Outlaw film fest coming in February

Paul Head (right) founded the Outlaw Film Festival. Matt Igoe (left) was one of last year's honorees.

As the Golden Globes and Oscar nominees are announced, Sisters is gearing up for its own salute to film in the second annual Outlaw Film Festival.

"Last year's festival was good," said Sisters High School senior Paul Head, creator of the Outlaw Film Festival, "but this year's event will be even better."

The Outlaw Film Festival will take place on Saturday, February 9, at Sisters High School. At 1 p.m., the public is invited to preview the cinematic entries. At 7 p.m. that evening awards will be presented to the winning films in a variety of categories.

Tickets for the evening event can be purchased at the door for $5. Children under six are free. Concessions will be available throughout the day.

"The festival will be different this year, in a lot of ways," said Head. "It will be more of a show -- the school will be more involved, with the jazz choir and pep band performing. We will have fewer film categories this year, but we are adding a People's Choice award."

Head and his crew are also trying to add an authentic touch of Hollywood to this year's event.

"I've got in a call to Dean Cain's agent -- he's the actor who play(ed) Superman," said Amber Randall, a senior at SHS who is helping with the film festival.

"We would like him to come and present some of the awards," Head said. "I'd also like him to teach a workshop for students who are interested in film careers."

Head said that he decided to start the film festival last year because it combined two of his career interests -- film and leadership.

"This has been a challenge for me," he said. "Last year was good, but not quite what I wanted. People weren't able to see the entire films, just clips at the award presentation. I also wasn't able to get the word out to as many schools as I would have liked. And I wanted more people from the film industry involved."

Head has already brought in one guest speaker and has scheduled a second. Last week, Sisters resident Rick Johnson came to the high school and spoke to a small group of interested students about the camera crane he devised for film making. He also talked about his educational journey through film school.

"He gave the kids lots of practical advice about how to pursue careers in the film industry," said Head.

High school students from around Central Oregon are welcome to submit their original films.

Categories will be similar to those used at the Academy Awards--i.e., Best Actor, Actress, Best Screenplay, etc. The deadline for their entries is February 1.

For more information, contact Paul Head at 595-1027.