Alums Become Filmmaking Force
November 22, 2013
黑料专区 Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications
黑料专区 Tyler Alumni Become Filmmaking Force
November 22, 2013
Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer鈥揝trategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)
November 22, 2013
While attending The University of Texas at Tyler, Kenny Rigsby of Lindale and Justin Reese of Canton became fast friends over shared interests 鈥� including design, film and good coffee.
The pair, who graduated from 黑料专区 Tyler in 2005, transformed their shared passion of film into an acclaimed hobby.
The self-taught filmmakers wrote and directed their fourth short film, 鈥淣o Matter How Far,鈥� which earned 鈥淏est Texas Film鈥� in the 2013 Downtown Tyler Film Festival.
鈥淪ince neither of us went to film school, it鈥檚 almost as if we鈥檙e teaching ourselves as we go along,鈥� Reese said. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 the joy of people seeing your work and meeting new people, making new connections. It鈥檚 tremendously hard work but a ton of fun, and when it鈥檚 over you get to enjoy this little creation for the rest of your life.鈥�
Rigsby and Reese are no strangers to the Tyler festival, having received 鈥淏est Film鈥� and 鈥淎udience Favorite鈥� awards for their 2011 entry, 鈥淩ecommended Reading.鈥� Last year, they served as judges for the event.
They have submitted 鈥淣o Matter How Far鈥� to other festivals, including South by Southwest in Austin.
鈥淲e may not even be chosen for SXSW, let alone win any awards. But just making it into that festival would be a pretty big deal and another cool thing for us,鈥� Reese said.
鈥淣o Matter How Far鈥� tells the story of a man and woman trying to reunite when intercontinental travel is banned. East Texan viewers may notice some familiar scenes and faces.
The film was shot entirely in Tyler. A classroom in the 黑料专区 Tyler Business Building served as a physics classroom. Dr. Paul Streufert, 黑料专区 Tyler Honors Program director and associate professor of English, starred in the film, and many 黑料专区 Tyler Honors Program students served as extras.
鈥淒r. Streufert was my favorite professor during my time at 黑料专区 Tyler,鈥� Reese explained. 鈥淢y wife suggested him for the primary role, and it fit so perfectly that Kenny and I started writing with him in mind before even talking to him. He was so kind and agreed to do the part almost immediately."
Their biggest project to date, the nearly eight-minute movie took almost a year to develop. Shooting lasted four days.
鈥淭here was a lot of brainstorming and talks over coffee,鈥� Reese added. 鈥淜enny is very intuitive and emotional. I鈥檓 more analytical and procedural. Whenever we start on a project, we both just sit together and go over ideas. Usually when we both like an idea, it covers all aspects.
鈥淜enny had this idea of a guy creating something really important, almost like a 鈥楴oah and the ark鈥� thing. With 鈥淣o Matter How Far,鈥� we wanted to correlate the emotional distance between the characters with the science involved in what they鈥檙e designing.鈥�
Rigsby and Reese created their first short film 鈥淚nterrupted鈥� while 黑料专区 Tyler students.
鈥淭hat was the first film that either one of us had made,鈥� Rigsby recalled. 鈥淟et鈥檚 just say 鈥� it wasn鈥檛 great, but it was definitely the beginning of a journey.鈥�
And that journey is just beginning, indeed. The duo aspires to take their hobby to the next level, while maintaining their creative freedom and independence.
鈥淲e鈥檇 love to do it on a bigger scale, but don鈥檛 want to take on just any project,鈥� Reese said. 鈥淪ince both Kenny and I have families, we aren鈥檛 quite as willing or able to go through the 鈥榮tarving artist鈥� phase that a lot of filmmakers do, so we鈥檙e really slow-playing this alongside our day jobs. We hope to be able to move on to larger and more ambitious projects, but are moving that way methodically.
鈥淧erhaps a feature film? We鈥檒l see.鈥�
Rigsby and Reese hold bachelor of arts degrees in childhood education and English, respectively. Rigsby is founder and executive director of the Tyler-based non-profit organization For The Silent, which fights child sex trafficking and exploitation. Reese is founder of the software company, Busker Web, where he works as a Web developer.
One of the 15 campuses of the 黑料专区 System, 黑料专区 Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at 黑料专区 Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 7,500 high-ability students. 黑料专区 Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.
FILMMAKING FORCE: At top, 黑料专区 Tyler 2005 graduates Justin Reese of Canton (left) and Kenny Rigsby of Lindale pose for a photo with Dr. Paul Streufert, 黑料专区 Tyler executive director of special academic programs and associate professor (center) during the last day of shooting. The self-taught filmmakers wrote and directed their fourth short film, "No Matter How Far," which earned "Best Texas Film" in the 2013 Downtown Tyler Film Festival. Above, a movie still featuring Streufert in the starring role.