Wildwood Film Festival: A Huge Success

Wildwood Film Festival: A Huge Success

Orion Neighborhood Television, Orion’s community access television station, would like to thank all of the participants who took part in the sixth annual Wildwood Film Festival held on Oct. 30.

A sellout crowd arrived at the Oxford 7 theater for the screening of nine short films produced by Lake Orion area filmmakers. Adult division winners include: first place, “Witched” produced by Mindy Denninger, second place, “Wildcat Gold” produced by Charlie Fracker and third place, “Sacrifice” produced by Vincent Martocci. “Rock Collectors 2” produced by Nathaniel Jernberg-Johnson took first place in the youth division, and The People’s Choice Award went to “Akuryo” produced by Clayton Willis, Bryce Darrin and Dane Von Allmen. The ONTV staff was proud to present the Lake Orion High School S.O.S. suicide prevention program with a $217 donation.

Ian Locke, ONTV Executive Director stated, “This special event really showcases how many talented filmmakers we have in Lake Orion and the surrounding area. This year we had a lot of comedy which makes for a really fun night. We’ve been doing the film festival for six years and we’re glad we can continue to provide this opportunity to the community while supporting the High School’s S.O.S program.”

ONTV would also like to thank its sponsors for adding to the success of this year’s festival: 20 Front Street, Orion Oaks Dental and FlipSpot Gymnastics and Cheer. Filmmakers were given the challenge of producing a 10 minute film in five days. Each group was given a prop, location and a line of dialog which they had to use in their film. The producers worked in groups with production equipment supplied by Orion Neighborhood Television.

Orion Neighborhood Television is an award winning community access television station serving the Village of Lake Orion and Orion Township. ONTV is housed at the Orion Center at 1349 Joslyn Rd. ONTV can be seen on Comcast Cable and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. Programs can also be seen on-demand at www.orionontv.org. Contact ONTV by phone: 248-393-1060, Email: [email protected].

ONTV Producers Bring Home Philo Awards

ONTV Producers Bring Home Philo Awards

On Thursday, October 17th Orion Neighborhood Television producers were honored at the   Philo Festival of Media Arts, hosted by the Central States Alliance for Community Media. The awards ceremony took place at the WKTV Studio in Wyoming, Michigan. The Philo awards in an annual public access television cable TV competition within the Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan region. The “PHILO” is awarded for excellence in community media in various categories.  

Award winners include: Joe Johnson and Stacy Calloway for the ONTV News cast in the news professional category, Tessa Bratton and Jenny Bhatti for the Orion Township Roundabout Benefits video in the instructional professional category, and George Sinnott also took home a Philo for his Active Living show in the political awareness non-professional category.

“I feel ONTV is one of the best access centers in the state, if not in the country,” says ONTV Station Manager, Joe Johnson. “The Philo awards validate the fact that we put out quality programming.” Community access television was established in the Orion area over 30 years ago and has become a vital part of the community. “Our volunteers and staff work really hard to provide media tailored to our residents,” says Tessa Bratton, ONTV’s Production Manager. “It feels great and it’s inspiring for all of us at ONTV to be recognized for that effort and passion.”

The Philo awards is named after Philo T. Farnsworth, the father of modern television.  Farnsworth was born in 1906 and invented the first receiving tube for television transmission. The ACM Central States Region honors the memory of Philo T. Farnsworth by recognizing the effort of access producers who promote the use of media in their community.