Welling Films
"Welling Films' (sometimes written as WF) is an American film distribution company based in Houston, Texas. It was launched in mid-2006 by Houston-born choreographer and photographer Shawn Welling.
Company history
After Welling's dance studio was beset with Houston city council suits regarding its parking situation, he decided to document the battle on film. The studio released its first film, The House of Dreams, in 2006. This film would win Welling best director honours in 2006 and 2007 from WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.
This win and Welling's eye as a cinematographer would foster a lasting partnership with film legend Lee Majors. In the subsequent years since the company's founding, he has appeared in six projects with the studio. Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).
Their 2009 documentary film The Messenger: 360 Days of Bolivar, chronicled the lives of four men living on the Bolivar Peninsula during the year leading up to the devastation of Hurricane Ike.
In 2011, feature film Project Aether, earned Critics Choice Awards for 'Best Feature', 'Best Actor', and 'Best Overall World Premier' by the Houston Film Critics Society, as well as a 'Best Local Filmmaker Award' from Houston Press.[1]
In 2011, the studio also began the web series AXI: Avengers of Xtreme Illusions, featuring the I.aM.mE Dance crew in a series of web films in the vein of The Twilight Zone, but "infused with dance and lyrical movement that have never been seen before." Also in 2011, he began filming The Legend of DarkHorse County, a feature film starring Olivia "Chachi" Gonzales. The film began as an episode of AXI, but upon finding out Gonzales was strong enough as an actress, Welling decided to create the project as a feature film.
In 2015, Welling Films released five different short films, ranging from topics as diverse as zombie lore to canine aging. In that year, the studio also garnered eleven awards from WorldFest Houston.
Filmography
| Release Year | Film Title |
|---|---|
| 2006 | The House of Dreams |
| 2009 | The Messenger: 360 Days of Bolivar |
| 2011 | Project Aether |
| 2013 | The Walk |
| 2014 | The Legend of DarkHorse County |
| 2014 | Adamo |
| 2014 | The Gift |
| 2015 | Toxin: 700 Days Left on Earth |
| 2015 | Beyond the Yellow Brick Road |
| 2015 | If I Could Talk |
| 2015 | The Blimp Trap |
| 2015 | The Mechanic |
- ^ Luster, Alex. "Best Local Filmmaker - 2011: Shawn Weling". Houston Press. Retrieved June 17, 2012.