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Cafe Purgatory: Locally made film to have first public screening

After winning the "Crowd Pleaser" award at last fall's Fort Worth Film Festival, "Cafe Purgatory," the made-in-Tulsa movie about out-of-this-world ideas, is ready to welcome hometown customers.

 The first public screening of the low-budget independent movie made by Tulsa's Leo Evans and John Wooley with a hometown cast and crew is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the OSU- Tulsa auditorium, 700 N. Greenwood Ave. The event, hosted by the Oklahoma Territory Film Council, is open to the public. Admission is $1 at the door with all proceeds going to benefit the Goodland Presbyterian Boys Home and Planned Parenthood.

 "We're really excited to finally have the opportunity to show the movie to people in Tulsa," said Evans, who directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with producer Wooley (longtime Tulsa World country music writer). The story was drawn from Wooley's one-act play of the same title, which was staged in 1997 at Heller Theater.

 Made on a shoestring budget and shot on high-end digital video, "Cafe Purgatory" was filmed on location over the course of 16 weeks in 1998, mostly at the former Boston Willy's Diner, 18th Street and Boston Avenue.

 The cast features a stellar ensemble of local actors, led by Tulsa theater veterans Melanie Fry, Lisa Robertson Stefanic, James Vance, Matt Garrett and father-daughter actors Milton and Ana Berry. Hollywood veteran Bill Boyce has a pivotal role, as does entertainer Darwin Warner as the mysterious, sideburned "E," whose presence provides the story's eye-opening metaphorical twist.

 The story, which Wooley has described as "evocative of the fantasy and sentimentality of the old `Twilight Zone,' " follows a disparate group of people -- including a killer, a "Star Trek" fan, a warring couple and a young college student -- as they find out they all have a couple of things in common. They're all dead, and they're waiting in a cafe to find out what's next.

 Evans, the owner of Evans Video and a nearly 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles movie industry (where he had a number of scripts optioned and had his screenplay for "Hell High" produced in the late '80s), said making the movie locally was a labor of love for all concerned.

 "It's really a gratifying experience to start with just a vision of what you want to do and to bring all these people together who trust your vision and to make something like this from it," he said.

 Since receiving a warm reception and lots of encouragement at the Fort Worth festival -- where director Michael Price said of "Cafe Purgatory," "This film is a beauty, a splendid ex ample of the indie film imperative" -- Evans and Wooley have been exploring various distribution options. They hope to release the film soon through a video distributor.

 Meanwhile, the filmmaking duo is hard at work on their next project -- which they plan to film in and around Tulsa with local talent and, Evans hopes, a slightly bigger budget.

 "It's a World War II story, with supernatural elements," he said. Evans is currently working on the first draft of the screenplay. "I'll write the war stuff, and then I'll turn it over to John to write the spooky parts," he said.

Copyright © 2000, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

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Film Contest strives to showcase best in state

Oklahoma is not exactly synonymous with independent filmmaking, but the Oklahoma Territory Film Council is trying to change that.  The number of local independent filmmakers is on the rise, so OTFC is putting on an independent filmmaking competition, said Paul Hiller, president and one of the founding members of the organization.  The Indie 2000 Freelance Film and Video Competition is in its third of five rounds.  The competition began in August and will wrap up in June.

Community World Staff photo by Nora K. Froeschle --- Paul Hiller, president of Oklahoma Territory Film Council, stands in front of a movie screen with the 1996 16mm film "Out of Bohemia," which was co-directed by local independent filmmaker Bryan Pilkington.

 Every submission gets a written critique from the judging committee of OTFC members who are all experienced in film and video, he said.

 All or part of a select few submissions from each round are chosen and edited into a video montage for a screening at the Oklahoma State University -- Tulsa Campus.

 September's winner was Sean Lorton, producer of "Rattlesnake Gold," a feature-length action thriller about people who are trying to discover a cache of gold, which has been lost for a 100 years, Hiller, said. 

In November, director Mario Avila won for GTA2, a seven-minute film shot for the Playstation game Grand Theft Auto II.

 January's winner was a short film called, "The Eulogist," by Holland Hall student Matt McUsic. It was seen at a screening Sunday where Tom Doerner, a producer and director with Dry Gulch Productions addressed the audience and showed scenes from selected Dry Gulch Productions.

 Hiller said OTFC was originally founded in 1991 to help promote Oklahoma as a film state and to help people in the state learn about jobs in film.

 However, OTFC's mission has changed, he said, so as not to duplicate the efforts of the state film office.

 "We're trying to help people who want to do film and video work do film and video work," he said. 

"We became aware of a lot of independent companies in the state," he said. Then, OTFC decided to promote them as well as individual screenwriters, actors and directors.

 "You don't have to be on the coast to get your screenplay read anymore, but all the agents are still on the coasts," he said.

 "We don't have a venue yet for screenwriters. We want to create a screenwriters group to meet every month and critique each other's works."

 Hiller, who volunteers his time to OTFC, is in it for the love of movies. He once had a bit part in a local film production called "Vigilante Blood," which was never distributed in the United States, but may have been released in Europe, he said.

 "Independent does not just mean low-budget," he said. "It's somebody not affiliated with the big movie houses -- here, everybody's independent." 

But not every independent filmmaker is after the Cinderella success of, say, "The Blair Witch Project," he said.

 "One guy does documentaries" on Native American culture. "He's doing this because he sees value in documentaries...One guy just wanted the critique. Everybody's different," Hiller said.

 OTFC is accepting submissions for its fourth round of the Indie 2000 competition.

 “We'll take anything, and we've gotten a bunch of different kinds of works," Hiller said.

 For more information, call OTFC at xxx-7209 or check out their Internet website at www.okfilm.com.

Copyright © 2000, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

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Cinema Realite: Looking Back at Tulsa Overground Film Festival

When people think of Tulsa, they don’t necessarily think of a haven for brilliant contemporary filmmakers.

This could be about to change (depending on your definition of brilliant and what it takes to officially be called a filmmaker).

This past weekend marked a milestone for Tulsa independent film. The second annual Tulsa Overground Film Festival occurred, marking the first time a film festival has managed to happen in two consecutive years in this town.

“It helps put Oklahoma on the map because there aren’t many festivals like Overground,” says Paul Hiller, President of the Oklahoma Territory Film Commission, an organization existing to provide venues for screenings and networking for local filmmakers.

If you read Urban Tulsa Weekly’s cover story last week, you know the festival was the brainchild of three local filmmakers, Todd Lincoln, Jeremy Lamberton and Matt Nader.

Last year, the event took place at the now defunct Fox 4 Theater at 51st St. and Harvard Ave., and was grossly oversold. Apparently, the market was ripe. Lines wrapped the building in the hopes people would leave.

It had been the guys’ ambition to have the event at the Brady Theater, but the Performing Arts Center for Education at the Tulsa Community College South Campus would have to do. And it does do well.

For those of you who haven’t been to the PACE, it’s a first-class venue, complete with box seats and heavy curtains, and bearing a striking resemblance to an old theater house. And this year, it hosted the Overground.

A lot of the reason for the opportunistic change of venue rests on the shoulders of the OTFC.

Last year, vice president Robert Brewer attended the festival and it blew him away. “Last year was unbelievable,” says Brewer. “It was good for our city to get that spark going. It is the best thing that could have happened to Tulsa.

“We are always looking to promote movie making in the city, and to build an industry,” says Brewer, so supporting the festival was a no-brainer. “We just felt it was something we should do.”

And so what they did was help get the PACE and provide the necessary volunteers to help make it a success.

And it was. The PACE is a much larger theater than the old Fox 4, and it was virtually a sellout--there were not a whole lot of empty seats available. The event was well-organized, and smoothly run.

Another change from last year was the addition of workshops. There were acting workshops and such, but the most interesting one revolved around Kevin Michael Winterfield of www.ifilm.net.

IFILM is the future of independent film, if you believe Winterfield. For one, it provides a venue for indie filmmakers to post their works, and have them seen by a global audience. Hop on and you can view two of Lincoln’s works, The Honey Pot and Xavier, both of which were featured at the festival.

The site also provides a place for screenwriters to post their scripts, actors to meet, producers to pitch and swap. In short, it is like a hive-mine of talent and resources.

The site is also home to digital catapult, which is “a non-stop media festival” offering $1,000 to the best film, video, audio, CGI, Flash Animation and almost any other type of medium. Anything goes. And the festival is ongoing. Filmmakers can submit their works throughout the year.

Winterfield believes sites like IFILM will do for independent filmmakers what MP3 has done for musicians - allow instant access to their market, to the people, in a quick, cheap and efficient format. “It’s always audio first, then film follows.”

As for the festival itself, it was perhaps a good educational opportunity as to what independent film really is, and the span of “bleeding edge film, video and audio art.”

The charm of an event such as this is one gets to view a range of products from the good to the bad to the ugly. It’s all very subjective. And so to this reviewer’s eye, some of the pieces were good, some were . . . not good. But it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

The crowd was a mixed bag of the youth in their stylish rags and the older crowd of pseudo and real aficionados. But the place was filled with film lovers, and no matter the quality of the film, they clapped.

Can you remember the last time you clapped at the end of a movie? It used to happen all the time. Why is it that no one considers the movies on the silver screen worthy of their applause. Sure, most are bloated money-making devices, but they all exist to provide us with entertainment, and that’s something even the independent filmmakers need to keep in mind.

Visual media is meant to be seen. It’s meant to say something. Anyone can pick up a camera and film something, but it’s the context that gives it meaning.

Actually, there was some real crap shown at the PACE this past weekend. But by and large, it was good stuff.

It would seem a fair amount of what gets called independent film is documentaries or mockumentaries. Obviously, this is the easiest idea to come up with, thus making it a great topic on which to cut your chops. Don’t forget, one of the hit films of the summer started as an indie project and was shot in documentary style, The Blair Witch Project.

Some of the highlights of the Tulsa Overground Festival were Deformer from Mike Mills, Johnny Bagpipes, Battle Sounds and the classic Heavy Metal Parking Lot and the sequel, Neil Diamond Parking Lot. There were more, some good, some not.

There were music videos, and commercials, parodies and stuff that just didn’t serve much of a purpose at all. For the most part, while the filmmakers have a handle on the technical aspects of their craft, they need to work on the simple things like just spinning a yarn. Good at taking shots, bad at telling stories. But that’s a generalization. Not all the movies fell prey.

Having missed out on last year’s festival, I finally got to see Lincoln’s own much ballyhooed Honey Pot. It makes you wonder how he talked the girl into doing what she did, but all in all, it was a good, funny, well-conceived film. He does have talent and is well ahead of a lot of his contemporaries.

All in all, Overground was a lot of fun, and we should all be happy when it comes back next year, further raising the benchmark for local cinema and festivals in the Midwest.
One thing is for sure, if it’s up to the OTFC, the festival will carry on for years to come, whether the founders are there to help or not.

“It’s going to take a lot of time to keep it growing,” says Hiller. “We can keep it moving forward.”

“I think Todd will go on from here and do great things in the film world, but will always be part of this,” says Brewer.

Copyright © 1999 by Renegade Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Film depicts POW cruelty

“Sleep My Sons,” a locally produced World War II film shown recently at Tulsa Community College’s [downtown] campus, depicted prisoner of war treatment.

According to [Harvey] Shell, those who did not attend […] missed a rare treat.

“It’s such a privilege to see interviews of first-person accounts by those old soldiers and footage from National Archives, some of it captured from Japanese,” said […] Shell, board member on the Oklahoma Territory Film Commission.
 

WWII VALOR -- A locally produced movie about the rarely told story of the death of [1,792] American GI's aboard an unmarked Japanese POW ship was shown free to the public by Oklahoma Territory Film Commission in conjunction with Tulsa Community College. Pictured is filmmaker Shawnee Brittan as a young boy with his father, Lt. Col. Neil Brittan, for whom the movie was dedicated.

Native Oklahoman Shawnee Brittan gave the special showing of his deeply moving documentary “Sleep My Sons,” a story of the Japanese ‘hell ship’ Arisan Maru. In October of 1944, the ship left the Philippines bound for Japan with 1,800 American POWs. When the freighter was torpedoed, the Japanese crew locked the prisoners in the hold and then abandoned ship. The prisoners managed to escape only to drown or be murdered by the Japanese while swimming to other nearby freighters. Only eight survived the ordeal to later tell the tale. Some of the men managed to find an empty life boat which they sailed to China. Even after surviving the infamous “Battan Death March” plus two and half years as prisoners of war, the Arisan Maru survivors discovered that the Japanese troops were again after them. Forced to leave a friendly village which had offered shelter,the survivors had to walk 1,700 miles to the nearest American force. Only then did they […] consider themselves safe.

Brittan dedicated the film to his father, Lt. Colonel Neil Brittan, a Waukomis native, who was a victim of the Arisan Maru. According to Shell the film has been called the “best WWII documentary ever made.”

[Brackets indicate OTFC correction of proofreading & reference errors.]

Copyright © 1999, Retherford Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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'Nightmare-A-Thon' screening to feature 3 silent film classics By John Wooley, Tulsa World Entertainment Writer 10/28/98

Robert Brewer's come up with a pretty good catchline for the Oklahoma Territory Film Commission's "Nightmare-A-Thon" movie screening, set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at The Performing Arts Center for Education, Tulsa Community College Southeast Campus, 10300 E. 81st St.

The line is, "See Erik the Phantom before he learned to sing."

Actually, if you show up for the triple-feature, you'll also see Erik the Phantom before he learned to talk. The first movie on the bill is the original "Phantom of the Opera," starring the legendary Lon Chaney. It came out in 1925, two years before what is generally acknowledged as the first talking picture, Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer." "Phantom" will be followed by two other acknowledged silent classics: Fritz Lang's futuristic fantasy "Metropolis" (1926) and F.W. Murnau's German Expressionist version of the Dracula novel, "Nosferatu" (1922).

"We're showing these because they're unique; they're film history," explains Brewer, vice president of OTFC. "There's an educational value to them, too, that the OTFC and TCC want to pass on to the audience. "Plus," he adds, "these things'll just scare the dickens out of you."

Although there's no talking, all of the films have a complete musical soundtrack. "They'll be up on the big screen, with surround-sound, in the best entertainment venue in Tulsa," Brewer says.

Admission to the program is free. Those who'd like to be eligible for door prizes ("everything from T-shirts to TCC merchandise to dinners," he says) must have a ticket, which can be picked up at no charge from any TCC Student Activities Office, Novel Idea Book Stores, New Hong Kong Restaurant, Crown Auto World, Kit's Takee-Outee and, on the day of the show, at the Performing Arts Center for Education box office.

Attendees are encouraged to come in costume, says Brewer. Prizes will be given for the best costumes. "This is a promotional thing to advertise the OTFC, and a way for the commission to say `thank you Tulsa' for the support," he notes.

The Oklahoma Territory Film Commission is a non-profit organization whose emphasis is on working with and helping independent filmmakers in the state of Oklahoma. It is not affiliated with the state-run Oklahoma Film Commission, which is a part of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism.

Copyright © 1998, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

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"Lights, Cameras, Action in Oklahoma"

Individuals who are interested in any aspect of film-screenwriting, acting, directing, special effects or just watching-may be interested in joining the Oklahoma Territory Film Commission (OTFC.)

Peggy Char, Paul Hiller, and Robert Brewer, Internet Graphic Artist at TCC, established OTFC in 1991 with the original goal of promoting Oklahoma as a premiere film location. The organization has re-dedicated itself to promoting Oklahoma films, studios, and professionals to agencies outside the state.

Members of OTFC consist of freelance producers, directors, technicians, actors and media enthusiasts from many different backgrounds. According to Hiller OTFC president, membership in the film commission increases an individual’s opportunity for exposure. "Name dropping and shoulder-rubbing are allowed," Hiller said.
 

photo by Cheryl Elias --- Robert Brewer, Internet Graphic Artist and OTFC vice president, launched the OTFC website. Here he displays the new OTFC T-shirts with President Paul Hiller (right) and President Emeritus Peggy Char.

Membership in the organization also provides networking opportunities. "Helping the haves meet the have-nots-the producer types meet the non-producer types" is an advantage of membership in OTFC, according to Hiller. The organization held its first film/lecture series in June. Giving exposure to local films and film makers is the main goal of the series. Metro Campus Student Activities provided the facility and refreshments for the showing of "Cole Justice," a movie produced in the ‘70’s by Carl Bartholomew, known best for his local role as "Uncle Zeb."

Upcoming events are scheduled in September and October. Chuck Price, the set director of "Possums," a movie filmed in Nowata last year, will join OTFC members on Sept. 13 at TCC’s Metro Campus Phillips Auditorium. Barry Switzer had a cameo role in the movie. The OKFilm Halloween Nightmare-A-Thon will be held Oct. 30 at the PACE. An organist will accompany the showing of three silent films: "Phantom of the Opera;" "Metropolis" and "Nosferatu."

Hiller said that in the future he "hopes the film/lecture series will draw in some big names, some Oklahomans who have moved on to bigger and better things."

OTFC is not a talent agency and does not find jobs for individuals. However, the organization’s website, designed by Brewer, OTFC vice president, provides members with a vast resource tool. Information about upcoming movie industry events, such as film festivals, is provided on the site. Additionally, members of OTFC can post their resumes and biographies on the web.

"The best thing we can offer anybody working in film is that there is hope for exposure. You don’t have to think you’re limited by the state’s borders," Hiller said.

[Outdated contact information removed.]

Copyright © 1998, The TCC Connection. All rights reserved. 
A Student Publication of Tulsa Community College 
Volume 23, Number 6

Film group hopes to boost Okie talent

By Barbara Rivera, Tulsa World Staff Writer 8/12/98

Robert Brewer, Paul Hiller and Peggy Char were happy about the movie "Twister." Not necessarily because it put Oklahoma on the map as the tornado capital of the United States but because it was filmed in Oklahoma and gave the area nationwide exposure.

Brewer, a Broken Arrow resident, Hiller and Char are local film enthusiasts who, seven years ago, founded the Oklahoma Territory Film Commission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and advocating the independent film industry in Oklahoma.

Originally, the group's objective was to support the Oklahoma Film Commission under the state department of tourism, in their effort to bring out-of-state producers to film their movies in Oklahoma. But, just this year the Tulsa group decided to re-evaluate their primary goal, said Char, the territory commission's emeritus president.

"A supportive role didn't really excite us as much as coming up with something that we could do on our own without duplicating or counteracting with what the film office does," explained Hiller, the group's president.

Working along those lines, they came up with the idea that instead of focusing on out-of-state film producers, they would support and expose the not-so-well known, low budget, or "underdog" type of movies filmed and produced by local independent film makers, said Brewer, the territory commission's vice president.

"There's been a lot of films shot here that you've probably never heard of and never seen and a good question is why not? "I mean, some of them are pretty good movies and they (local film producers) may have difficulties distributing or getting funding to finish editing them," Hiller said.
 

To help expose people to these independent films, the group started its first film/lecture series in June at the Tulsa Community College, Metro campus. Their first featured film was "Cole Justice," produced by local film producer, Carl Bartholomew. The movie, which revolves around a college professor who takes a "vigilante" persona and goes out and does justice his way, was totally filmed in Oklahoma, Brewer said. The three territory commission board members stressed that their interest is purely in promoting and helping local film makers and not a personal one. As Hiller puts it, what they would like is to "make a good name for Oklahoma in the film industry"

Community World staff photo by Barbara Rivera --- Oklahoma Territory Film Commission officers from left, Robert Brewer, Peggy Char, and Paul Hiller hope to expose film fans to independent movies produced by Oklahomans and encourage local film makers.

and encourage local independent film producers, screen writers, directors and actors to further develop their talents. "We hope to give them enough confidence to go the next step or to start the next project," Hiller said.

The next movie showing in the film-lecture series is scheduled for Sept. 13. Among the territory commission's future projects is an Oct. 30, Oklahoma Film Halloween Nightmare-A-Thon that will present silent movies accompanied by a traditional organ. There will be several movies, with the first the silent version of Lon Chaney's "Phantom of the Opera."

This event will take place at TCC Southeast Campus located at 81st Street and U.S. 169.

Copyright © 1998, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved. 

	Nigh Here To Help Honor Film Maker Burt Kennedy By staff writer, The Ponca City News, Tuesday 4/21/98
	Director Burt Kennedy during his younger days on the set, as displayed on the cover of his 1997 book "Hollywood Trail Boss: Behind the Scenes of the Wild, Wild Western."

Former Gov. George Nigh and Mrs. Nigh will be special guests at "A Reception and a Retrospective," honoring film maker Burt Kennedy Sunday evening. The event is
free and open to the public.

The event is slated for 7 p.m., at the Poncan Theatre. In addition to Mr. and Mrs. Nigh, other special guests will be representatives of The Oklahoma Film Commission,
and Representatives of The Oklahoma Territory Film Commission.

Kennedy is coming to Ponca City at the invitation of a long time friend Truman Smith. Another long time film friend Carlton Weber will also be here. All three will sign
their individually authored books.

This will follow a presentation by Kennedy about his film experience directing such film stars as John Wayne James Garner and many others.

Kennedy is a screenwriter, a director, a producer and an author. Weber is a world traveler, a history buff, writer and producer of non-theatrical motion picture films. He
was a pioneer in aerial photography during the early activities of NASA's sub-orbital flights from Cape Kennedy.

Smith tells that Weber had written the introduction to his book "The Wrong Stuff," and Kennedy had written the preface. Kennedy's book is "Hollywood Trail Boss," and
Weber's is Jonathan Creek, a Cherokee Valley saga for young readers.

Also specially invited was George Nigh, who as Lt. Governor, had promoted film production for Oklahoma and had flown Kennedy all over the state looking for motion
picture locations.

When Nigh became governor, he established a Film Advisory Recruiting Team for Oklahoma, prior to a Film Commission, and appointed Smith as a charter member,
along with Ned Hockman, Professor of Cinema at Oklahoma University.

Hockman had been an Air Force Motion Picture Officer with Weber, who introduced Hockman to Smith, who had also been an Air Force Motion Picture Officer.

The event should not be missed by movie fans, according to Kenn Wessel, Poncan Theatre executive.

Copyright © 1998, The Ponca City News. All rights reserved. 

If you would like to learn more about becoming a member of the Oklahoma Territory Film Council, visit the 'Members' section of this website here.
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