The first day of the Silver Sand Film Festival, it's pretty much what I expected after last night's surprise visit. Last night there was a knock at my door and when I opened it no one was there, an envelope was left instead. Folded inside was a last minute photo copy of the festival brochure. This I felt was a bit disheartening. I know they were working with deadlines to get things done. But again, I can't help but think that a festival run in this manner is not going to do what a festival should do - which is to be a forum where audiences can see films (if they don't know about them they can't see them) and be a place where a filmmaker can gauge an audiences response to their film.I hate to bash any organization but I think if you're not ready to have a fest, don't have one. It's really not going to do anyone any good to put on a haphazard festival which will be poorly attended. When you invite people to a festival like that, their first impression of your film is usually a reflection of their impression of the festival.Few people showed up for the first days' films. When the filmmakers consist of most of the audience it always brings about mixed emotions. You're glad that there's an audience for your film, but you wish it were made up of people who paid money to see it. I suppose we'll see how our first screening goes tomorrow.

"The Innocents" screened at the main theater today, the Hermosa Beach Community Center theater. They erected a large screen which actually served quite well and the sound was equally nice. Although, the attendance was no improvement from the previous films. But then again, we didn't exactly spend a lot of money on advertising. We felt it was better spent on the upcoming two fests. Although it does feel good to know that everyone in the audience is there because they came to see a film they really know nothing about. They aren't industry nor friends or family, they are film lovers and they wanted to see a film that day. And they chose yours.

Our second and last screening at SSFF. This one, like all second screenings is held in the lunchroom of the Middle School two blocks away. This was not fun. No one from the fest bothered to black out the windows - a minor detail you just assume they'll take care of. And the projectionist had to walk from the main theater to get there. As a result he was twenty minutes late. To keep people from getting up and leaving I began a pre-Q&A with the audience which went over very well. There was a lot of interest in how we made our film, what our budget was (the essential question of every festival) and what our plans were for the future. This Q&A is the nicest memory I have of the fest. It's one thing to have an audience ask questions and offer praise after seeing a film, but quite another to field inquiries before viewing a single frame. I will say that the projection in the lunch room went well. The sound could have been better but that's always a concern for a 16mm print. I hope next years management of the fest deals with the problems of putting on a festival a little more effectively. The location is right and it could easily become a great festival to remember in the years to come, in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it.

Today we received a telephone call from someone at the ACFF informing us that "The Innocents" will be recognized during the awards ceremony. (Yes, they sometimes call you to let you know.) They want to be sure we'll be there to accept it. They won't tell us which award we've won though. I guess they want there to be a little surprise during the ceremony. Not all of the festivals do this, and when they do it's only for the larger pre-juried awards.Katherine spoke with Jeff today about Muses" pilot. "Fox flipped". They loved it. They're having a read through of the outline later in the week. We'll try to work out a quick flight up from Florida so one of us can accept the award, most likely Katherine. Too bad they don't pay for the filmmaker to fly out. It's going to be expensive for us.Hurricane Irene is on its way to Southern Florida. Hopefully it will come and go quickly without making much of a stir.

The "Muses" read through went great. There was great reaction all around the room. They're going to have another read through so more people can hear it. In the meantime, we're brainstorming on different series' ideas.
We've decided that we can't afford to fly to Atlantic City. The expense is just too high. It will cost more to fly to Atlantic City from Florida and back then from California to Florida and back. And the second ticket for the MIFF is already purchased. Perhaps someone on the East Coast can attend the festival in our place and accept the award.

Leszek Drozd our composer has decided that he can attend the Atlantic City Film Festival since it isn't really that far from Chicago anyway. He'll attend the screening of "The Innocents" and hopefully the Awards Gala, but he's not sure about the latter. No news on "Muses". No news is good news.

We've arrived in Marco Island today. It's beautiful. Our two bedroom condo overlooks the Gulf. The beaches are lined with billions of tiny bleached shells, the water is warm and just waist deep for hundreds of yards and the weather is perfect. The Gulf cruise is Thursday and we're looking forward to spotting some dolphins. Tomorrow we're going to the beach to relax and go over our game plan for the fest. There's also a big party at the Hilton tonight. We've been told we're being interviewed LIVE on WEVU television and our clip will be shown sometime during the interview.
The opening party was fantastic. Great food, local entertainment and media scattered throughout. Both of us were interviewed live by WEVU (viewable soon in the -Press Room-), and they showed the clip of the girls jumping onto the moving train. Later,we got to know many of the other filmmakers and actually bumped into a fellow Dances with Films Fest alumni from the film "Versus". A great kick off party, and tomorrow...the beach. Also, our film screens at the ACFF tomorrow evening. I know everything will go perfectly.

Our first screening went fantastic, nearly a full house. Our lollipop marketing strategy paid off - always a good bet. Advertise with CANDY. Just before our screening we were asked to fill in for Gwen Verdon (she felt ill after her Gulf cruise) on a filmmaking Q&A. It went very well. We went over all of the steps and trials of getting a first film made from writing the script to sending it to festivals. We then convinced everyone who attended to check out our film immediately after the discussion. The timing couldn't have been better.You cannot get someone to see a film they just don't want to see. But most of the time there are more good films then people are able to attend. The trick is getting them to remember your film when the time comes to buy the ticket. And more often then not, they'll go to the film by the filmmakers who impressed them the most. Like anything else, you're selling yourself.

The day of our second screening there was a panel discussion called "From Script to Screen". The panel was composed of half a dozen directors and producers including our very own Katherine Griffin (writer, director, actress, producer). I also was to be on the panel, but opted to babysit our coinciding screening instead. The panel began about ten minutes after our film started. Just fifteen minutes into the panel, a representative of the festival announced to everyone that "The Innocents" was officially "SOLD OUT"- a round of applause from everyone in the audience and the panel. Our film was one of only three films which sold out screenings at the fest. The other two previously secured distribution and had quite recognizable stars in them. It felt good to be in their company that day. In fact, both of the festivals' stars were in our sold out audience. DON MOST (Ralph Malph from Happy Days), who was at MIFF with his directorial debut starring Douglas Spain of "STAR MAPS". And Gwen Verdon, who made good on her promise to see the film after her and Katherine found they shared much more then a love for acting. They became quite good friends as the festival drew on. She's a wonderful lady and an incredible talent. And that night she received a glorious Lifetime Achievement Award at another incredible party at the Yacht Club.I suppose it's only fitting that bad news accompany good. We talked to Todd today. He abruptly quit Fox Television for a job at Comedy Central. Fox wasn't too happy. Everything he was working on died, including our "Muses" series. And since "Muses" isn't exactly a Comedy Central piece we're back to square one with the series. Well, we still feel very strongly about the project and know that it would make for great television entertainment. We'll just have to start looking again for someone that feels the same way.

The closing night party was held at an outside barbecue restaurant overlooking the Gulf on the coldest night so far. Everyone drank and ate and some danced while we all said our good-byes, looking forward to seeing each other again at other fests around the country. This was by far the most memorable fest to date.