4th ANNUAL BEST OF THE FEST SHOWCASE

Watch Michael Martin Murphey’s “WILDFIRE” at the Free-To-The-Public “Best of the Fest Showcase” featuring award winners from the 7th Annual Billy The Kid Film Festival Sunday, Jan. 4 at The Cliftex Theatre

By NATHAN DIEBENOW

Bosque Film Society Founding Board Secretary

Hosted by the Bosque Film Society, the silver screen magic of the 7th Annual Billy the Kid Film Festival will ride into Clifton as the event’s award-winning films will be presented as a part of the Fourth Annual Best of the Fest Showcase red carpet free-to-the-public event at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4 in the historic Cliftex Theatre, the longest continuously operating movie house in Texas, screening motion pictures since 1916.
But the award-winning films will only be part of the show as singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, award-winning Western Swing artist Kristyn Harris, acclaimed actor Barry Corbin and Kent Perkins will be among a star-studded list of special guests in attendance.
This year’s featured film will be “Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse,” a family-friendly drama film inspired by Michael Martin Murphey’s iconic 1975 hit song.
Murphey, who appears in the film, described the film as a faith-driven story about perseverance, family, and the natural world – without Hollywood’s reliance on violence or special effects – fulfilling a dream decades in the making.
“The song came from a dream,” Murphey said. “God gave me that dream, and after 50 years we finally have a film that honors its spirit. There’s no AI in this film. It’s about how the spirit of God moves through everyday people, kids and adults alike.”
Harris will be on hand to promote her film “A Ranch Musical,” and she will sing an original song from the film.
“This is an event we look forward to hosting every year,” Bosque Film Society founder and board president Brett Voss said. “We’re excited about this year’s selection of films, and we are honored to be partners with the Billy The Kid Film Festival. When we established the film society in 2020, this is the type of event we all dreamed of hosting.”
Festival founders Luci DiGiorgio and Philip Vasquez said the encore at the Cliftex stands out as one of the most rewarding parts of their film festival year as moviegoers and filmmakers alike will get a rare chance to see this year’s top films awarded by the Hico film festival Nov. 8 on the state’s oldest, continuously operating silver screen.
“We’re so proud of this event at the Cliftex – the oldest continuously running theater in Texas,” DiGiorgio said. “The winners will get to see their film on the big screen.”
In addition to the feature film presentation of “Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse” in Block One titled “Cowboy Way of Life” at 2 p.m.,  the Best of the Fest Showcase will also present two more blocks of short films and music videos, beginning with Block Two titled “Wild Western Perspectives” at 4 p.m., followed by Block Three titled “Worldly Points of View” at 6:30 p.m.

Block One: COWBOY WAY OF LIFE

Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse

Director: Eric Parkinson. Country music legend and celebrated singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey in a supporting role as a local pastor, the feature film tells an enchanting story of redemption, faith, and the unbreakable bond between a grieving young girl and a mysterious wild horse.

 

Block Two: WILD WESTERN PERSPECTIVES

Stubborn

Director: Robert Gamperl. A horse breeder stumbles upon an injured man and discovers a gold nugget that could change her life. A horse breeder stumbles upon an injured man and discovers a gold nugget that could change her life.

I Remember the Alamo

Director: Cynthia Garcia. Capturing a night on the River Walk with two young guys enjoying San Antonio.

The Bounty Hunter

Director: Enrique Novials. A young detective is on a mission to find a woman who has run away from her husband.

Un joven detective tiene la misión de encontrar a una mujer que ha escapado de su marido.

Hub City

Director: Robby Robinson. Singer/songwriter Billy Dan Hanson is faced with what to do after his older brother is mysteriously killed in prison. Should he go home to Lubbock for the first time in 10 years to investigate? And why has his old flame suddenly returned to urge him to do so?

EL Lloron

Director: Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez. Felipe is a professional mourner. He is compensated for lamenting and comforting grieving families during funerals.

Kidd

Director: Britt Crisp. A violent incident forces an outlaw to finally come to terms with the consequences of her actions by the hand of her father, the local sheriff. While both have differing opinions between right and wrong, the outlaw and her father are forced to make a difficult decision that could tearing family apart; life or death?

You Ain’t Gotta Die

Director: Chris Beyrooty. In a blaze of bullets, poison, and pure sass, Kaitlin Butts’ ‘You Ain’t Gotta Die to Be Dead to Me’ follows cowgirl Kissin’ Katie B as she rides into town to settle the score with every no-good man in sight.

We’re Here

Director: Lee E Wells. Director Lee Wells quickly gathers a camera crew and heads West with feed for the surviving livestock as the record-breaking wildfires subside across the Texas Panhandle.

 

Block Three: WORDLY POINTS OF VIEW

Rolling Film, Rocking History

Director: Bart Weiss. Al Maysles tells the story of how he shot the Beatles coming to the USA for the first time.

Let’s Keep Austin, Texas

Director: Jan Francine Sustaita. Music video written during COVID lockdown. Written by Scott Grace & Will Kimbrough, video by Francine Sustaita aka Nanomercial.

Slick

Director: Nick Thompson. Two environmentalist thugs enlist the help of a cat burglar to vandalize valuable art in the name of their righteous cause. However, they fail to foresee that their plan to protest pollution has a problem.

B.I.E

Director: Jesse Cowell. Comedy winner of the Ruth Buzzi Best Comedy Award

The Elephant (Dear Valentine)

Director: Smitch Sifuentes. One “nice guy” refuses to finish last.

Hellvette

Director: Amiel Peter Matthews. A young mechanic dream build becomes his worst nightmare when his missing 1978 C3 Corvette resurfaces, transformed into a death machine leaving a trail of bodies-and every clue points back to him.

Golden

Director: Hank Bagwell. A short documentary film about a long iconic beard! William Lee Golden of Country Music Hall of Fame group, The Oak Ridge Boys hasn’t trimmed or shaved his beard since 1980. Music legends Jamey Johnson (You Should Have Seen it in Color, High Cost of Living, Stars in Alabama), Eddy Raven (Operator Operator, I Got Mexico, Joe Knows How to Live), Tony Brown (producer of over 100 #1 records including George Strait, Reba, Chris Stapleton, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle and more) and famous photographers weigh in on it in this animated short doc.

Neon Moon

Director: E’an Verdugo, Francis Juarez. Music Video

Almost Home

Director: Menhaj Huda. A decorated Muslim-American Marine battles his inner demons, prejudice, and a fractured sense of identity as he seeks self-discovery from the haunting memory of a life-altering event at war.