Not With Fists Or Firepower

Ricky Frickin Gervais Live!!

Last night M told me he was taking me on a surprise date. When we stopped in front of Madison Square Garden and I saw the sign I had a tear in my eye. I was practicing crying of laughter from the hilarity that was about to insue.

Um…and Todd Barry = Complete Genius. I can’t wait to catch a show of his in the city.

Trip to Argentina in 10 Steps

1. Travel on planes for 20 hours and upon arrival, immediately hop in a rental car and drive 4 hours into the mountains.

2. Get one flat tire (make sure to have brother around to change it) and after many wrong turns later and a kiosco stop for some AMAZING wine, make it to your beautiful, secluded Cabana in the woods.

3. Eat a delicious dinner made from food grown on the grounds, take a hike to an unkown destination with a pack of random but sweet dogs, enjoy the cabin and the seclusion of the mountains. Stay up late, lay in the grass and see stars you’ve never seen before.

4. After a few glorious days head back down the mountains, spend one night in a small city, see a friend’s costume and doll studio, eat cow BRAINS at an Arab restaurant and hop another plane to Buenos Aires.

5. In BA, find an apt. with big windows looking out onto graffitti streets. Go to a cultural center to see a Drum Orchestra. End the night drinking wine and listening to Tango at an old Argentinian bar that always has it’s doors locked.

6. Wake up late with an enjoyable wine hangover. Head out to the Evita museum and follow a Spanish tour guide. See the S. American Ombu tree and head to an old theater turned bookstore. End the night with a roof-top party complete with a Parilla full of carne, vegetables and good friends.

7. Walk around the different barrios of BA, especially Palermo, drink cafe and enjoy the chill Argentinian way. Visit the main plazas, see protests and give your opnion on tv. Have a look around a famous cafe where writer’s convene.

8. Head to the colorful barrio of La Boca to watch Tango in the streets and eat empanadas. Walk around the Futbol stadium and pretend like you are watching a grueling match.

9. Head to MALBA (modern art museum) and look at some amazing contemporary art. Walk through the park and over to the Recoleta cemetary where Evita is buried. Lift your jaw off the floor after seeing some of the mausoleums.

10. See an emerging artist show and a live Tango performance and head off back to your homeland. And sleep, sleep, sleep.

Picture Lock.

This Saturday we will have Picture Lock. It’s crazy I know, but we got shit to do and can’t go on editing forever. Also this weekend is color correction with the wonderful cinematographer Chris.

Planning a Tampa premiere for late summer, early spring. Got lots of creative ideas of how to have a fun night, sell dvds and other random merch and help the movie get to festivals. A few theaters come to mind for the screening. My top criteria is that it have a cool bar in walking distance for an after-party. Obviously.

Yippee. 4 months later and things are moving along.

A Memo To Fellow Filmmakers:

I have been lucky enough to snag a part-time gig with a high profile, International Film Festival this summer. As someone who makes movies, I thought I would post some thoughts/tips on festivals for fellow filmmakers.

As the first person to open your film when it gets to the office, I DO NOT CARE about your sparkly, expensive folder or your 15 color photos or your thesis on why you made this film. Please DO NOT put your film in an envelope inside another envelope, bubblewrapped with duct tape. And think about your cover, and your title, because that is what we see and read. With over 1400 submissions, film festivals DO NOT have time to read anything or look at your press kit or cover letter. We will open your package and dig for the film and PROMPTLY throw everything else away. You might think this is harsh or unintelligent, but if your movie is good (and that is all that matters) and the festival wants to program it, then we will ask you for extra material, or for press photos, etc. Save your money by saving our time.

And of course I share all of this with love, because I understand that as a filmmaker among thousands of other filmmakers, you want to stand out. You think that maybe if you put in a coupon for a free hamburger (true story) that a programmer might look at your film more carefully. But honest to god it’s not true and we as filmmakers should spend all of our extra time and money and thought into making a good film.

The major tip that I want to tell filmmakers is to get your film some “buzz.” How the festival thing usually works is the programmers will “curate” films — they will go to other festivals, private screenings, talk to industry people, and request certain films for their festival. Now, not all of us filmmakers are connected or at the point where our film will be “curated.” Besides the curated films, programmers will skim through all submissions before they are distributed to the screening committee to see if they recognize any of the films that have come in. THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT STEP FOR FILMMAKERS. Let’s say you have a short film and you really want it to get into a specific festival, if the programmer sees your film in the pile and recognizes the name, they will often pull it and watch it themselves. By getting your film known to the programmers, they will ultimately give it more attention then they would a film they’ve never heard of. This is basically called “creating buzz”.

Now, how can you do this? Well, firstly, get to know the film community that you are trying to tap. My festival is based in Manhattan, and if you do enough research you can learn about the people who run it. Maybe the Director of Programming is a film teacher and you know someone who is in his class. Maybe the shorts programmer is a frequent attendant at a certain weekly movie screening. Learn who these people are, and where you might be able to talk to them. Networking is really important, and doesn’t have to be super lame. NY for example has millions of amazing film-related parties and screenings that are crawling with programmers…because that is their job…to watch movies. So much of this is who you know. Meet as many industry people and other filmmakers as you can and have a private screening. Invite everyone you know to this screening and find out if anyone you know, knows any festival programmers. Having someone send a short email to a programmer mentioning your film can do wonders.

I know it probably seems harder than it sounds and I’m NO expert, but being behind the scenes a bit and being as observant as possible, I can pull out little tips that might help us filmmakers a little bit.

As the summer goes on I will keep my eyes and ears peeled and post more of my findings here!

Growing Old and The East River

Saturday was one of those days. The weekend has really become a time to enjoy our neighborhood, it’s mostly calm streets, good local food and the sky. Took an afternoon stroll that is slowly becoming routine; amazing iced coffee to-go from a local brunch joint and a stroll down a cobblestone and glass filled street due East until you can’t go anymore. It’s one of those hidden spots, that I want to cherish now, because I know in a year it will be some fancy condo’s parking garage. The most clear view of the East River, the full Manhattan skyline all the way down to the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s nice to sitdown on the concrete, legs dangling over the water, listening to the Polish techno from some kids window and talk about the future. 

Later that night we celebrated M’s 27th birthday with a delightful dinner at the sweetest Italian restaurant. Red wine from Tuscany, warm artichoke hearts, and those amazing dark eyes. Bellies full we headed back to our neighborhood for drinks with friends at a 19th Century style bar that I LOVE. The friends that M and I have made since moving here two years ago are some of the sweetest people around. I truly feel lucky for having these cool people in our lives. The best thing about the Bar, besides the saloon doors and the amazing hospitality, is the French Margarita. OMG. After a handful of these my pictures started to get blurry and my stories got louder but that’s when we brought out the MOST DELICIOUS CAKE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. And then everything was o.k.

Finished the night at a new local favorite: The Habitat. Opened by former social workers, this bar is rustic, down to earth and has the best Empanadas I’ve ever had. The owners & bartenders have become our friends which is awesome/dangerous. A perfect way to end the night and say peace to the group of friends who stuck around til closing.