Dallas’ film festival community did something never before seen anywhere else in the country when 22 film festivals joined forces last weekend to offer up films from each film festival that either were award-winners, major hits from a previous edition of their fest, or simply demonstrated the programming style and taste of the film festival.
On Friday, January 11th, representatives from many of those film festivals, their filmmakers and special guests walked the red carpet at the Alamo Drafthouse – Cedars in Downtown Dallas.
Susan Davis and Rana Elmalky of the Thin Line Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Rana Elmalky, Susan Davis (Thin Line FF) being interviewed (Photo by Chris Gardner)
David Blue Garcia, Director of TEJANO (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
David Blue Garcia (Director) of TEJANO and James Faust of the Dallas International Film Festival (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
David Blue Garcia (TEJANO) being interviewed by B.A.M Radio’s Ali Carter. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
David Blue Garcia (TEJANO) up close and through the viewfinder. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Rob Smat (THE LAST WHISTLE) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Rob Smat, Director of THE LAST WHISTLE (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Ray Hosack (Cast) and Aaron Martin (Cast) of THE LAST WHISTLE (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Becky Nichcke, Celena Rae (THE LAST WHISTLE) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Becky Nitchcke (Cast) and Celena Rae (Cast) of THE LAST WHISTLE (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
THE LAST WHISTLE crew: Becky Nitchcke (Cast), Ray Hosack (Cast), Rob Smat (Director), Kate McBride (PA), Aaron Martin (Cast), and Celena Rae (Cast). (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Kate McBride and Rob Smat (THE LAST WHISTLE) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Rachelle Weiss Crane of the Dallas Jewish Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Rachelle Weiss Crane (Dallas Jewish FF) being interviewed by Marcus Blake of That Nerd Show. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Preparing for takeoff: Coaxing Bart Weiss (Dallas Video Fest) to strip for the camera. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Mark Birnbaum(Co-Director) of THE BIG BUY: TOM DELAY’S STOLEN CONGRESS and Bart Weiss of Dallas Video Fest (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Mark Birnbaum (THE BIG BUY: TOM DELAY’S STOLEN CONGRESS) and Bart Weiss (Dallas Video Fest) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Former Navy Seals mean business on the red carpet: Ryan ‘Birdman’ Parrott of Sons of the Flag Film Festival and Brendan ‘Weimy’ Weimholt (Cast) of ACT OF VALOR (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Brendan Weinholt (ACT OF VALOR), Sherry Atkins Whidby, and Ryan Parrott (Sons of the Flag FF) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Ryan ‘Birdman’ Parrott and Sherry Atkins Whidby of the Sons of the Flag Film Festival and Brendan ‘Weimy’ Weimholt (Cast) of ACT OF VALOR (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Curtis Smith (Q Cinema’s Board President) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Curtis Smith of Q Cinema (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Check that pose: Jeffrey Brown of Czech That Film (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Jitin Hingorani of the South Asian Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
A red carpet with a lot going on: Jeffrey Brown of Czech That Film talks to Gadi Elkon of Selig Film News on the Best of Fests red carpet. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Niloo Jalivand of Flicks by Chicks and the Pegasus Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Niloo Jalivand of Flicks by Chicks and Pegasus Film Festival (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Lizette Barrera (Director) of MOSCA (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
The student becomes the teacher: Filmmaker and instructor Lizette Barrera (MOSCA), poses with her former instructor, Bart Weiss (Dallas Video Fest) (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Lizette Barrera (MOSCA), Jitin Hingorani (South Asian FF) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Niloo Jalivand (The Pegasus FF) and Bart Weiss (Dallas Video Fest) being interviewed. (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Michael Cain of EarthXFilm with Melina McKinnon manage to get their daughters to both look at the same camera at the same time. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Michael Cain (EarthxFilm) being interviewed by Selig Polyscope’s Gadi Elkon. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Mark Birnbaum (THE BIG BUY: TOM DELAY’S STOLEN CONGRESS) being interviewed. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Because running a red carpet is hilarious: Skye Borgman (ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Skye Borgman (Director) of ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Skye Borgman (Director) of ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
David Gibson and Tommy Schubert of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Justina Walford (WTxFF), Skye Borgman (ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
The love fest between a filmmaker and the film festival programmer who waved the banner for her film: Justina Walford (WTxFF), Skye Borgman (ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT) (Photo by Bob Manzano)
Justina Walford of Women Texas Film Festival talks to Skye Borgman (Director of ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT) about the spoilers she can hardly keep to herself before the film can be seen on Netflix. (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
David Gibson (Asian FF of Dallas), Justina Walford (WTxFF), Skye Borgman (ABDUCTED N PLAIN SIGHT) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
The fashion plates: Grace Topete and Alex Garcia Topete of Festival de Cine Latino Americano(Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Seriously, these two need to dial the style back a notch before we all get a complex: Grace Topete and Alex Garcia Topete of Festival de Cine Latino Americano (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Alex Garcia Topete (FDCLA), Thomas Schubert, David Gibson (Asian FF of Dallas) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Harry Eaddy and Linda Eaddy of the Denton Black Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
“How you doin’?” Harry & Linda Eaddy (Denton Black FF) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Globetrotting, filmmaking dynamo, Liz Cardenas (IMAGO) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Liz Cardenas (Director) of IMAGO (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Tosha Riddle-May (Mom AND Crew Member), Annie Sheeder (Crew), Alexa May (Director), Caroline Subbiah (Cast), and Ileana Kesselman (Cast) of PHONIES (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Skye Borgman uses Liz Cardenas to point out how it’s done to student filmmaker Alexa Ray. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Alexa Ray (PHONIES) being interviewed by Hollywood Hernandez. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Ashton Campbell and Amanda Presmyk of the Oak Cliff Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Shannon Thomas and Samuel Thomas of the Deep in the Heart Film Festival (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Samuel and Shannon Thomas (Deep in the Heart FF) being interviewed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Deb Diercks MD MSc (Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern) was on hand for the Q&A following EarthxFilm’s screening of THE HUMAN ELEMENT. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Emily Hargrove of Best of Fests and EarthXFilm and Deb Diercks MD MSc (Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at UT Southwestern) (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Ben Jones (McKinney Fire Captain), also participating in the Q&A after THE HUMAN ELEMENT screening, and Michael Cain of EarthxFilm (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
Harry Eaddy and Linda Eaddy of the Denton Black Film Festival talk to Gadi Elkon of Selig Film News on the Best of Fests red carpet. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Bill Hass (Fort Worth Independent Film Showcase) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Bill Hass of the Fort Worth Independent Film Showcase (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Bill Hass of Fort Worth Independent Film Showcase talks to Gadi Elkon of Selig Film News on the Best of Fests red carpet. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Pointing the way: Skye Borgman (ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT), Alexa Ray (PHONIES) being photographed. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Skye Borgman (Director, ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT) and Alexa Ray (Director, PHONIES) (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Lizette Barrera, Director of MOSCA (for which she won the WTxFF “Filmmaker to Watch” Award in 2016) and Justina Walford of the Women Texas Film Festival (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
The braintrust: Melinda Guravich (Women Texas Film Festival), Justina Walford (Women Texas Film Festival), Skye Borgman (Director, ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT), and Kim Cousin (Women Texas Film Festival) (Photo by Steve Duffy/Selig Polyscope)
B.A.M.!: Skye Borgman (ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT, Justina Walford, Kim Cousin, Melinda Guravich (WTxFF) being interviewed by B.A.M. Radio’s Ali Carter. (Photo by Chris Gardner)
Representatives for the 22 film festivals that took part in the 2019 Best of Fests. (Photo by John Strange/Selig Polyscope)
Dallas’s Best of Fests Celebrated its Historic Film Festival Event with one of the most fun Red Carpets on Record
