Red Beak Productions takes home awards at Boomtown Film and Music Festival

Student filmmakers from Lamar University’s Red Beak Productions earned multiple honors at the Boomtown Film and Music Festival, continuing a streak of success in the event’s 48 Hour Film Race.

The Red Beak Productions team included students Elijah Nelson and Wren Davison, and the organization’s president Adam Baeza.

The group took second place and the audience choice award for best picture this year for its short film “Deadbeat,” Baeza said. 

The showing follows a first-place and audience choice win at the 2025 festival for “Reaper,” also directed by Baeza.

The 48 Hour Film Race requires teams to write, shoot and edit a short project within two days.

Baeza said the competition has been a defining experience during his time at Lamar.

“The 48 Hour Film Race has contributed to some of my favorite memories during my time at Lamar,” he said. “It’s a chance to spend a few days with my friends making a whole production with only a few improvised ideas and absolutely no plan.”

He described the group’s 2025 win as a turning point.

“I think the moment we won the 2025 48 Hour Race was one of the most special moments in my life,” Baeza said. “It meant that our small group could actually achieve greatness.”

This year’s placement reinforced that momentum, he said.

“When we placed again in this year’s competition, it reignited that fire inside of me because it meant it wasn’t just a fluke,” Baeza said. “To me, it meant we could keep going and keep getting better in our craft.”

He said the fast-paced nature of the competition is what makes it most rewarding.

“My favorite part of the race is the shoot itself,” Baeza said. “Sometimes it all goes out of the window and forces us to get even more creative.”

Red Beak Productions is a student film organization within Lamar University’s Department of Communication and Media that provides hands-on experience in filmmaking, including writing, shooting and editing short films and other media projects. The group is open to students of all majors and focuses on developing creative and technical skills through collaborative productions.

To learn more about Red Beak Productions, follow them on Instagram or check out Adam Baeza’s podcast episode on the LU Moment .

To learn more about the Department of Communication and Media, visit https://www.lamar.edu/fine-arts-communication/communication/.