The One That Got Away, City of Hate: Dallas and the Assassination, 60 Years Later, Showdown on the Brazos won top award honors at the 6th Billy the Kid Film Festival in Texas.

Top jury awards went to Pablo Federico Schmitt’s The One That Got Away for Best Narrative Feature, Quin Matthews’ City of Hate: Dallas and the Assassination, 60 Years Later won Best Documentary, and Bill Foster’s Showdown on the Brazos won Best Texas Film. Will Fitzpatrick’s The Roping Fools took the People’s Choice Award for Best Feature.

BTKFF’s Legacy Awards went to Chris Hanna’s On the Edge of Freedom (Billy the Kid Award), Johnathan Paul and Josh Gilbert’s Harsh Treatment (Barry Corbin Award), Joseph Stevens’ The Sachel (Pine Moore Studios Award), and Troy Paff’s Texas Music Revolution won the Hico Hall Award. The Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award went to Brian Russell’s SilverSizzle, and The Ruth Buzzi Music Award went to Tommy Simms and Joe Ludwig’s Top Secret Jazz.

Festival Director Luci DiGiorgio said, “In our sixth edition, the Billy the Kid Film Festival struck a wonderful balance between the locally shot and produced films we strive to celebrate, as well as some wonderful films made here and elsewhere that exemplify the BTKFF outlaw spirit. Our legacy awards, including the Pine Moore Studios Award, which comes with a free day’s film shoot at their legendary Western Town location, and the Barry Corbin and Ruth Buzzi Awards, further highlights a nod to the influential talent that sets the tone for our filmmakers and reminds us how far and wide the film community stretches here in Texas.:

BTKFF presented a series of one-of-a-kind ceramic “ballistic art” sculpture by Scott Carlson Pottery to winning films.

Two-time winners were Jakob Lancaster’s The Last Cowboy in Sanford, which won both the Jury prize for Best Foreign Film, and the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film, and Jay Haru Potaraju’s The Fork nabbed the Jury Prize and the Audience Choice Award for Best Student/High School Film.

Additional jury awards among the features went to Vic Quinton and Cynthia Garcia Kielia (Most Inspirational Film), Jason Vandygriff’s Blood Dried Hands (Best Horror Film). Jury winners in the short film categories included Danny Pineros’ Bisected (Best Narrative Short Film), Will Darbyshire’s Cycles (Best Comedy Short Film), Preston Walden’s The Hanging of William Crane (Best Outlaw Short Film), Robert Cantu’s False and Baseless (Best Texas Short Film), Anthony Parisi’s Ambush at St. Mary’s (Best Western Short Film), Smitch Sifuentes’ Lithium (Best Animation Short Film), Robin Scovill’s The Deep Rolling: Magma (Best Music Video), and Joshua Collins’ Nobody’s Perfect(Best Student Short Film). Additional Audience Choice Awards went to Austin Ford Franklin Culp’s Titty Boy (Best Local Film), and Michael Scott Payton’s Every Heart Breaks the Same (Best Music Video).

BTKFF kicked off with the film festival’s traditional screening under the stars, which included an encore screening of Lisa Belcher’s award-winning Javelina Run, which featured this year’s BTKFF Lifetime Achievement honoree Wally Welch, and Chris Hanna’s locally filmed On the Edge of Freedom.

The celebration of Pine Moore Studios, the popular western movie set again highlighted this year’s Filmmaker Awards Party and stages in Blanco, Texas with Dennis and Amanda Moore on hand. Ruth Buzzi’s husband, Kent Perkins, also presented the awards in her name and conveyed her well wishes.

The 2024 Billy the Kid Film Festival Filmmaker Award winners

BTKFF LEGACY AWARDS

Billy the Kid FF Lifetime Achievement Honoree
Wally Welch

Billy the Kid Award
On the Edge of Freedom
Director: Chris Hanna

Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award
SilverSizzle
Director: Brian Russell

Ruth Buzzi Music Award
Top Secret Jazz
Directors: Tommy Simms, Joe Ludwig

Barry Corbin Award
Harsh Treatment
Directors: Johnathan Paul, Josh Gilbert

Pine Moore Studios Award (filmed with 150 miles of Hico, TX)
The Satchel
Director: Joseph Stevens

Hico Hall Award
Texas Music Revolution
Director: Troy Paff

BTKFF JURY AWARDS

Best Narrative Feature Film
The One That Got Away
Director: Pablo Federico Schmitt

Best Documentary Feature Film
City Of Hate: Dallas And The Assassination, 60 Years Later
Director: Quin Mathews

Best Texas Feature Film
Showdown on the Brazos
Director: Bill Foster

Best Foreign Film
The Last Cowboy in Salford
Director: Jakob Lancaster

Most Inspirational Film
Kielia
Directors: Vic Quinton, Cynthia Garcia

Best Horror Film
Blood Dried Hands
Director: Jason Vandygriff

Best Narrative Short Film
Bisected
Director: Danny Pineros

Best Comedy Short Film
Cycles
Director: Will Darbyshire

Best Outlaw Short Film
The Hanging of William Crane
Director: Preston Walden

Best Texas Short Film
False and Baseless
Director: Robert Cantu

Best Western Short Film
Ambush at St. Mary’s
Director: Anthony Parisi

Best Animation Short Film
Lithium
Director: Smitch Sifuentes

Best Music Video
The Deep Rolling: Magma
Director: Robin Scovill

Best Student Short Film
Nobody’s Perfect
Director: Joshua Collins

Best High School Short Film
The Fork
Director: Jay Haru Potaraju

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

Best Feature Film
The Roping Fools
Director: Will Fitzpatrick

Best Short Film
The Last Cowboy in Salford
Director: Jakob Lancaster

Best Local Film
Titty Boy
Director: Austin Ford Franklin Culp

Best Student/High School Film
The Fork
Director: Jay Haru Potaraju

Best Music Video
Every Heary Breaks the Same
Director: Michael Scott Payton