Brazos Progressives Announced 9th Annual Red Wasp Film Festival Winners

BRYAN, TX—On Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22, 2011, Brazos Progressives presented the 9th Annual Film Festival at StageCenter Theater in downtown Bryan. The following awards were presented on Saturday night:

• Red Wasp Best Film Award: Heart Breaks Open, directed by Billie Rain.
• Red Wasp Best Screenplay Award: Not Like the Commercials by Gordon S. Williams.
• Red Wasp Audience Favorite Award: Tirages en série, directed by Kevin Haefelin.
• Red Wasp One to Watch Award: An Evening Abroad, directed by Kent Juliff.
• Red Wasp Social Consciousness Award: Open Your Eyes, directed by Adolfo R. Mora.

This year’s award for best film (Red Wasp Best Film Award) was presented to Billie Rain (director), Basil Shadid (producer), and Qwo-Li Driskill (writer) for Heart Breaks Open. In Heart Breaks Open, model queer activist and poet Jesus prides himself in his work with the Seattle LGBT community. At the same time, Jesus is having unprotected sex and cheating on Johnny, his long-time partner. Jesus’s world implodes when he discovers that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, and a future living with HIV. Faced with the unknown, Jesus is pulled from the brink of self-destruction by Sister Alysa Trailer, a [drag] nun who leads him down a path of self-discovery.

Artist Theodora Saladino Krc created the Red Wasp Best Film trophy, and Village Café and Caffe Capri donated bottles of wine and gift certificates for the other prizes. The festival, which was attended by over 140 people, screened 15 films that were entered in a competition for festival prizes. The Brazos Valley Raqs Ensemble opened the festival on Friday with two dances. After the awards were presented on Saturday evening, the festival screened Destino, a Disney-produced short animated film by Salvador Dali, and Dali and Disney: A Date with Destino, a documentary about the artists, their relationship, and the making of Destino.

Carol and Craig Conlee started the Red Wasp Film Festival in 2003 at the 7F Lodge in Wellborn. After battling the red wasps at 7F Lodge, Carol decided to make peace with the insects by naming the independent film festival after them, thus transforming the familiar insect into the festival’s namesake. In 2006, Brazos Progressives began helping the Conlees organize the Red Wasp Film Festival so that the festival could continue after they moved to Mason, TX. That same year, the festival moved to Conlee Auctions in downtown Bryan, where it was held for two years. This is the fourth year that the festival was held at StageCenter.

The 9th Annual Red Wasp Film Festival was sponsored by the Arts Council of Brazos Valley; Texas Commission on the Arts; Brazos Natural Foods; Revolution; Third Eye Productions; The Internal Medicine Center, Elizabeth C. Berigan, MD; Web Unlimited; The Creative Space; Madden’s Casual Gourmet; Village Café and Art979 Gallery; Caffe Capri; Jenn Atrkins, CNC LMT, Certified Nutritional Consultant; Stearns Design-Build; Texas Film Commission; Lynn Lamoreux, Photographer; KEOS 89.1FM; Theodora Saladino Krc; StageCenter Theater; Pro Social Media Coaching and Marketing; Community Now!; and Jennifer Jopling. Many thanks to these sponsors for making Red Wasp possible!

Brazos Progressives looks forward to future film festivals, as the organization continues to promote art and independent film as an integral part our community. For a complete list of films screened at this year’s Red Wasp Film festival, visit redwasp.org. For more about Brazos Progressives, visit brazosprogressives.org.