The Billy the Kid Film Festival 2026 Announces Filmmaker Awards with Theodore C Flood’s THE LAST OUTLAW a two-time winner

The Billy the Kid Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners for the 8th edition of the film festival at the film festival’s buoyant Red Carpet Closing Night Party held at Hico, Texas’ Wild Saddle Saloon. Theodore C Flood’s The Last Outlaw took two of the top awards, Best Narrative Feature and the Billy the Kid Award, and Tracy Satterwhite’s Shine took the prize for Best Documentary.

The other winners of BTKFF’s Specialty Awards, which included presentations of Scott Carlton’s one-of-a-kind ceramic “ballistic art” sculpture pottery, included the Barry Corbin Award (presented by Corbin himself), which went to Carl Bailey’s Dawn at Dominion, the Michael Martin Murphey Award, which went to Natalie Aramendia’s Under the Western Skies, and the Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award, which went to Edward Treminio’s I Think I Should Go. The Pine Moore Studios Award (for films shot within 150 miles of Hico, Texas), was presented to Manuela Schneider’s According to Kate. The award includes a half day of shooting on the Pine Moore Studios lot.

Festival Director Luci DiGiorgio said, “In our eighth year, the Billy the Kid Film Festival was a wonderful coming together of local filmmakers, and tastemakers, celebrating the wonderful films made here and elsewhere that exemplify the BTKFF outlaw spirit. Our specialty awards, including the Pine Moore Studios Award, which comes with a free half day’s film shoot at their legendary Western Town location, and the Barry Corbin, Michael Martin Murphey, and Ruth Buzzi Awards, further highlights the sense of community that exemplifies our film festival, with several alumni in attendance to support this year’s filmmakers, and representatives from Tarleton State University, one of our key sponsors, who were also on hand to celebrate the films and the people who created them.”

Additional BTKFF “Best Of” awards among the features went to Diego Huerta’s Charro 250(Best Texas Feature Film),  Enrico Mastracchi Manes’ Paradiso (Best Foreign Film), Brett Eitzin’s Puzzles (Most Inspirational Film), and Ali Cook’s The Pearl Comb (Best Horror Film). Additional short film categories included Josh Baxter’s For a Silver Dollar (Best Narrative Short Film), Traven Rice’s Lay Lefty Down (Best Comedy Short Film), Quin Mathews’ James Magee and the Hill (Best Texas Short Film), Rebeca Duran’s Rebel Heart (Best Western Short Film), Hannes Rall’s Dobrina (Best Animation Short Film), and Giselle Calderon’s The Lone Angler (Best Student Short Film). There was a tie in the Best Music Film category, with Todd Hartsell’s Sundown, and Jody Stelzig’s Texas Heat sharing the award.

Once again, BTKFF kicked things off with the film festival’s traditional screening under the stars at Green Canoe (108 Elm Street), which included Aramendia’s Under the Western Skies, and an episode from the locally-produced PBS series Texas Dance Halls: Still Swingin’ series directed and hosted by BTKFF alumni Jay Pennington, with film and television legend Barry Corbin on hand as well. Highlights included the Festival Filmmaker workshop, “Cut the Crap, Film Festival Reality Versus Fantasy” led by John Wildman and Bart Weiss which gave the attending filmmakers a blunt, unvarnished look at what filmmakers need to do in order to better their chances to get into film festivals, but to also utilize those appearances and screenings to grow their brand and further their careers. Well attended screenings included multiple shorts programs featuring local filmmakers, as well as Flood’s The Last Outlaw, and Satterwhite’s Shine.

This year’s Filmmaker Awards Party, which traditionally is a raucous affair with homemade tamales and the Wild Saddle Saloon’s drinks, was once again highlighted by the final gathering of the attending filmmakers who made the annual pilgrimage to Hico, Texas for what has been established as one of the most unique and beloved film festivals in Texas.

The Billy the Kid Film Festival sponsors include: The City of Hico, FilmsGoneWild.com, Green Canoe, Hico Chamber of Commerce, Tarleton State University School of Liberal Arts and School of Communications, Cast-O-Matic, Event-O-Matic, Texas New Mexico Power, Made in Black Tequila, Wild Horse Saloon, Bosque Film Society, and The Bosque Film Society. For more information on the Billy the Kid Film Festival go to https://www.billythekidfilmfestival.com.

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The 2026 Billy the Kid Film Festival Filmmaker Award winners:

BTKFF SPECIALTY AWARDS

Billy the Kid Award

The Last Outlaw

Director: Theodore C Flood

Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award

I Think I Should Go

Director: Edward Treminio

Michael Martin Murphey Award

Under the Western Skies

Director: Natalie Aramendia

Barry Corbin Award

Dawn at Dominion

Director: Carl Bailey

Pine Moore Studios Award (filmed with 150 miles of Hico, TX)

According to Kate

Director: Manuela Schneider

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BTKFF BEST OF AWARDS

Best Narrative Feature Film

The Last Outlaw

Director: Theodore C Flood

Best Documentary Feature Film

Shine

Director: Tracy Satterwhite

Best Texas Feature Film

Charro 250

Director: Diego Huerta

Best Foreign Film

Paradiso

Director: Enrico Mastracchi Manes

Most Inspirational Film

Puzzles

Director: Brett Eitzen

Best Horror Film

The Pearl Comb

Director: Ali Cook

Best Narrative Short Film

For a Silver Dollar

Director: Josh Baxter

Best Comedy Short Film

Lay Lefty Down

Director: Traven Rice

Best Texas Short Film

James Magee and the Hill

Director: Quin Mathews

Best Western Short Film

Rebel Heart

Director: Rebeca Duran

Best Animation Short Film

Dobrina

Director: Hannes Rall

Best Music Film (TIE)

Sundown

Director: Todd Hartsell

Texas Heat

Director: Jody Stelzig

Best Student Short Film

The Lone Angler

Director: Giselle Calderon