via partial Tallgrass Film Festival Press Release

Wichita's First 24 Hour Film Race
Proves Wildly Successful;
Sees 34 Teams, 27 Films Compete

Choosing the Top Ten proved to be more difficult than the judges expected;
first they had to eliminate 17 films from the running. As Wichita’s first ever
24-hour film race has come to a close, CreativeRush and Tallgrass Film Association
saw an overwhelming 34 teams register for the competition, including several
well-known Wichita filmmakers and a team of junior high students, with 27 films
ultimately submitted. They will showcase the Top Ten films and host an award
ceremony tonight, Sunday Aug. 12, at 7:00 p.m. at The Orpheum Theatre (200 N. Broadway).

Down to the Wire: A 24 Hour Film Race gave teams of up to 15 people 24 hours to write, shoot, and edit a film
less than six minutes long. All films were required to incorporate four given elements: a theme, location, prop,
and line of dialogue, randomly drawn at the race's beginning.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we expect to see so many teams register in our first year,” says TFA
Executive Director Lela Meadow-Conner. “The excitement for this film race just goes to show what a
creative pulse we have in Wichita, and how much fun the realm of independent filmmaking can be.
We can't wait to host it again next year and make this an annual affair."

Down to the Wire kicked off Friday August 10th at 6:00 p.m. with a Producers’ Meeting at
Wichita Downtown Development Corporation. Filmmakers had until 7:00 p.m.
Saturday August 11th to complete and submit films at the Tallgrass Film Association office.
Filmmakers and both organizations followed the race live via Twitter, as all involved were
encouraged to document their experiences using the hashtag #DownToTheWire.

"It's amazing what people can creatively come up with under pressure," says CreativeRush
founder Kylie Brown. "We saw teams trying to throw each other off through their tweets.
We saw photos of horses, sunrises, and middle-of-the-night caffeine breaks.
For those of us not competing, it was really fun to watch the race unfold live."

During the Top Films Showcase, a VIP judging panel will live critique the Top Ten films
at the public screening tonight, and award First, Second, and Third Places and The Student
Film Award. The audience will have the opportunity to vote for the Audience Choice Award.
VIP judges for Down to the Wire are Sarah Kallail, KWCH Producer and actor with
"Say What Improvisational Comedy Troupe"; Wynn Ponder, writer/filmmaker
and Managing Partner for IMG Pictures and Impression Pictures; and Peter Jasso,
Director of the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission.

Tickets for the Top Ten Showcase was free for all registered teams and $3 to the public.

As you walked up to The Wichita Orpheum we were all surprised to see on the marquee: DOWN TO THE WIRE a 24 HR FILM RACE

This was officially a wild, successful event with 34 teams registered, 27 films submitted,
a top 10 showcase and over 500 people in attendance. Wichita has way more filmmakers than we all thought!

Ready for next year?!

Down to the Wire was sponsored in part by KMUW and Monster Energy Drink.