'Case for Christ' wins Best Picture at Christian visual media awards

"The Case for Christ" - the 2017 film about Arlington Heights native and former Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune journalist Lee Strobel - has won Best Picture at the International Christian Visual Media Gold Crown Awards.

The film, which grossed nearly $15 million at the box office, tells of the one-time atheist's effort to use his investigative skills to disprove Christianity only to become convinced of its truth.

"The Case for Christ" was adapted from Strobel's book of the same name that has sold more than 5 million copies.

The Gold Crown Awards recognize excellence in faith films and are run by International Christian Visual Media, the association for Christian film and television.

Focusing on the theme of "Difference," the July 11-14 conference brought top Christian media professionals in communications and the arts to Nashville for four days of networking, training, mutual encouragement and fellowship. The annual conference attracts producers, writers, actors, marketers, social media experts and distributors of Christian and family content for film and television.

This year's awards in drew nearly 70 entries in a wide variety of film, video and television formats.