Photo courtesy of Maureen Womack.
Oak Cliff residents Chris and Brent Bolding are preparing for their nonprofit’s upcoming film festival, hitting the five-year milestone of their OK2BX Foundation.
The name is a nod to the phrase “It’s okay to be extraordinary!” which Brent would say to his children before they went to school each day. The foundation was formed after the couple’s daughter, Eleanor, died by suicide just months after coming out to her family as transgender.
“When Eleanor passed, she was really extraordinary. A really extraordinary young person, very just in tune with what other people were thinking and feeling and saying and doing, and always wanted to listen to other people. Was very oriented toward bringing opposing views into the conversation and hearing what everybody had to say. And so we really just wanted to honor that,” her mother Chris said.
For the past five years, the foundation has held a variety of events to give participants their own opportunities to showcase how extraordinary they are.
“When we first started the foundation, our idea was to really try to bring underrepresented artists into a place where they could perform and we could hear their voices,” she said.
The inaugural event, the OK2BX Fest, ran for two years showcasing different artists and live music. The foundation has since pivoted to focus on more film, which was inspired by Eleanor’s love of movies.
“She loved film. She founded the film club at her school. She wanted to go to film school. She was making films on her smartphone, just doing all the things,” Chris said.
Photo courtesy of the OK2BX Foundation.
The OK2BX Film Festival highlights high school filmmakers, offering screenings and awards in various categories. Though the categories are not binding for those submitting films.
“We started out with thinking that we wanted these very specific winning categories that kind of tied back to our theme,” Chris said. “And what we found is it was more important to let kids have a voice, no matter what the theme was, just to let them see their films on the big screen.”
Brent added that, to his knowledge, the festival is the only one in Texas that gives out an award for the LGBTQ+ category.
“Now I feel like it’s even more important because the youth are being shut down about identifying as a different gender or that they are a different sexual orientation,” Chris said. “This gives them a place still, where everyone else is silencing them, to really come forward and talk about these topics.”
The film festival program has grown to include a larger educational component this year, in addition to the foundation’s year-round efforts to support students with scholarships.
“We brought on (Southern Methodist University) as really a partner in what we’re now calling our Filmmaker Futures Lab,” Brent said. “We put on a college fair where we bring in college film programs from around the country, and then also put in workshops to help the kids along with their filmmaking journey.”
The free OK2BX Filmmakers Futures Lab gives students the opportunity to attend panels to learn about Dallas film resources, how to get into festivals, how to get into a college film program, making independent movies, using a smartphone to make movies and workshops that teach screenwriting, sound and lighting skills.
The foundation has also expanded with the formation of committees to help run the upcoming festival. That initiative aims to ensure the work can continue beyond the Boldings.
“We hit the five-year mark, and we were like, ‘This is legit. We got to build it out so that we can figure out how it stays here beyond when we leave.’ And I think that has probably been the most exciting thing is people are jumping on board, and hopefully it will continue to grow,” Chris said.
“The Film Festival is just a way for us to carry on her legacy forever.”
The OK2BX Film Festival & College Showcase will take place Saturday, April 11. Tickets for the film festival and awards ceremony are available for $15. The college showcase is free. Those who register here will receive a free lunch token.