes the Mountaineers who were born elsewhere but relocated here, embraced our beloved state and now help us work toward a brighter future.

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Even though Jason Campbell, president of JCFilms, ended up in West Virginia by chance, he has made it his mission to change the negative narrative in the Mountain State.

Campbell found himself in the hills of West Virginia for the first time in 2013 while doing a tour for a film he produced with actor Erik Estrada. The beauty of the state and the kindness of the people had a lasting impact on Campbell, and he decided to put down roots in Morgantown. Campbell is known for tackling social issues like bullying and the opioid crisis through his films, and when he moved to the Mountain State, the mission of JCFilms expanded to include helping eliminate the unwarranted stereotypes that plague his new home state.

Captivated by West Virginia

Campbell made his first family-friendly and faith-based film, “Finding Faith,” with Estrada. Based on a true story with the West Virginia State Police at its center, the film warns parents about the dangers of the internet. Filming took place in Lynchburg, VA, Campbell’s hometown, but featured police officers and police cruisers from West Virginia.

The film was a success. Given Estrada’s passion for educating teens and parents about internet safety, he and Campbell decided to do a film tour. The duo took the film from town to town and church to church all over America, educating communities on the real dangers of the web.

“Erik and I traveled to more than 200 churches around the country showing ‘Finding Faith,’” says Campbell.

In March 2013, the pair ended up in West Virginia, and it was then that Campbell fell in love with the Mountain State.

“Here, I found people who really care about family and community and are genuine—not to mention the pride the people here have, which is so captivating,” he says. “You just can’t find the sincerity, enthusiasm and pride of the people of West Virginia anywhere else. The first time I visited here, that feeling became contagious. I knew I not only wanted a family here, but I also wanted to share those attributes in my films.”

Changing the Culture

Initially, “Finding Faith” was to be the only film Campbell would write and produce, but the more of the U.S. he saw, the more he was inclined to help with social issues.

“As we traveled with the film around the nation, more film opportunities came up,” he says. “After we would do a screening, people would come up to me and start telling me their stories—inspirational stories, tragic stories, purpose stories and stories that fueled change.”

From those personal experiences came the mission of JCFilms: to change the culture through film. Through the 20 films the company has since produced, it has addressed issues like freedom of religion, law enforcement appreciation, prison ministry, foreign missionary work and unexpected kindness. While most of Campbell’s films go directly to Walmart and Video On Demand, he has had two feature films receive limited theater releases: “Finding Faith” and “Virtuous.”

“Each of our films is designed to challenge the audience,” he says. “It must answer the question ‘How can this film make a difference to someone who watches it?’ That is a very important part of our ministry—connecting people of faith with our films in an attempt to change the culture.”

Highlighting the Mountain State

Of his 20 films, 12 have been shot partially or entirely in West Virginia.

“We shoot in West Virginia for three reasons,” says Campbell. “First, the available resources provided in West Virginia for filmmaking are amazing, from the kindness of each community to the available locations to the awe and spectacular beauty of the state. Second, the Mountain State is not only loaded with amazing and talented actors and actresses but also qualified and creative filmmakers. Lastly, my family and I live in Morgantown.”

Through his films, Campbell aspires to bring more people to West Virginia and hopes they appreciate the state as much as he does. His efforts are paying off. Last year, while shooting a Dean Cain film in Bridgeport, a law enforcement organization from Florida with whom he would be working on a future project traveled to the Mountain State to meet Cain and observe the filmmaking process.

“We were scheduled to shoot their film on the dangers of texting and driving in Florida in the spring of 2020,” says Campbell. “After visiting the set, meeting the people here and spending four days in West Virginia, they insisted on changing the shooting location to here.”

Bringing people to West Virginia to experience the unique culture and meet the friendly people is just one way Campbell is changing the narrative for the state. By using West Virginia as the film location, he is helping expose the state’s beauty to people around the world. “Megan’s Christmas Miracle,” a Christmas movie, was shot in Beckley and Bridgeport, and to date more than 1 million people have watched the film.

“We highlight West Virginia in all our films if the story allows,” he says. “In addition, each of our films are represented internationally and are each translated into multiple languages, which provides enormous exposure to West Virginia.”

Creating Opportunities for Youth

When JCFilms shoots in West Virginia, the company wants to create more opportunities for young people to get involved in the industry. “Teens who are interested in filmmaking may never make it out to Hollywood, but they can get engaged in what we are doing,” says Campbell.

When making a film, JCFilms usually has more than 100 people involved.

“One thing I love about the process of filmmaking in West Virginia is the participation of the people here,” he says. “Making an opportunity for people to get involved in a feature film is part of our mission.”

This past summer, JCFilms shot “The Zombie Club,” an anti-bullying film for teenagers, with Cain, and there were more than 200 teens from all over the state of West Virginia who were involved in the process. The film is now part of an anti-bullying program through which the movie has been shown in more than 30 schools around the country.

“Bullying is a huge problem, and this film is just one example of how we are involving teens and challenging them to make a difference,” says Campbell.

The Future of Film

Looking to the future, Campbell is aiming to create more chances for aspiring filmmakers in the Mountain State to exhibit their talents.

“We need to encourage more filmmaking opportunities here,” he says. “No matter what the production budget is, we need to encourage more filmmaking, more theater and more music opportunities for our young people.”

Campbell also has a dream to make West Virginia the go-to location for filming faith and family films over the next few years. “To me, nothing echoes faith and family more than the many communities represented here in the Mountain State,” he says.

In 2020, he plans to produce six new films in his adopted state.

“Unfortunately, the majority of feature films produced in West Virginia are negative,” he says. “The Mountain State is home for me and it’s where I’m raising a family, so you can bet I am going to do everything I can to rewrite the narrative and eliminate unwarranted stereo­types about this state. One way I can do that is by making more uplifting, positive and inspiring films depicting the beauty and goodness of West Virginia.”