So far the film has only been shown to the cast and crew and select friends and family. I've heard nothing but positive things about the film so far, and many people have been impressed, so that's a good sign.
A little over a month ago I received my official rejection letter from Telluride. That was a bit disheartening but nothing to be surprised about. 1 in 50 shot, the odds were not in my favor.
Since then I've submitted the film to Sundance, Sedona and last night Slamdance. Today Keaton and I went to the Slamdance office and personally handed them the submission. Amazingly enough they have already logged the film into their system as received. That was quick! And on a bizarre note Sundance has finally done the same. Swen and I personally dropped off the submission at their Beverly Hills headquarters a month ago. It took them a month to sort through their mail. Walking into their office and watching them place my small DVD into a mail crate filled with submissions was one of the most eye opening moments of my filmmaking "career". I've read about the statistics of these festivals before but it's easy to lie to yourself until you see it in person.
So far I'm feeling good about Sedona and Slamdance. Not because I feel I'm for sure going to get in but just because they've treated me more as a human than a statistic with the brief interactions I've experienced. Sedona logged the film as received the day they received the package in the mail and was also kind enough to send me an email informing me that they received it.
I plan on submitting to SXSW next month. I don't really have any other festivals I personally want to pay to submit to so if I'm not accepted into any of these fests it appears as if I will have to go to the drawing board and figure out a way to find my audience for this film. I surely didn't spend all that time and money to watch it by myself or only show to friends and family of the people involved.
In other news, I am still a filmmaker and I plan to direct a short this summer. You can't not take advantage of the wonderful weather and most importantly the long days. Winter in California sucks! Getting dark at 5pm? How depressing is that?
-Ryan.
