Join us on September 29 at the Orpheum Theatre for the Top 10 showcase of our Take 36 race. Meet this year’s judges, who will determine the top winner that will play at the Tallgrass Film Festival. Our jurors will present $1,000 cash, Tallpasses, and official selection to the grand prize winner. The audience can also vote to determine the $100 prize and official selection for the festival.
Films will be judged and critiqued LIVE at the Top 10 Showcase by a panel of esteemed guest judges. Tickets for the showcase, hosted by The Orpheum, are on sale now.
Darren DeFrain is a Professor of English and Director of the Writing Program at Wichita State University. In addition to his two fiction books, DeFrain is the co-creator (with Aaron Rodriguez) of the award-winning Vizling App, which helps blind and low-vision readers read multimodal texts like comics. He’s also nearly finished a book with Fran Connor: No Choice But Action: A Postpunk History of Kansas (KU Press).
Gina Bryant is a director, producer, production designer, and costume designer from Wichita, KS, currently with Illumination Cinema. She has always loved fashion and putting on a show. She started taking dancing and acting lessons when she was five and dreamt of being a child star, though her mother wouldn’t let her move to Hollywood. She did take drama classes from then on and developed a lifelong love of acting.
Even though Gina loves the stage, she also loves behind-the-scenes work. In high school, you could often find her in the costume shop, and she worked in the costume shop at Southwestern College, where she designed costumes, props, hair, and makeup for various shows. She earned a BFA in Studio Art at Wichita State University with her senior project of wearable art influenced by historical fashion. Eventually, she made the transition to film.
Gina has been a featured and background actor for several small independent films, including several short films she produced under America’s Front Porch Film Co. She has also been the production designer and costume designer for several more short films and two features produced locally. Though she still loves acting, she prefers directing these days. Her films have been featured in festivals nationwide, winning numerous awards. Her first feature-length film, ARRIVE ALIVE, will have its world premiere at the 22nd annual Tallgrass Film Festival!
Roy Nugen is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, property master, and actor. He has written 15 short films that have played across the country. His first feature film, Arrive Alive, is debuting at the 22nd Annual Tallgrass Film Festival.
Roy’s love of the written word made him a prolific book reviewer. He is the official reviewer for the vintage horror fiction publisher Fathom Press. Roy also has countless reviews on his website, Bloody, Spicy Books. He has had articles published in such magazines as Paperback Fanatic, Hot Lead, and Sleazy Reader. He comes from a family of musicians, wildcatters, carpet salesmen, cops, lion tamers, and engineers.
In TAKE 36 we task creatives to conceive, develop, write, shoot, edit, and submit a short film, made in just 36 hours! And just to keep things interesting, we will have some required criteria that must be present in all submitted films! Anyone is welcome to participate! We have had filmmakers from local middle schools and high schools compete as well as seasoned professionals. We will just ask that you be safe and have fun and abide by the rules set forth by Tallgrass Film Association so that everyone stays safe and healthy. Tickets here. Film Registration is now open for 2024.
