GETTING IT OUT THERE.

A quick recap of our biggest screening yet. 

So last Wednesday, the Phoenix Film Festival was kind enough to fly me out for a preview screening of THE LAKE EFFECT for the Phoenix Film Society. (Tomorrow, I will be flying out again for three more screenings for the actual festival which you can book tickets for HERE).   Angelinos, I’m not kidding – drive out!  We have a screening Saturday night at 8 pm!  The Cinematographer and I will be in attendance!!!

I didn’t know what to expect in Phoenix.  But when I arrived at the airport, there was a driver and that was nice.  And Jason Carney, the lovely Director of the festival took me to happy hour with some of the festival staff and that was great, though small… I thought, cool – met some nice people and we’ll have a small screening – not like I had an opportunity to advertise out here…

But then we headed over to the Harkin’s Multiplex...

Phoenix Film Fest's
suhweet venue

...where a huge banner advertizing the Phoenix Film Festival draped down the three-story glass window front… the place was BIG.  HUGE.  Still, I figured – maybe they have a tiny theatre they’ve reserved for us somewhere in the back…

But no.  The theatre was… a real theatre.  Stadium seating.  Like the Grove.  Big big.  And it was packed.  With strangers.  

my public. (ha!) 

All a director can ask for is a full theatre.  And on this night, I had it.  Bill Goodykoontz, the film reviewer for the Arizona Republic was kind enough to introduce me (this was my first brush with a film reviewer – which made me nervous – but thank god Bill had viewed and loved the film).  

me and Bill G.

I don’t know if people know this but usually during screenings like this, even if the director or cast is in attendance, they don’t stay and watch the film.  They go to dinner. 

So after we introduced the film, we went to dinner. 

Afterwards, Bill moderated the Q and A.  And much to my surprise, people stayed – they commented, they had great questions. The most difficult one by far was from Bill himself.  He said, “Is it hard for you to know that you’ve made this great thing and that it’s not getting out there?”

Honestly, in that moment, standing in such a big theatre I kind of felt like saying, two things: 1) I made something great?  You think so?  Thank you!  ...and 2) “What do you mean?  It’s out there!  It’s here, isn’t it?”   

I answered that we our domestic producer’s rep is confident that we’ll find a distributor soon and that we’re literally dotting the i's on our deal with a soon-to-be named international sales agent so the film should be released later this year…

But Bill’s question resonated on a much deeper level and deserved a truer answer. 

The real answer is:  Oh god yes, it’s so hard!  So hard that we haven’t had an LA screening!  My family, my friends, my crew… no one has seen this movie yet!  And even though I am moving on and working on other things – I feel like this baby is not yet born.  It’s so hard that we aren’t in theatres, on air, on the internet… out there.  Yes yes yes. It’s hard.

BUT!

I’m off to Phoenix again tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to our three screenings over the weekend… because even if it’s just in small chunks… we're getting it out there.  AND – here’s the real news:   

We’re planning screenings for NY, LA, and the Midwest. 

STAY TUNED!