The Billy the Kid Film Festival 2024 wraps, Pablo Federico Schmitt ’s The One That Got Away Takes Top Honors, corrals awards for its filmmakers
The Billy the Kid Film Festival 2024 wraps, Pablo Federico Schmitt ’s The One That Got Away Takes Top Honors, corrals awards for its filmmakers
The Billy the Kid Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners for the sixth edition of the film festival at the film festival’s traditionally eventful Closing Night Party held in Hico Hall.
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Top jury awards went to Pablo Federico Schmitt’s The One That Got Away (Best Narrative Feature), Quin Matthews’ City of Hate: Dallas and the Assassination, 60 Years Later (Best Documentary), and Bill Foster’s Showdown on the Brazos (Best Texas Film). Will Fitzpatrick’s The Roping Fools took the People’s Choice Award for Best Feature.
BTKFF’s Legacy Awards went to Chris Hanna’s On the Edge of Freedom (Billy the Kid Award), Johnathan Paul and Josh Gilbert’s Harsh Treatment (Barry Corbin Award), Joseph Stevens’ The Sachel (Pine Moore Studios Award), and Troy Paff’s Texas Music Revolution won the Hico Hall Award. The Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award went to Brian Russell’s SilverSizzle, and The Ruth Buzzi Music Award went to Tommy Simms and Joe Ludwig’s Top Secret Jazz.
Billy the Kid Film Festival 2024 Festival Director Luci DiGiorgio
Festival Director Luci DiGiorgio said, “In our sixth edition, the Billy the Kid Film Festival struck a wonderful balance between the locally shot and produced films we strive to celebrate, as well as some wonderful films made here and elsewhere that exemplify the BTKFF outlaw spirit. Our legacy awards, including the Pine Moore Studios Award, which comes with a free day’s film shoot at their legendary Western Town location, and the Barry Corbin and Ruth Buzzi Awards, further highlights a nod to the influential talent that sets the tone for our filmmakers and reminds us how far and wide the film community stretches here in Texas.”
Once again, BTKFF presented a series of one-of-a-kind ceramic “ballistic art” sculpture by Scott Carlson Pottery to winning films. As humorously mentioned during the presentations, the Billy the Kid Film Festival is the only one in the world where the filmmaker’s award is blasted by a shotgun before it is presented during the ceremony.
Two-time winners were Jakob Lancaster’s The Last Cowboy in Sanford, which won both the Jury prize for Best Foreign Film, and the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film, and Jay Haru Potaraju’s The Fork nabbed the Jury Prize and the Audience Choice Award for Best Student/High School Film.
Additional jury awards among the features went to Vic Quinton and Cynthia Garcia Kielia (Most Inspirational Film), Jason Vandygriff’s Blood Dried Hands (Best Horror Film). Jury winners in the short film categories included Danny Pineros’ Bisected (Best Narrative Short Film), Will Darbyshire’s Cycles (Best Comedy Short Film), Preston Walden’s The Hanging of William Crane (Best Outlaw Short Film), Robert Cantu’s False and Baseless (Best Texas Short Film), Anthony Parisi’s Ambush at St. Mary’s (Best Western Short Film), Smitch Sifuentes’ Lithium (Best Animation Short Film), Robin Scovill’s The Deep Rolling: Magma (Best Music Video), and Joshua Collins’ Nobody’s Perfect (Best Student Short Film). Additional Audience Choice Awards went to Austin Ford Franklin Culp’s Titty Boy (Best Local Film), and Michael Scott Payton’s Every Heart Breaks the Same (Best Music Video).
BTKFF kicked things off with the film festival’s traditional screening under the stars, which included an encore screening of Lisa Belcher’s award-winning Javelina Run, which featured this year’s BTKFF Lifetime Achievement honoree Wally Welch, and Chris Hanna’s locally filmed On the Edge of Freedom. Several filmmakers made the trip to Hico to participate in post screening Q&A’s, including near full house screenings of Bill Wallace’s Showdown on the Brazos, and Will Fitzpatrick’s The Roping Fools.
This year’s Filmmaker Awards Party was once again highlighted by the celebration of Pine Moore Studios, the popular western movie set and stages in Blanco, Texas with Dennis and Amanda Moore on hand, as well as Ruth Buzzi’s husband, Kent Perkins, who was on hand to present the awards in her name and pass along Buzzi’s well wishes. Lifetime Achievement honoree Wally Welch was also present to once again receive the appreciation of the attendees for his career as one of the top character actors working in western today.
(L to R) Back Row: Bart Weiss (CITY OF HATE), Vic Quinton (KIELIA), Pablo Federico Schmitt
(THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY), Robert Cantu, Elizabeth Cantu (FALSE AND BASELESS),
Jay Potaraju (THE FORK), Chris Hanna (ON THE EDGE OF FREEDOM), Bill Foster (SHOWDOWN
ON THE BRAZOS) (L to R) Front Row: Michael Payton (EVERY HEART BREAKS THE SAME, LITHIUM), Rebekah Louisa Smith (BISECTED, CYCLES), Nina Hedberg (ON THE EDGE OF FREEDOM)
The 2024 Billy the Kid Film Festival Filmmaker Award winners:
BTKFF LEGACY AWARDS
Billy the Kid FF Lifetime Achievement Honoree
Wally Welch
Billy the Kid Award
On the Edge of Freedom
Director: Chris Hanna
Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award
SilverSizzle
Director: Brian Russell
Ruth Buzzi Music Award
Top Secret Jazz
Directors: Tommy Simms, Joe Ludwig
Barry Corbin Award
Harsh Treatment
Directors: Johnathan Paul, Josh Gilbert
Pine Moore Studios Award (filmed with 150 miles of Hico, TX)
The Satchel
Director: Joseph Stevens
Hico Hall Award
Texas Music Revolution
Director: Troy Paff
BTKFF JURY AWARDS
Best Narrative Feature Film
The One That Got Away
Director: Pablo Federico Schmitt
Best Documentary Feature Film
City Of Hate: Dallas And The Assassination, 60 Years Later
Director: Quin Mathews
Best Texas Feature Film
Showdown on the Brazos
Director: Bill Foster
Best Foreign Film
The Last Cowboy in Salford
Director: Jakob Lancaster
Most Inspirational Film
Kielia
Directors: Vic Quinton, Cynthia Garcia
Best Horror Film
Blood Dried Hands
Director: Jason Vandygriff
Best Narrative Short Film
Bisected
Director: Danny Pineros
Best Comedy Short Film
Cycles
Director: Will Darbyshire
Best Outlaw Short Film
The Hanging of William Crane
Director: Preston Walden
Best Texas Short Film
False and Baseless
Director: Robert Cantu
Best Western Short Film
Ambush at St. Mary’s
Director: Anthony Parisi
Best Animation Short Film
Lithium
Director: Smitch Sifuentes
Best Music Video
The Deep Rolling: Magma
Director: Robin Scovill
Best Student Short Film
Nobody’s Perfect
Director: Joshua Collins
Best High School Short Film
The Fork
Director: Jay Haru Potaraju
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS
Best Feature Film
The Roping Fools
Director: Will Fitzpatrick
Best Short Film
The Last Cowboy in Salford
Director: Jakob Lancaster
Best Local Film
Titty Boy
Director: Austin Ford Franklin Culp
Best Student/High School Film
The Fork
Director: Jay Haru Potaraju
Best Music Video
Every Heary Breaks the Same
Director: Michael Scott Payton