Bison Bison Film Festival winners named

Winners Cassie Schirm and Nathan Manning

The 2017 BisonBison Film Festival concluded April 8 at the Poncan Theatre with the presentation of the three Awards of Excellence, each with a $1,000 cash award for the winning filmmakers. The Awards of Excellence were presented to:

• Nathan Manning for his comedy “Starch.” The film follows a typical work day for neat, organized Private Starch – follow directions, keep things clean – however, not every day can be that simple. From Springfield, Mo., Nathan is an aspiring filmmaker from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His hopes are to work as an Assistant Director in the film industry.
• Cassie Schirm for her documentary “Voice of the Razorbacks.” It is about Chuck Barrett, the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the University of Arkansas football and basketball programs. The audience learns what it takes to be “The Voice.” Cassie attended the University of Arkansas as a journalism student. She has recently graduated and is now working for an ABC affiliate in Montana.
• Savannah Rodgers for her drama “Sketches.” The film follows two women falling deeply in love, and the struggle with domesticity and their opposite personalities. Savannah is a director, writer, and producer and attends the University of Kansas. She creates short films, web series, and is currently developing her first feature film.

Both Manning and Schirm attended the film festival and received their awards of $1,000 each. Chuck Barrett, the subject of Schirm’s film also made a special trip from Florida to attend the screening with Schirm. Rodgers sent her regrets and will be sent her award.

A total of 43 entries were received for the BisonBison Film Festival with 22 accepted. There were films from all six of the states which are eligible. Eleven of the films were shown on April 7 and the remaining 11 on April 8, in the historic Poncan Theatre in downtown Ponca City.

In addition to the screenings each night, the festival included workshops on the morning of April 8, which were free to the public. Clifton Raphael, nationally known film educator and screenwriter, presented an intensive two-hour workshop on Screenwriting, exploring plot points and log lines. This was followed by an open panel discussion with all three BBFF jurors; Raphael, Brian Hearn – an award-winning curator, arts writer, and consultant active in both film and visual arts, and Lisa Marie Evans – a documentary filmmaker and public art installer. Members of the panel answered questions about careers in the film industry, editing films, submitting to festivals and judging criteria.

The workshops were followed by two fun events for the filmmakers; a Video Scavenger Hunt which included Ponca City attractions, and a film trivia contest. The events were designed to facilitate networking and cooperation between the filmmakers, as well as introduce them to Ponca City’s history. Winners of the video scavenger hunt were rewarded for their efforts with lunch at Ground Round.

Student photographer Piper Reese, of Fairfax, was the official photographer for this year’s festival.

More than 200 people attended the entire festival, which would not have occurred without the support of local sponsors and the support of the Ponca City Arts and Humanities Council, Ponca City Tourism, the Oklahoma Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Oklahoma Office of Film and Music:

Local sponsors included:

• Albright Insurance
• Alliance Health Ponca City
• Ann Bandy State Farm
• Eastman National Bank
• Evans and Associates
• Fence Restoration
• Graf-X-tina Graphic Services
• Heather Cannon Honda
• Jack Bowker Ford
• MaryBeth Moore, Realtor
• Phillips 66
• Ponca City Energy
• Quality Water
• Tyndall Family Dentistry
• University Center

The BisonBison Film Festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the mission to recognize, promote and showcase the work of emerging filmmakers enrolled in colleges, universities and trade schools in mid-America: Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and Arkansas.

More information can be found at: BisonBisonFilmFestival.org or BisonBison Film Festival on Facebook.