The inaugural Burien Film Festival (BFF) kicked off at the 3rd annual Burien UFO Festival on Wednesday night, April 1, showcasing 10 original short films shot in the city and utilizing local businesses. The new film festival – founded and organized by John White and Shelli Park – is intended to help promote Burien, its businesses and locations, as well as the local creative community. White, who served as Executive Producer of “The Maury Island Incident” (shot partially in Burien), has grown fond of filmmaking, even creating and shooting his own short movies to promote this festival. “I have a newfound respect for filmmakers,” White recently told The B-Town Blog. “It’s not easy to write, cast, shoot, direct and edit a film! But I love this art and want to help further it for the local community.” Recently, the City of Burien announced that it had created a Film Office as a way to help stimulate local filmmaking (read our previous coverage here). SEE THE WINNING FILMS HERE The winning film for the first BFF was “Transmission” (Directed by Mitch Olsen), a humorous, fast-paced film with plenty of tension, drama, and of course comedic chase scenes through B-Town. The film was awarded $2,500 for first place. It was also voted as “People’s Choice” award by the audience. “One reason ‘Transmission’ was chosen as the best film was its production values,” said lead judge Scott Schaefer. “The fact that they shot an underwater scene – not an easy task – is what put this one over the top.” Films were judged by Schaefer (Director/Producer/Writer), Steve Edmiston (Writer/Producer/Director), Lisa B. Hammond (Production Designer), Matt Markovich (KOMO-TV) and Burien City Manager Kamuron Gurol. This film starred:
- Amy Green & Kelly Mason: Evil Queen Nabu
- Alex Olsen: HQ Agent Mulder
- Lauren Easterling: HQ Agent Scully
- Greg Crenshaw: Agent Rodney
- Kowboy Badasserson: Agent Darrell
- Best Use of a Man in Black: MISSING
- Best Use of a Woman in Black:Â Chesarae Bonnevie (Searching)
- Best Use of an Alien: Real Estate Earth
- Best Use of Burien: Case File 98166-2
- Best Actor/Actress: TIE: Alex Williams in MISSING & Kelly Mason as Evil Queen Nabu in Transmission
- Best Director: Transmission
- Best Ensemble: Transmission
- Best Screenplay: MISSING
Is there a more happening city than Burien, Washington????????????I do not think so.
Get your cameras out for round two.
I thought the Film Festival was a great addition this year! Cheers to John for
Making the festival a fantastic annual event!
Where can we find the rest of the film festival entries? My friends and I were filmed for a scene, but then we missed the screenings.