Afterglow/Aftermath

[Sold-out crowd at The Wind-Up Space for Smalltimore Premiere - photo by Richard Payne]

Breathing is... nice! And so very foreign to me these days. Monday morning, post-premiere, was not all that rough though I did sleep in until it was time to go to lunch with my friend Shawn (a.k.a. prom date). When he hit the road, I had only a couple hours before going to the CAmm Salon/Cinelounge at the Creative Alliance. If you are a filmmaker, actor, musician, crew member, anyone involved whatsoever (or wants to be) in the filmmaking community of Baltimore, you really need to start going to this. It happens the first Monday of the month, and it is a great way to network and to keep your finger on the pulse of what is going on in the community, plus you get to see several shorts, and who doesn't love shorts!

Yesterday, Tuesday, I finally just BREATHED DEEP. Wrote a few quick emails, avoided the phone, and watched about 6 episodes of Law & Order, and also two episodes online of Rescue Me that I had missed while I was in Seattle. Damn, I love that show.

It was nice, just to chill, not to be on a crushing deadline or feeling guilty because I don't have time to hang out with friends. Just take a day to myself. Today will be a bit more of that, but have to do some real work at my day job, too. I'd like to keep that for awhile longer!

Last night I spent some time seriously slogging through the Film Guide on the website of the Maryland Film Festival, which kicks off tonight. I have to admit, they have some really interesting flicks in there and I am looking forward to seeing several of them. Still stings a bit that I wasn't invited in, but I am pretty well over it, especially considering that I met my goal of being able to cover my flight to London for The Heart of England Film Festival with my take at the door of the "Smalltimore" Premiere. Wouldn't have seen a dime if it had premiered at MFF instead. I do know some other local filmmakers (lots of them actually, since only one local-ish feature film is in the MFF, out of about 90 time slots) who are also disappointed in not getting into the MFF, and some of them are boycotting it because of this. I understand that and I won't deny I considered doing so myself. But once the bruises to your ego heal, you have to look at the big picture. MFF never claimed to be a festival about Maryland films. They even make a point of saying exactly that on their website. It is simply a film festival that happens to take place in Maryland. They are bringing some amazing films to Baltimore, many of which have already done well in the big three, Tribeca, Toronto, and Sundance. I am not going to cut off my nose to spite my face and miss what is likely my only opportunity to see these films on the big screen. Also I have some friends that work for the festival that have been very supportive of me (who were not decision-makers regarding my entry) and they have worked really hard to make this a great event. I've been to it before and it gets better every year. Sometimes you just have to get over yourself, and see the blessing in disguise. I had a SOLD OUT premiere on a night that was mine and all mine; and I'm going to England.

I got an email this morning from the Red Rock Film Festival of Zion Canyon, saying that "Smalltimore," had made it through to the second round. Red Rock is only in its third year, and before finding it on withoutabox.com I had never heard of it. But there are several reasons I submitted to it: 1) I have never been to Zion National Park, where the festival is held; 2) when I saw the outdoor screen when I clicked on their website (http://www.ophilia.com/), I really, REALLY wanted to see my movie on that screen, and 3) it was super-cheap to submit. Like, two cosmopolitans, not including tip. I didn't go out last night, so it just paid for itself!