Lawrence short film earns Emmy

A short film produced by Free State Studios and SenoReality Pictures, both of Lawrence, won in the Arts/Entertainment Program category of the 22nd annual Heartland Regional Emmy Awards on Saturday in Denver.

“Woman’s Intuition” was nominated for the Emmy Award at the end of May. Other nominees in the category were from media operations in Denver.

One of the film’s creators, Patrick Rea, 28, was grateful to receive the award.

“It’s weird. It’s kind of surreal,” said Rea, one of the film’s creators, about an hour after receiving the award. “It happened pretty quick.”

The film, made and completed last year, is a 9-minute thriller about a woman who hears a strange noise when danger is close. It’s the first film produced by both Free State Studios and SenoReality.

“It just means a lot that it’s one of the first ones we’ve done with Free State Studios,” Rea said.

Free State production manager Ann Niccum said her department was excited just to be nominated, but the “thrill of winning is huge.”

She is hopeful there will be more films to come.

“We’re trying to build up toward making feature films,” she said. “This Emmy win absolutely helps us do that.”

The regional Emmy program was created to recognize the finest achievement in television. The Heartland chapter serves Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Wyoming.

Free State Studios employees who created “Woman’s Intuition” and who also run SenoReality Pictures are Rea, director; Ryan Jones, sound; and Josh Robison, editing.

Free State Studios, which has operations in Lawrence and Topeka, is a division of The World Company, which also owns the Journal-World and Sunflower Broadband.