Movies filmed in and around Amarillo include the Paul Newman classic Hud and the beloved Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. But as this past weekend at the Amarillo International Film Festival proved, the region also boasts a rising modern film scene driven by scrappy, lovingly made indies.
The festival was led by Sherman Bass, film commissioner at the Amarillo Convention & Visitors Bureau, who presided over an impressive range of films ranging from the heartfelt to the avant garde, reflecting the richness of cinema in the Texas Panhandle. Amarillo’s devoted film culture include the Amarillo Film Society, its offshoot the Amarillo Film Club, and the filmmakers’ collective CORE.
The relatively new festival stood out for its popularity with young and old alike — a gap many more established festivals struggle to cross.
Almost all of the three-day festival took place at the enviable Arts in the Sunset, part of a former shopping mall converted into a museum and maker space for artists, which includes lovely screening facilities and wide open spaces for exploring adventurous art. It’s also conveniently close to historic Sixth Street, a stretch of Route 66 with antique shops, restaurants and cafes aplenty. The spirit of creativity runs so strong at Arts in the Sunset that the festival’s glass-blown awards were made by Blind Bird Designs, one of the artisans based out of the space.
One of the festival’s main sponsors is the Tecovas Foundation, a philanthropic organization known for its commitment to promoting the arts, education, and more. It pledged its commitment to the festival with the first annual Tecovas Foundation Lighthouse Award. The award shares its name with the Lighthouse, a stunning 310-foot tall hoodoo located within Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo — one of the locations of The Last Crusade. The festival repaid the honor by giving the inaugural award to the foundation.
Amarillo International Film Festival Award Winners
The biggest winner at Saturday’s award ceremony was “There Is a Table,” starring and written and directed by Amarillo local Mallory Maybin. It’s a semi-autobiographical story that chronicles a young woman’s efforts to maintain the strong bond she’s shared with her brother, through their parents’ divorce and remarriages, and their own travels far from home. It won the $1,000 Greater Amarillo Filmmaker Award, the Audience Choice Award for Narrative Short, and the $500 Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health Award.
The latter award, from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, is named for the former first lady and recognizes “the film that best inspires women and girls to see themselves as smart, viable and powerful people, motivating them to take control of their lives and health.”
Another multiple winner was Paul Vo Le’s “Broken Rice,” about an Isolated and homesick international student who pitches a college project based on her mom’s broken rice stall back in Vietnam. It won the Audience Award and the $500 Jury Award for Best Student Short.
The Audience Choice for Narrative Feature went to Mark Beal’s astonishing and boldly unique horror film Marginalia, which draws from influences ranging from medieval texts to Hieronymous Bosch to Suspiria.
The Audience Award for Documentary Feature went to Ryan Hope Travis and Munjal Yagnik for Land in Freedom, which examines land, legacy, and continuity among Black farmers in the South. The film follows six farmers and two USDA field directors across Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
The Audience Choice Award for Documentary Short went to “Wonderful World With Clint Townsend,” by Michael Dean Marbach. The film is the story of Townsend, who was diagnosed with ALS 20 years ago and has since authored four books and sought many adventures. His latest is recording his version of the standard “What a Wonderful World” with the touring cast of The Great Gatsby musical.
The $2,500 Narrative Feature award went to Jim Menza’s EnAbeling Cain, in which three brothers fight over an inheritance.
The $2,500 award for Documentary Feature went to The Forge of Friendship, which chronicles the surprising four-decade friendship of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.
The $1,000 Jury Award for Best Documentary Short went to Drew Koch’s “Love You Well,” a story of a man surviving abuse, and the journey he went on to connect with his father.
The $1,000 Jury Award for Narrative Short went to Mireille Menard’s “Dying in Sugar/ Mourir dans l’sucre,” a story of two sisters who try to escape the monsters in their village by seeking out a new home beneath a weeping willow.
The $500 Jury Award for Best Animated Short went to Danny Bourke’s”Sunspark,” a story of a a robot scavenger who unexpectedly finds the broken body of another robot while looking for spare parts.
The jury’s $500 Rt. 66/Road Trippin’ Award went, appropriately enough, to “Rt. 66,” an unconventional road movie by Charles Lay that combines dialogue and images he collected on a road trip along the famous Route 66, which is celebrating its centennial this year. Lay says Amarillo is one of his favorite locations along the famed highway.
You can read more about the Amarillo International Film Festival here and read more of our festival coverage here.
Main image: Amarillo International Film Festival winner “There Is a Table,” courtesy of the filmmaker.
