2019 BisonBison Film Festival announces films for competition

Beverly Bryant - March 22, 2019 3:50 pm

The 2019 BisonBison Film Festival: A Student Competition announces the films accepted into this year’s festival.

A large variety of student films from six states were submitted, representing 14 different colleges. BBFF accepts short films (40 minutes or less in total length) and all genres.

From the accepted films, three Awards of Excellence will be decided and given out at the end of the Festival. The dates for BBFF are Friday and Saturday April 5 and 6, 2019. All the selected films will be shown both of the evenings starting at 7 p.m.

The Festival Board partners with Ponca City Development Authority as the inaugural event for the new City Central building, 400 East Central in downtown Ponca City. The films will be shown in the new auditorium, and all free workshops will take place in the Gravity Room of City Central.

Here are the films accepted into the 2019 BBFF:

“A Very Unmerry Early November” by Danielle Trausch, University of Nebraska Lincoln
“Tell My Family I Love Them” by Erik Harken, University of Kansas
“DEFACEMENT” by Maura Conry, Johnson Co. Community College (Kansas)
“Not Alone in This” by Micah P. Watney, Sterling College (Kansas)
“The Passenger” by Nathan Light, Wichita State University
“Two Houses” by Jasmine Jones, Southeast Missouri University
“Kostym” by Jeffrey Mundinger, University of Missouri Kansas City
“The Book” by Kyle Womelduff, University of Missouri Kansas City
“The Scotsman” by Russell Gummelt, Missouri Western State University
“A Shelter First” by Bryan Pollard, University of Arkansas
“Out of the Woods” by Andrew Epperson, University of Arkansas
“Homeless in Boomtown” by Denzel Jenkins, University of Arkansas
“Mono Color” by Ross DeFehr, University of Oklahoma
“The Case of the Stuffing Slasher” by Anna Frieden, University of Oklahoma
“Self Portrait” by Faun Harjo, University of Oklahoma
“Mr. Sandman” by Ian Rogers, Northern Oklahoma College
“Chicago Lady” by Joshua Gallas, University of Texas Arlington
“Take Care” by Joseph Tesfaye, University of Texas Arlington
“Mom” by Hien Dinh, University of Texas Arlington
“Hugo’s Plane” by Jo-X Cruz, University of Texas Arlington

The film genres range from comedy to social commentary, biographical, artistic impressionism, documentary, thriller and sci-fi.

All workshops are on Saturday, April 6, starting at 10 a.m. and are free and open to the public, with the support of the Ponca City Arts and Humanities Council.

Starting at 10 a.m. is “DON’T KILL YOUR ACTORS” with Darryl Cox, a discussion of professional weapons handling and proper safety conditions for actors and crew on film sets. Cox is a professional film/TV actor/stunt coordinator for more than 35 years, and has worked with such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Wes Anderson, Clint Eastwood, Terrence Malick, Oliver Stone, Bille August, and Paul Dano. Cox teaches “Acting for the Camera” in Los Angeles, Dallas, and at the University of Oklahoma. He is a former officer in the U.S. Navy, serving on the destroyer U.S.S. Forrest Sherman and now resides in Norman, Oklahoma.

The second workshop at 11 a.m. is “TELLING THE TRUTH, OR ARE WE?: A Deeper Look Into Documentary Film” with Craig Pasquinzo, illustrating the different types of documentary, dive into how they go about delivering “real life narratives,” how to choose the story, and the process of creating a documentary, start to finish. Pasquinzo is a highly accomplished leader with experience in documentaries and academia. He has more than 10 years of experience in television, film, live events, development of international production, editing and screenwriting. Now on the faculty of the University of Arkansas, Pasquinzo instructs students in the creation of documentary short films, including script writing, videography and editing.

The final workshop starts at 1 p.m. and is “Jurors – Who are they and what do they want?: Open Panel Discussion With the 2019 BisonBison Jurors” with Sharon Garrison, Chris Oz McIntosh, and Christopher Sneed. They will discuss the judging process and the film industry, along with their personal experiences.

Sharon Garrison is an actor, acting coach, director and producer based in Dallas. She holds a BFA in Theatre/TV and a MS in Media Studies from Texas Christian University. She has served on the Dallas-Fort Worth SAG-AFTRA Local board for many years and chairs the ProACT Conservatory committee, developing training programs for professional actors throughout Texas. She also stays active in Dallas Producers Association and Women in Film Dallas, serving on the WIFD Grants and Scholarships committee which offers grants and scholarships to high school and college women filmmakers. Garrison and her husband, Bill Mervis, have a production company, Velvet Ribbon Entertainment.

Chris Oz McIntosh is an award-winning filmmaker and a 2016 BisonBison Film Festival Award of Excellence winner. McIntosh is directing his latest short film, “Never Too Late.” He is the Program Director of the Young Performer Academy at The Actor Factory, where he also teaches filmmaking at summer film camps, and has created and cut more than 500 custom demo scenes for actors of all ages. He holds a BA in Broadcast & Electronic Media from the University of Oklahoma.

Christopher Sneed has spent 10 years writing, directing, and editing movies under Burning Clown Productions and devoted an additional five years to television broadcasting. He is the director of the FLY Film Festival in Enid, OK, and is the Program Manager of Pegasys, Inc. where he has created and directed more than 300 promotional videos/graphics for non-profits, and manages the daily schedule for television broadcasts.

All Access Passes are available from the “Buy Tickets” section of BisonBisonFilmFestival.org and are $15 for both evenings.

Passes for either Friday or Saturday evening are $10 each. Any college student with a valid Student ID is eligible for one free All Access Pass.

The BisonBison Film Festival: A Student Competition (BBFF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit with the mission to recognize and showcase the work of student filmmakers enrolled in accredited academic programs in the Mid-America region – Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. For more information go to BisonBisonFilmFestival.org or email [email protected].