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BARE BONES INTERNATIONAL FILM ENTRY 2003

Well, it's official! 

The third annual BBIFF was awesome! 

 Chocked full of incredible movies, unforgettable seminars and some of the most unimaginably wonderful people on the planet.  It was a blast!  Thanks in no small part to the phenomenally giving and cooperative attitudes of the filmmakers, writers, directors and actors in attendance.

Once again, we were able to live up to our motto of being the friendliest film festival on the planet. 

Daniel O'Meara (Truth Be Told) Peter Rowan, Allen Blank (House on the Hill) led the way, being the first moviemakers to arrive.  Giving energized and informative interviews for local radio stations, they set the pace for all the interviews that followed.  Radio hosts at both KTFX l02.1 and KBIX 1490AM said you moviemakers provided some of the best radio interviews they had  heard in years.

Emmett Loverde (Santa's Letters) proved to be a true elf rescuing festival director Shironbutterfly in time of need and Kevin Campbell was the mesmerizing multi-tasker, conducting three different seminars while having three movies (Cheerleader Ninjas, Breakfast at Dave's, and Julian's Journey) in competition and a screenplay (No Surrender) finalist in the staged readings.  We've now renamed him the new "Super K".  Emmett Loverde (Santa's Letters) also proved to be the festival's marketing guru, leaving no opportunity untethered to promote Santa's letters.  Not to mention taking time to buy the festival's marketing director (Oscar Ray) pizza at Pisanos's.  The offspring of television and movie acting parents Emmett was born to be a movie maker.

Jackie Alexander (Joy) became the local high school girls' most eligible heartthrob (A title I'm sure his girlfriend appreciates) and John M. Landsberg (These Few Weapons Against Death) became the festival's most appreciated filmmaker, providing the lucky crowd with a glimpse of one of the most well done love scenes in motion picture history.  A skilled sci-fi novelist, we look forward to his next directorial undertaking.

Skilled movie veteran Andy Rovins (Discovery) awed the seminar attendees with his depth of technical knowledge and his ability to make it easily understandable.  Having worked on movie projects in almost every state in the U.S., his skill was evident in giving us the wonderful film (Discovery).  Go Andy Go!  Of course, the fact that he promised Shiron, a few days stay at his beach house the next time she s in 'Cali' didn't hurt either.  We've decided to chip in and get Andy a shirt that says 'Vets Do It Better'.  Not necessarily original but chocked full of meaning.

Del Hunter-White (Cornbread) gave us our greatest expectations of a coming sequel.  Of course Del was attacked by giant beetles at her hotel and checked out early before she became bug food.  A beautiful, gifted lady, she is truly a poetic storyteller.  If you didn't get a chance to meet her, you missed a treat.


Mark Stock & Tracy Spivas (Garage Sale)  brought one of the happiest crowds to the festival and the mini concert by The Garage Sale Band was to die for.  Get ready Mark, the distributors will be calling.

Nicolas DeGrazia (The Death Affair) gave a whole new meaning to stocking stuffer, and provided us with a Mrs. Claus we won't soon forget.  Great job Nick or is that St. Nick? Oh, by the by, the poem Oscar promised is on the way.

Edwin Mc Donald's Sweethearts has me licking my forks a whole lot more and Michael Mongillo's The Wind has got me wearing a jacket for a light breeze.  Congratulations Mike, you've created one chilling movie.

Joseph Ortiz & Ron Finberg& Amir Valina (The Audition) brought to life every actor's nightmare and every casting agent's dream.  Of course, he also gave us two of the most beautiful faces and figures at the festival, actress-producer Kimberly Bliquez and actress-model Victoria Renee.  Yayyy!!! Our heartiest congrats' .

The wild Wolinski brothers Michael and Jeff along with friend Sean Fox made a mockery of documentaries with the hilarious mockumentary (My Brother's Light).  This sequel to the "After School Special" was so well done you couldn't separate fiction from-well, fiction.

Dmitry Torgovitsky's dog story (Pugsley A.K.A. Manhattan Dog Story) proved once again what most dogs already know, humans are pretty dumb most of the time.  Dmitry was kind enough to bring his gal pal, the lovely Mooshi with him all the way from New York.  This lady has one incredible smile.  Thanks Dmitry on all counts, oh yeah, Shiron still wants a poster.

Zach Litwack's (Transit) has me scratching my head every time I open a door or turn a corner.  If you guys missed that movie, be prepared for a 'Zach Attack'.

John Rickel's (Vanessa Love) had every guy in the house wondering what it would be like to be a patron of the 'oldest profession'.  What a great documentary  What a great subject!  What a great body!!!  Of course John zoomed out so fast he missed the question and answer session.  Our best guess is he rushed off to shoot the sequel.

Bryan Harston's (Emale) showed us what some guys will do to avoid work, while Adam Ropp's (The Perfect Job) showed us what some guys will do when they find it and alumni David Stamps (Weekdaz Worker) featuring his brother Robert Stamps, showed us what some guys will do when they have too much of it.   Song...working for a living, everyday.

Jeff Novich's (Jeff Makes A Movie) could have easily been titled "Life on the set: A  True Story".  As editor, director and camera guy, Jeff is on his way to becoming a triple threat to the Spielberg set.

Mike Aransky also juggled jobs and hats in (Everything Moves Alone) and still was able to help his cast give us some of the most powerful performances of any feature at the festival.  Proving once again, few of us make a movie alone, as attested by his co-jugglers, Phil Guerette and Thomas Seymour.

With an imagination to match his incredible smile, Patrick Horne brought to the festival (Harrison Bergeron).  The sci-fi short gave us a glimpse of the future without Janeway, Picard or the Borg.  Aahh, once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away.

Fifteen minutes of (Keep It On the Low Low) and thirty minutes of (Keep It On Da Low) gave us some hip-hop fun and a look at a night out with 'night owls' Armando Bautista, writer-producer, along with director Peter Zharmuck and production assistant Lev Goncharov who were as much fun in person as they were on screen.

Thomas Yeapau brought a screenplay (Angel Love), a movie (Hate Equals Hate) and his family to the festival.  His movie had a powerful message and we look forward to the next movie project of this young filmmaker.

Dynamo DJ Rick Walker gave us a first rate love story without the R rating.  Something the critics and Hollywood said couldn't be done.  (Sam and Janet) was a definite crowd pleaser.

Father and son team Brad and Ron Blank spiced things up with (Pico de Gallo).  A cross between The Godfather, Traffic, and Scarface, the movie's good guy had to be the best looking guy on the planet and the bad guy gave an Oscar worthy performance.

Geoffrey L. Smith traveled down from Norman Oklahoma with (Peace on the Highway) while the man with leading man looks, Greg Martin proved (A Free Ride Will Cost You).  David Byland and the Byland Sisters, Rebekah 10, Hannah 13, and Sarah 16) (Our youngest filmmakers) were left without a ride due to (The Bicycle Thief) and the Pawnee Nation Youth Group Productions had us (Think Twice) about getting a ride from friends who've been drinking.  Of course Rebecca Wren made everything better with a (Beautiful Day) while Patrick Whelan had us tapping our toes to the blues music showcased in (Dusk to Dawn).

Arnie Lerner's main character found her family (Dwindling) and Darkwood Film Arts Institute's (The Dorm) found Walnut Valley's student population doing the same thing. While neither were typical american stories, Richard May solved that dilemma by bringing us (A Documentary: An American Story) that asks the question, are you fulfilled?  Mikon Haaksman skillfully piled bodies up to our ears in (97 Brooks) while David Latt proved that (Jane White Is Sick & Twisted).  While a (One Blood Planet) (Jerry Decker) an (Absent Phallus) (Stephanie Thorpe & Mike Davies) and a (Metamorphosis) (Zhong Quiong & Sheng Sun) may not help you live (A Thousand Years) (Gabriel Fleming), Andrew Williamson convinced us that life down by the (Sea) isn't necessarily that pleasant either.  Lee Marlon Newton's (Black Marshal: The Hunt for Dozier) proved that there's a future for the wild wild west past and Vojko Anzjelic's (The Last Supper or How 2 madmen Made A Movie) helped us see that our crazy relatives aren't necessarily insane.

Yevgeny Rostovsky took us to the ballet in (The Meek One) and Aleks Rosenberg showed us in (Zelimo) being meek doesn't mean being weak.

Micheal Hein's (Biohazardous) gave new meaning to the words dinner guest and (Stalemate) (Kenny Meeham and Noah Harold) reinvented "Crossroads". Helen Pau's Shudder presented a snapshot of creativity and (L'Autre Monde, the Other World) (Vanja D'Alcantara)  gave us the world from a photograph. Chad S. Park's (Up) brought us freedom through imagination and James S. Cho gave us (Off Centre Las Vegas) through eyes of a different slant.

Nick Palmer's (One Angry Dwarf) proved again, love is where you find it and Aimee Jennings (Fragments of Existence) proved that sex isn't necessarily love, parents aren't always understanding and rain is stronger than a cardboard playhouse and that Aimee is a gifted filmmaker.

Robert Ellman turned our brains inside out with (Friction) and Rakesha Sharma's (Aftershocks: A Rough Guide to Democracy) showed the same can be done with freedom.  (Daughter from Danang) (Gail Dolgin) says you can go home again and Brent Scarpo and Marin Bedogone made us realize with (Journey to A Hate-Free Millennium) that home is a dangerous place to live sometimes.  (Traces)(Bruce Dehnert) gave us art, religion and politics wrapped up in a neat package of pottery, while (Cleaning Up) (Rostislav Aalto) gave us music from a washtub, (Dreaming in Code) (Leena Pendhariker) let us see not every dot.com start up did 'clean up'. (Kennewick Man) (Kyle Carver) had everyone staking a claim on 9,000 year old bones that even the original owner couldn't use anymore and Kevin Campbell's (Julian's Journey) gave us a contemporary look at compassion through the eyes of Julian Rush.

Michael Dean's (D.I.Y. or Die: How to Survive As An Independent Artist) gave us a glimpse of ourselves in the faces and voices of strangers and (Area K: A Political Fishing Documentary) (George Eid, Ben Evansky, Nadav Harel, Ron Bloomberg & Einat Sidi) gave us the faces and voices of friends and family in a strange partnership of fear.

David W. Stamps (Indian People Of Oklahoma) let us see Americans few Americans know, and (Voices from Ground Zero) (Camera Planet Pictures) let us see something we'd like to never know again.  Renee Weygandt's (Edges) let us view fickle love and Jeffrey J. Bemiss's 9The Book and The Rose) gave us forever. (Pottersville) (Ben Scholle) gave us family, business, disappointment and awakening in twenty-two minutes and (Shades of Blac) (Derek Rimelspach) proved that we're all pretty colorful inside.

(The Quarry ) (Greg Chwerchak) brought police to the kitchen table in white socks and different versions of the same story in living color.  (Stocking Stuffers) (Angel Connell) gave us beautiful bodies, slow seduction and run-proof hosiery and not necessarily in that order while Stefan Lovgren's (Doing Good) showed how easy it is to 'hose' the public. 

Krystal A. Pertsch's (Broken) allowed us once again to see how patience and love can fix almost anything.  Lutz Winde (Stopp) made time stand still but couldn't do a darned thing about confessing when feeling guilty.  Mark Hammer proved a great song and dance works for a (Last Goodbye )especially if you've got an hourglass figure and a voice to match. 

In N.Barry Carver's (Romeo and Juliet Revisited), we see dead people acting a lot like the living while Brad Furman's (Fast Forward) keeps the past alive, five minutes at a time.  Of course Tim Rosenstein's (Ghost Hunter) lets us know that all the dead really want is fulfilling work and every filmmaker wants that one big break even if delivered by the dead.

Devi Snively helped us see life and (A Soap Opera) are essentially the same.  Just one has less dialogue and (Live-Overcome) (Camera Planet Pictures) let us see that music is essential for both.  (Nekropolice) (Michael Ankri) and Phil Allocco's (Delivered) convinced us that violence does bring some problems to an end, while (Wonderland Funk )(Thomas Ryan) showed us violence can be an interesting beginning.

Animators, Aaron Thedford gave (The Crab Boy) feeling, while Kellie Bea-Cooper genetic cross of the Hulk and Captain America brought us (Major Damage).  Liz Goldberg & Warren Bass let us dance to the music with (Drumba) and Brian Waibel's (Empty Stockings) made Santa's Christmas Eve a whole lot longer, while Samuel Crow's (Since There Is No Hope) animated a relationship in flux.

Billy's Balloon (Don Hertzfeldt) joined Valerie Red-Horse (Naturally Native), Ian Skorodin & Orvel Baldridge (Tushka) and Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) in bringing us crime, punishment, love and payback in two hundred and ninety two unforgettable minutes.

Jackson Burns thrilled us with his Will Rogers style, telling of the stuntman experience while Paul Tompkins shared with us how to write it all down in screenplay format and get paid.  Daniel O'Meara told us to embrace a bare bones movie budget. Jackie Alexander recommended community theater as a way to make money acting while waiting for a big break.  John Landsberg 's message was if you want to make a movie, workshop it.  Jackson Burns brought us contract for SAG Indie agreements. Oscar Ray, who was the festival's resident Superman brought us insites on marketing that was usually reserved for readers of the Daily Planet. 

ShironButterfly, the festival director, coordinated people, places, companies, venues, movies, vendors, contributors, advertisers, reporters, radio interviews, volunteers, awards recipients, award show and entertainers while making Bare Bones a household name.  Lisa Glenn performed, Carl Adams, Tonya Bordeaux, Rosemary Mackey, sang.  The Johnny Reliable Band rocked us, the Garage Sale Band and Whistilin by Crackie crooned us.  Keena Tobie jazzed us, Susan Adams Johnson uplifted us accompanied by Aaron Henderson and Nicole Butler soothed us. Lena Nells welcomed us as only an Arapaho-navajo could and MCSi with David Hubble's help awed us by putting it all in giant size and living color.

A host of Awards Presenters made it special and the Bare Bones BoneHead Award made it unique.  Paul Tay's statement "Oklahoma can make movies at one-third of what it would cost in Hollywood and New York", still rings loud as does the Shameless Self-Promotion which has become the battle cry for the Bare Bones Filmmaker/producer.

Bacone College (since 1880) The City of Muskogee and a host of wonderful contributors and sponsors made it possible.  Individual volunteers like Dr. Layne Ehlers, Rose Siers, Mark & Theresa Hughes, Juli Dickson, Dr. Vivan Adams, Rita Duncan and the volunteer interviewers( Armando Bautista, Mark Hughes), photographers (Lev Goncharov) and videographers (Peter Zharmuck) and TV (Peagusus TV, Tim Eck) Newpapers (Walter Higgins) made it easier.  And last and the most important are the filmmakers who helped in so many ways to make the third Bare Bones International Film Festival a success and their presence in body and spirit made it overwhelmingly joyous.  Thanks to all of you named in this newsletter and if we missed your name,  we still appreciate your contribution.

We raise a glass to the next generation of visual storytellers saying thank you and good shooting. 

Don't forget ...  For your next movie, documentary, music video, etc, you can Choose to Shoot 'N Oklahoma!