Roger and Fatima Camp, and Cassie and Wesley Sinor
The evening kicked off with a VIP pre-party inside the museum's Galveston Orphan's home, which survived the Great Storm of 1900. Cowboy-hat-clad guests then made their way to the property's Conservatory for the main event, welcomed with a platter of Brush Fire signature cocktails. They sipped and surveyed the silent-auction items, including a suite at a Texans game and original art.
The gala, chaired by Kelley Sullivan Georgiades and George Georgiades, honored fifth-generation Galveston rancher Gerald Sullivan with the Buck'n'Bull Award. Sea-glass-inspired decor filled with blooms from Island Flowers and a meal featuring RC Ranch beef, catered by Culinaire, were among the sensory-rich highlights. Guests participated in a lively auction, led by Rodeo Houston auctioneer Randolph Holford, that included an exciting Montana ranch trip donated by Houston native and Yellowstone star Cole Hauser. And afterward, partygoers took to the dance floor and two-stepped the night away to a set by Roger Creager.
In all, the night raised more than $900,000 for the Bryan Museum, which opens its Coastal Cowboys exhibit in November.
Alicia Bryan
Todd and Sarah Sullivan
Chairs George and Kelley Sullivan Georgiades
Russell and Jolyn Sheirman
Champagne Cowgirl at the 2024 Bryan Museum Gala
Romy and Jason Dell’Ario
Cole Lowry and Eloise Haynes
Roger Creager
D'Lisa and John Johnston
Gerald Sullivan, Mac Sullivan
Greg McEldowney and Joanie McLeod
Robert Clay, Colleen and Phillip Smith
Michelle Lilie and Rodney Rudell
Honoree Gerald Sullivan and Family
Michael Fossum and Rusty Hardin
J.P. Bryan, Gerald Sullivan
Melissa Williams Murphy, J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan
Leigh Stubbs, Natalie Crowder, Bill Stubbs
Jackson Alston Berger, Kelley Sullivan Georgiades
Johnny and Sydney Sullivan
John and Andrea Bryan
Jim and Kate Lykes
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A scene from Quebrada's 'The Other Son'
Attending in person to present their films and answer questions from the audience are Chilean filmmaker Matías Bize (The Punishment); Paraguayan director, writer, and producer Sebastián Peña Escobar (The Last Ones); and Colombian filmmaker Juan Sebastián Quebrada (The Other Son). In Bize’s psychological drama The Punishment, a mother and father leave their seven-year-old son alone for just a few minutes in a spooky forest as punishment for misbehaving during a family drive. The boy vanishes, the parents begin a frantic search, and buried secrets emerge in the fecund landscape of the dark woods. Shot in one, single, excruciating take, The Punishment is a tour-de-force in experimental filmmaking.
Escobar's 'The Last Ones'
'The Practice'
Avilés' 'Tótem'
Escobar’s documentary The Last Ones is a road trip to what may be the end of humankind, as the director and two ecologists — one an internationally renowned butterfly specialist, the other Paraguay’s foremost bird expert — travel by car ahead of a massive wildfire to the border of Bolivia to film Paraguay’s endangered virgin forests.
And Quebrada’s The Other Son tells the story of teenage brothers Frederico and Simon, and Frederico’s emotional struggle after Simon dies from a balcony fall at a party. It’s a profound premise for a coming-of-age drama, and the young cast does an incredible job throughout, as their characters grapple with the irrationality of death and the challenge of finding hope amid grief.
Offering a bit of relief from these heavy themes are two comedic films: The Practice, in which a yoga instructor tries to not to lose his chi while navigating the stressors and chaos of his non-yoga life; and Puan, where two academics, one schlubby and bald, the other cartoonish and charismatic, vie to be named head of the philosophy department at the Public University of Buenos Aires. In a festival where every film is a must-see, one assured standout is writer and director Lila Avilés Tótem. The critically acclaimed family drama stars Naíma Sentíes as the seven-year-old Sol, who is initially carried away by the excitement of preparations for her father’s birthday party before discovering the gravity that underlies the celebration.
To download a full schedule and buy tickets, visit the Latin Wave 17 webpage.