Wexner's 'Picture Lock': World-Class Networking Opportunity For Film Lovers

I was honored recently to participate in "Picture Lock," the Wexner Center for the Art's 25th anniversary of its film/video residency program. Filmmakers from around the world who have participated in the program over the years - myself included - converged on my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 for the celebration.

The Wexner Center's film residency program enables independent filmmakers to use the organization's world-class facility on the campus of The Ohio State University. Filmmakers are able to use Wexner's production and editing equipment and receive assistance from the experienced staff to complete their projects.

Many of the projects that have received support from Wexner in the past two and a half decades are non-commercial movies that wouldn't receive backing from major studios, from experimental art films to documentaries on little-known subjects.

My project falls into the latter category. I was fortunate to participate in Wexner's film residency program for two weeks in the summer of 2013 (click this link to access several blog posts I made about the experience). The project I worked on during my residency is a documentary titled Lady Wrestler: The Amazing, Untold Story of African-American Women in the Ring.

A still from my documentary, Lady Wrestler.

The documentary chronicles the experiences of women such as Babs Wingo, Ethel Johnson, Marva Scott and Ramona Isbell. These courageous women braved racism and sexism in the '50s, '60s and '70s to compete around the world in the male-dominated professional wrestling industry.

I've made some additional tweaks to the project since my Wexner residency and plan to begin entering the documentary in film festivals in 2016. Stay tuned to this blog and my website (www.chrisbournea.com) for details.

Participating in "Picture Lock" offered a valuable opportunity to network with like-minded individuals who grew up loving the movies and share a passion for everything related to film. Getting a chance to compare notes and share best practices is vitally important for those of us who live and work outside of the major entertainment hubs of New York and L.A. (I still live in Columbus).

And I must admit, seeing my photo among dozens of other filmmakers displayed on a wall in the Wexner Center gallery was pretty cool.

Like the closing credits in a movie, I must give a big shout-out to everyone in the Wexner's Film/Video staff: David Filipi, director; Jennifer Lange, curator; Chris Stults, associate curator; and Mike Olenick, studio editor. And last but not least, Paul Hill, studio editor and my longtime close friend whose hard work, generosity, patience and unwavering support has been invaluable over the years.