The Torchfire Film Festival is advertised on the marquee of the Historic Artcraft Theatre. The film festival, which celebrates and spotlights Indiana filmmaking as well as films from around the country, debuts Thursday at the Artcraft. RYAN TRARES | DAILY JOURNAL
The stories are imaginative, creative and uniquely Hoosier-made.
A soft-boiled detective takes on a case when his private investigator brother-in-law goes missing, getting thrown into an adventure filled with humor and heart. A high school benchwarmer faces a life-altering decision after being offered a chance to chase his baseball dreams.
Two married marine scientists confront both a blue whale and their troubled relationship, with the whale offering unexpected revelations.
On Thursday evening, local audiences will have the chance see each on the big screen for the first time. Downtown Franklin will play host to the inaugural Torchfire Film Festival in a celebration of Indiana filmmaking.
“We have so much here in Indiana, and so many different walks of life. Telling each individual story, whether that was in downtown Indianapolis or somebody who was in Muncie or in Evansville — they all have their stories,” said Dustin Brenton, founder of the Torchfire Film Festival.
Moviegoers are invited to the Historic Artcraft Theatre to see three selections from the startup festival — one feature-length film and two short films. Guest speakers will give presentations about the movies, and attendees can win big with prize giveaways.
All of it adds up to a historic night for film across the state.
“I hope that we have people who are interested in making their own films: filmmakers who show up, people who haven’t started making their own films, and this shows them they can do this too,” Brenton said. “And we want to show people who aren’t making films that there’s more out there than the huge blockbuster movies with millions and millions of dollars in the marketing campaign. There’s more storytelling, more to see out there.”
The Torchfire Film Festival was envisioned as a celebration of the best in independent filmmaking, with a strong focus on Indiana’s rich pool of talent. Organizers see it as a launchpad for emerging filmmakers, both local and international, while paying special tribute to Hoosier storytellers, according to the organization.
Origins of the film festival came from Brenton and his brother, JD, who are both active in a variety of creative fields. Dustin Brenton is an illustrator and artist who founded Brenton Creative, a Franklin-based marketing and design firm. He writes music through an endeavor known as Creative Culture, and hosts a podcast, “Create. Talk. Repeat.” that spotlights other creative types in the area.
JD Brenton is a videographer, cinematographer and editor who has worked on a number of films, including “H.P. Lovecraft’s Witch House,” an Indianapolis-shot horror film that was distributed around the world.
A screenplay for one of their film, “The Annexation of Life,” was named best screenplay at the What Will They Think of Next Film Festival in late 2023.
“We’ve been fans of movies our whole lives,” Dustin Brenton said. “And also the creating of movies as well. We’ve been making movies since we were kids with the VHS cameras our dad bought us.”
Independent movies have been a passion of the Brentons — particularly those made in Indiana. They had talked about putting together a film festival for years, but it was their experience with the What Will They Think of Next Film Festival and other festivals that sparked their vision into a reality.
“Once we started entering our stuff into film festivals, we starting asking, what is there around here?” Dustin Brenton said. “Other than the Heartland Film Festival, there’s not a whole lot in this area.”
With the idea of a local festival coming together, the Brentons pondered the best venue for such an event. Dustin Brenton had connections with operators of the Artcraft Theatre, which had formerly been the host of the B Movie Film Festival years ago, as well as hosting the Best of the Fest event showcasing a limited number of Heartland International Film Festival selections each year.
Artcraft organizers have also created their own mini-film festivals built around different themes.
“This seemed like a natural fit. If we’re doing a film festival to highlight Indiana-made independent films, and we have this beautiful theater in downtown Franklin, why not pair the two together?” Dustin Brenton said.
For those at the Artcraft, it was exciting to be part of an emerging event celebrating film in Indiana.
“It’s great to see so many talented filmmakers that we didn’t know existed locally. It proves you don’t have to be in Hollywood or Atlanta making movies. You can do so right here in our backyard,” said Dave Windisch, marketing director for Franklin Heritage, which owns and operates the Artcraft.
A number of supporters stepped up to help the festival become a reality, including Prolift Garage Doors, The Box Media Production Space, First Frame Productions, Brenton Creative, Creative Council of Franklin, Ivy Tech Foundation and Horror Wasteland Pictures International.
The Brentons called their event the Torchfire Film Festival — a nod to the torch that serves as the center of the Indiana state flag.
“‘Since we were focusing on Indiana, and wanted to brand ourselves as an Indiana film festival — regardless of if this grows into something bigger, this is home — and with the Indiana state flag having the torch, that was the impetus for the name,” Dustin Brenton said.
While focused on Indiana film, the Torchfire Film Festival also expands its vision beyond the state’s borders. Organizers offered four categories: feature-length film, short film, Indiana feature-length film and Indiana short film.
Four winners were chosen.
The best Indiana feature-length film was called “Pears, a detective story directed by Ryan McCurdy from Evansville. The best Indiana short film was the baseball-centric “Gunslinger,” directed by Lincoln Reed of Muncie.
Judges found two other films by non-Indiana filmmakers, “Descendent” by Artour Bajanov and “Libra” by Jonathan Everett to be award-winning as well.
A number of Indiana short films were designated as official selections: “Rock Bottom” by Jake Seitz, “Sack Race With Knives: The Curious Art of Kevin Titzer” by Jordan Barclay and “Dark Side of the Moon” by Lincoln Reed.
“Even though we all come from the same place in the state of Indiana, we all have different stories,” Dustin Brenton said. “It runs the gamut. We found out how hard it was to judge it, because we’d have submissions that were documentaries, horror films, comedies, dramas, some student films.
“… It wasn’t all farmland and corn.”
The Torchfire Film Festival will start at 7 p.m. Thursday, with doors opening at 6. Tickets are just $5 per person.
At Thursday’s event, the only award-winning films being shown will be “Pears” and “Gunslinger.” Another Indiana short film official selection, “Physical Matters” directed by Kurtis Aaron Bowersock of Indianapolis, is also scheduled to be screened. The other winners and selections will all be recognized and celebrated at the film festival, though.
“I hope people come out and enjoy these films, and take away from it that maybe they won’t pass over an independent film or something made more locally, and get more engaged with local films,” Dustin Brenton said.
IF YOU GO
Torchfire Film Festival
What: A newly created film festival, with an emphasis on Indiana filmmakers, featuring award-winning films, guest speakers and prize giveaways throughout the night.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday. Doors open at 6.
Where: Historic Artcraft Theatre, 57 N. Main St., Franklin
Cost: $5 per person
Information and tickets; Available at historicartcrafttheatre.org or torchfirefilmfestival.com
