Amarillo is stacked to the ceiling with talent. There's a group in Amarillo that are determined to give that talent a place to shine, on a massive scale.

I came across Sharpened Iron Studios on social media, and what caught my attention was the announcement of their deal with the AEDC. This was the first time I could remember seeing the AEDC and a film studio in the same sentence, so I had to know more.

Sharpened Iron Studios will have a 70,000 square foot building on the Amarillo College Downtown Campus, with a 19,000 square foot sound stage. They already have several projects lined up, including motion pictures.

I spoke with Devenie, co-owner of the studio, and found out that the studio is being ran by mostly Amarillo natives who feel that Amarillo is a place that has all of the resources needed to create a professional film studio, capable of amazing things.

One of the first things I had to know was if the films being created would be "faith based," given the name of the studio. My hunch was right, and the name is faith based. Iron sharpens iron.

Several projects done at the studio will be "faith based" with an emphasis on real life stories. There will also be secular projects done at the studio.

Don't let the term "faith based" scare you off. Several times during our conversation, an emphasis was put on the quality of the films to be made. From commercials to motion pictures, there is a big emphasis put on quality. Understandably so, as the team involved with the studio has experience working with major film studios.

That's the experience and knowledge they're bringing with them to the panhandle.

The studio will also be focusing on creating curriculum for film courses at Amarillo College, and they have a goal of creating employment opportunities with 200 to 300 full time positions at the studio.

I'm excited.to see something like this happening in Amarillo. There are a lot of wonderfully weird, creative, artistic people who unfortunately feel as if they don't have an outlet or a place to hone their craft.

In Devenie's words, "We're not successful unless our community is."

To stay up to date on the latest news and opportunities with Amarillo's new film studio, be sure to check out their website by following this link. Also, be sure to follow them on social media. You can find their Facebook page by following this link.

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