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10-15-99 Our
Post-IFFM Scoop!
Okay, so were really
behind on these weekly diaries but here it is - the IFFM
scoop! We arrived in New York City in style, our good friend and fellow
filmmaker Jennifer Lamar arranged for us to stay at the St. Moritz, and
we got a great room overlooking Central Park. The weather was perfect and
the air was clean after the hurricane. As soon as we arrived, we dropped
off our bags and headed to the market for registration.
The IFP East staff was
very organized. After we met some of the other IFFM
participants, we were immediately bombarded with pins, flyers, etc., so
of course we made a beeline for the Angelica Film Center to join in on the
craziness.
BAGS: Every day
at 9:00 a.m. the various filmmakers lined up on the steps of the Angelica
to promote their screening, hoping to fill the theater with people in general,
and with industry people specifically. Everyone came very well prepared
to the market, armed with postcards and flyers. We were quite disappointed
to discover that there were no chicken suits this year (probably a good
thing); although there was a group of filmmakers wearing Groucho Marx sunglasses.
A small consolation, indeed.
Still, despite all the
postcards and the flyers, we had an edge! Not only were our postcards very
attractive but we had an extra secret weapon - bags. We prepared these slick
little black bags with handles, stapled our postcard to one side and pasted
a sticker on the other side advertising 2 on U's
screening dates and times. Everyone needed a bag, because by the time they
were actually inside the Angelica, their hands were full with promotional
material. So, not only did they take our bags, but they carried them around
continuing to advertise our screenings!
SCREENINGS:
Its wild because you hand out all these postcards, you talk to all these
people and they all promise to attend your screening; of course, only a
small percentage of them actually show up. In
spite of this, we had a good turnout at our first screening on Sunday.
пакеты полиэтиленовые|Tokyo escort agency here.|You want it to be special? Tokyo escorts at this V.I.P. site.As the screening time
inched its way closer, I grew more and more nervous. Butterflies were fluttering
in my stomach, and I couldn't hold a conversation with anyone for longer then
two minutes, nor could I stop pacing, smoking or talking. ShowBiz...
The screening time finally arrived and we all got into the theater. Dayna,
as always a model of calmness, sat in the back, wanting to see if anyone would
dare walk out on our film in the middle (we were all told that this happens
frequently and not to take it personally if it does happen). Fortunately,
everyone stayed to watch the entire 23 minutes, and more important, the audience
got the film; laughing and getting into the characters' story.
Our second screening wasnt
quite so dramatic. It was Wednesday morning at 9:45 and we expected a smaller
audience because everyone parties in New York. We promoted the screening like
crazy, giving out the last of our bags, and did manage to get people into
the theater. The good news is that 90% of the people in our second screening
were industry, which meant that we got a positive buzz going from our first
screening. When the second screening was over it felt like we had accomplished
what we went there for - to show our movie and raise some interest.
We also attended some
of the other filmmakers' screenings at the Angelica. Among them, I especially
enjoyed the short Better Never Than Late, which was written, directed
and produced by Matthew Sohn and Kenn Scott, two great guys from L.A. Charming
Billy was a dark and interesting feature about a serial killer. That movie
was directed by William Pace, another talented filmmaker.
Other films we all liked
were: Snow Days, A Day in Black and White, Sins of the Father: Families
on Death Row, Act of Contrition, Amazing Me, Psycho Too, The Window, and
Are You Cinderella? Overall, we thought most of the films were inspiring
and well made. We also found the people behind the films to be just as inspiring
in their passion and determination to bring their vision onto the screen.
PARTIES: Every
night there was something else going on. Each party had its own vibe going,
the main activity being handing out some more postcards and making some more
contacts (the hungry man never sleeps). The Gotham
Award ceremony on Wednesday night was exciting, even though it was
freezing inside and I woke up the next morning with a severe cold. But who
cares? Harvey Weinstein gave Meryl Streep a lifetime achievement award, and
the evening was hosted by Sandra Bernhard, who had everyone laughing.
Thats it. We schmoozed,
met and partied, and are now waiting for even greater things to happen. 2
on U now got into the Freaky
Film Festival in Illinois, and even though we are not able to attend,
I hope you stop by to see our film if youre in the area. Also, we havent
forgotten about those live interviews - our extraordinary web video editor,
Matthew Gallegos, is still working on compressing the images.
Have a great week!
Micky
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