BisonBison Film Festival selects 28 films for this year’s competition

The 2018 BisonBison Film Festival board is excited to announce the films to be screened in this year’s competition.

The mission of the BisonBison Film Festival is to recognize and showcase the work of student filmmakers enrolled in academic programs in the Mid-America region.

All the films will be shown at the historic Poncan Theatre, 104 E. Grand Ave. in Ponca City. Films start at 7 p.m. both Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31.

Tickets are $10 per night or $15 for an All-Access Pass. They may be purchased online at bisonbisonfilmfestival.org or at the door.

A total of 28 short films will be shown over the two nights with the three Awards Of Excellence films presented at the end of the program Saturday night.

The student filmmakers represent accredited colleges, universities or technical schools across six states: Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and Arkansas.

The selected films include:

“Cecilia,” by Jordan Horsch, Hutchison Community College of Kansas

“The Comma,” by Cathryn Cavazos, Sterling University of Kansas

“Man Seeking Woman,” by Anne Mirrop, University of Tulsa

“Damage Over Time,” by Christopher Null, Lindenwood University of Missouri

“Early Birds,” by Jeffrey Mundinger, University of Missouri Kansas City

“Valley Brook: Small Town, Big Change,” by Michael Stamp, Oklahoma City University

“A Month Ago,” by Brenton Griffith, Lindenwood University of Missouri

“1917,” by Joshua Gallas, University of Texas Arlington

“Sophia,” by Jack Inguanti, Texas Christian University

“Work,” by Edward Miller, University of Missouri Kansas City

“More Tomorrow,” by Madi Bready, University of Oklahoma

“After Life,” by Michaela Wadzinski, University of Nebraska Lincoln

“Frame of Mind,” by Alexandria Ferguson, Southeast Missouri University

“The Scourge of Femnismo,” by Ashley Mandanas, University of Oklahoma

“Neighbor,” by Rahul Chakraborty, Oklahoma City Community College

“The Heart of Climbing Episode Three: Perseverance,” by Max Munchinski, University of Oklahoma

“Building the Sky,” by Dylan Olmstead, University of Texas Arlington

“What Do You See,” by Joseph Tesfaye, University of Texas Arlington

“Two Rails From Hell,” by Russell Gummel, Western Missouri State University

“vi.,” by Scout Stanford, University of Oklahoma

“Darkness in the Shadows,” by Nicolas Saenz, University of Texas Arlington

“Johnny & the Apple,” by Jacob Hood, University of Kansas

“Deep Love,” by McKenzey Bell, Hutchison Community College of Kansas

“Arny Young KC Drummer,” by Kyle Womelduff, University of Missouri Kansas City

“Left Field,” by Jon Bass, University of Nebraska Lincoln

“551 and Counting; An Insight Into the Show: One Whirled View,” by Craig Pasquinzo, University of Arkansas

“By Day I Float,” by Elijah Watson, University of Nebraska Lincoln

“on second thought,” by Faun Harjo, University of Oklahoma

“All the films are short films, which are 40 minutes or less. The variety of film genres covers animation, comedies, science fiction, dark dramas, experiemental, historic stories and documentaries. It is simply amazing the creativity, passion and enthusiasm the students put into their films,” said BisonBison Film Festival board member Gayle Williams. “It is so exciting to be a part of this event, meet the student filmmakers and experience their energy.”

In addition to the films each night, the Festival will hold free workshops starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, March, 31, about different aspects of the film industry, at the Phillips 66 Clubhouse, 1500 S. 4th St., Ponca City. Lunch is included.

Ryan Bellgardt will have a workshop on the film distribution system and how he was able to use it for his films. Bellgardt is the President/Creative Director of Boiling Point Media, a production company based out of Oklahoma City. He is an Emmy-winning director with many local television, music video, and corporate video credits, and made his directorial debut in the full-length feature film “Army of Frankensteins.”

The second workshop will be presented by Trish Avery, the SAG-AFTRA DFW Local Executive Director. She represents more than 2,500 professionals in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. She will be discussing the pros and cons of film industry unions.

The third workshop is an open panel discussion with the three jurors about the judging criteria, the critiques, and other festival specifics. The jurors are Shane Konicki of Wichita, Kansas, Chris McIntosh of Oklahoma City, and Suzannah Levett Zody of Nashville, Indiana.

BisonBison Film Festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit event which started in 2013.

Tickets and more information about the Festival can be found at www.BisonBisonFilmFestival.org or BisonBison Film Festival on Facebook. The festival is sponsored in part by the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Oklahoma Office of Film + Music.