10 Mile Productions in downtown Brownwood announced Wednesday that it will no longer be taking part in the Pride of Texas Film Festival June 10-12, leaving the status of the event up in the air.
Brownwood was set to be the smallest town in Texas to host a pride event, but a difference in opinion between the organizers regarding the direction of the event led to 10 Mile bowing out as host.
Hayley Fowler-Cox and Sara Cox, owners of 10 Mile Productions, told BrownwoodNews.com, “The Pride of Texas Film Festival’s vision for an LBGTQ event is different than ours. We feel like they should carry out their vision of a pride event at a venue that can meet their expectations. At this time we will continue to provide quality Texas wine, craft beer, small eats and good times for our community.”
Goldthwaite resident and filmmaker Brock Cravy, a Keller native, is the driving force behind the Pride of Texas Film Festival.
“It’s disappointing but I respect their decision,” Cravy said of 10 Mile Productions’ choice to opt out of hosting. “In the spirit of pride and against opposition, it must continue. It just has to.”
Cravy added that despite receiving negative feedback, he still intends to host the Pride of Texas Film Festival in Brownwood during the month of June.
“June is pride month, so that’s the goal,” Cravy said, who added he had been in touch with other businesses who have expressed in interested in hosting. “There is still support. There are so many people that still want this to happen. But hate is a very powerful emotion and it can tear communities apart. Across the board, every vendor is asking me not to mention their names because they are afraid of what other people will say about them, and that’s been hurtful.”
On Tuesday, cw39.com – the website for a Houston television station – posted a story that stated Cravy had filed a formal complaint alleging employees of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office displayed anti-LGBTQ sentiments toward the film festival.
The story, which can be found here, states the television station reached out to the sheriff’s office and did not receive an official statement.
BrownwoodNews.com spoke with Brown County Sheriff Vance Hill Wednesday morning, who stated, “He did file a legal complaint on May 12 about some stuff he overheard coming from my lobby from a civilian and a couple of my employees. I’m doing an internal investigation and I plan on completing the investigation probably today, and I will meet with Mr. Cravy possibly tomorrow and go over what I’ve learned in my investigation.”