Just over 1,000 filmmakers and film enthusiasts gathered in downtown Waco last weekend for the 10th annual Waco Independent Film Festival, a milestone that organizers say reflects the event's steady rise from a small local showcase to a nationally recognized destination for independent film.
This year, the festival accepted 164 projects from 940 submissions, including 126 short films and 17 unproduced screenplays selected for dramatic readings.
"We have allowed this year to be stuffed with amazing things," Co-founder Samuel Thomas said.
For Atlanta-based filmmaker Nicholas Buck, whose short film "Storage Fees" screened at the festival, Waco Indie was the ideal place to wrap up a year-long festival circuit.
"The energy at this film fest is really great," Buck said. "I've really enjoyed the sense of community that I feel is here."
Co-founders Louis Hunter and Samuel Thomas launched the festival a decade ago with a single screen at the Waco Hippodrome.
Hunter said the festival's reputation has grown alongside its programming.
"Like high caliber stuff that's been at Sundance, that's been at Tribeca, you're gonna see it here. You don't have to go to those cities, you can see amazing films here," Hunter said.
The growth, he said, has been gradual.
"We started with one screen and one venue just doing a few short films at the Hippodrome [and] a couple of feature films," Hunter said.
Last year, Waco Indie was named to MovieMaker Magazine's "25 Coolest Film Festivals" and "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entrance Fee" lists, while also being named one of FilmFreeway's Top 100 Best Reviewed Festivals. It was one of only six festivals in the world to be named on all three lists.
"To see where we've grown, it's just amazing," Hunter said.
Over the past decade, the festival has expanded to four screening venues across downtown Waco, adding a red carpet kickoff, educational panels, a short and feature length screenplay competition, film locations tour and nightly afterparties.
The winner of the screenplay competition also receives a grant to return to Waco and produce the winning short film.
Ian Loomer, director of operations for the Texas Media Production Alliance, attended the festival's Waco film locations tour and said the event stands out because of its emphasis on supporting filmmakers.
"They really cater to the aspiring filmmaker and helping them grow as an artist and a creator," Loomer said. "I think it encourages them to come back to show their next film here or to maybe premiere it here."
First-time attendee Camille Ramos said that filmmaker-focused approach was apparent throughout the weekend. Ramos screened her film, "End of Camp", and works in the entertainment industry.
"I've been to a handful of other festivals before where it feels like they just drop you in the middle of the city and you don't know where you're going or who's there or who's to meet. … the organizers and programmers here take the filmmaker experience so seriously," Ramos said.
She said the festival's compact downtown footprint helps create opportunities for filmmakers to connect with audiences and one another. Nightly afterparties and post-screening question-and-answer sessions further strengthen those relationships.
"We can meet Wacoans, people who are in town. That's who we want to connect with," Ramos said.
Kelli Ann Pistokache, who now works for the Dallas Producers Association, said those connections extend beyond the filmmaking community.
"So if you're not a filmmaker, you don't know anything about not only the industry but the community … that could be the gateway for someone to start becoming a fan of independent filmmaking," Pistokache said.
Waco Mayor Jim Holmes said the festival benefits the city in multiple ways.
"You see the return not only from the economic return, but from the quality of life that we have this kind of program," Holmes said.
For many filmmakers, those experiences leave a lasting impression.
"I'll be lucky if I get to come back," Ramos said.
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