Viva Siouxland

At the last minute, I made it up to Sioux City Saturday for Fatherland's premiere screening in the great state of Iowa.

The Siouxland Film Festival is a great exhibition of work by regional filmmakers and grad students from across the country. Unlike most festivals, it's really more about providing an enjoyable screening for the public. There's no workshops, Q & A's, nor even introductions of the filmmakers. Instead, the films are just screened back to back in the beautiful setting of the Orpheum Theater. I'd estimate the crowd at at least 300, and unlike many festivals, most of those were NOT friends and family of the filmmakers.

I was very happy with how Fatherland looked and was received by the audience. It was the first time I've seen in on the big screen, and I couldn't have hoped for nicer venue. I was also really impressed with the two other films from Chapman University - Making a Killing and especially The Vaudevillian.

Sioux City! Tomorrow Night!

Looks like the Iowa premiere of Fatherland won't be next Friday in Cedar Rapids - it will be tomorrow (Saturday) night in Sioux City, at the historic Orpheum Theater for the Siouxland Film Festival.

In addition to Fatherland, the program includes End of the Sawdust Trail from the talented Andy Brodie, and several films by fellow Chapman Alums. Take that, AFI! That's how we roll, OC style!

Fallbrook Film Festival

Fatherland will be screening twice in Southern California at the end of April. In addition to the Newport Beach Film Festival, it will now be screening at the Fallbrook Film Festival, north of San Diego.

I will be at the CR Film Fest next Friday night (April 4) for the 7:52 screening. I won't be able to make the Saturday screening, unfortunately. I'm also still hoping to make the Newport Beach Festival, but I'm in a holding pattern until the screening schedule is announced.

I just got back from a recreational trip to Cooperstown, NY and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Growing up in Iowa, I thought I'd seen the middle of nowhere. But Cooperstown truly is the middle of nowhere. Still, it was well worth it to drool over dozens of bats, balls, gloves, pants, etc.

Oh, and I also had a drink with Manute Bol at the Detroit Airport. I recommended the Murphy's Irish Stout and he seemed pleased with it.

CR Screening

Screenings of Fatherland at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival have been scheduled.

It will be shown Friday night, April 4, at 7:52 pm in Theater C, and Saturday afternoon at 2:46pm in Theater A. Further details are on the festival's website.

I'll be there, so if you come out to the screening please say hello. I'll be the guy introducing the film and then evaluating everyone's reaction.

Black Maria Film Festival

I had a chance to see a program of films from the Black Maria Film Festival again this year, and caught a few really exceptional works. Films accepted to the festival tour the country in short programs, playing in classy joints like the Des Moines Art Center.

The Heart is a Hidden Camera is a beautifully shot, moving film in a sort of magical realist style. Not the type of thing I usually go for, but this was really well done.

Phoenix Dance is a documentary about Homer Avila, who continued his career as a professional dancer after losing an entire leg to cancer. It's an 11-minute film smart enough to know that its subject is moving without need for a lot of embellishment. Some of the movements he does are just amazing.

And, if you're looking for a quick laugh that also gives you that warm socially conscious feeling, you could always watch Bodega, available in its entirety at YouTube.

Newport Beach, Palm Beach, Cedar Rapids, Oxford...

It's been a good week for Fatherland, which I've just learned will be screening at several more festivals in the coming months, including Newport Beach and Palm Beach. The schedules aren't available yet, but Fatherland will be screening at:

Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival: April 4-5
Palm Beach International Film Festival: April 10-17
Oxford International Film Festival: April 11-13
Newport Beach Film Festival: April 24-May 1

As of right now, I plan to attend the Cedar Rapids festival and hope to make it to Newport Beach as well. Hope to see you there.

Fatherland in Miami

Fatherland screened this past week at the Miami International Film Festival in Shorts Program 1: Human Behavior. Also among the seven films in the program were Academy Award Nominee Madame Tutli-Putli, and Soft, winner of an International Jury Prize at this year's Sundance festival. It's gratifying to see my work screened alongside such acclaimed films.

I've also just gotten wind of a couple more festival screenings; I'll be posting the details as soon as I can.

Independent Spirit Awards

As a card carrying member of the Independent Film Project, I voted in this year's Independent Spirit Awards. So, if anyone's interested, my selections included:

Best Feature: The Diving Bell & the Butterfly
Best Director: Julian Schnabel (Diving Bell)
Best Screenplay: Tammra Jenkins (The Savages)
Best Male Lead: Phillip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages)
Best Female Lead: Ellen Page (Juno)

For the record, I was not able to see every film in every category in which I voted. After many moments of soul searching, debating the fairness of casting a vote without consideration of all nominees, I decided it would be much more fun to just vote anyway. Besides, it's not like this is a world changing election, like the presidential race or Best Week Ever.

Among the less commercial indies, I enjoyed Great World of Sound, a first-feature about two wannabe record producers sucked into a pyramid scheme. It pulls a bit of a Borat, by shooting some of its scenes with unsuspecting musicians in the "real world."