No way to be Miff’d at MIFF
What a great experience Maine International Film Festival has been. I wasn’t there for TBTK, but Motion Portrait Film was excepted into their shorts program. It was wonderful. Great venue, great staff, great town. Waterville was amazing. I want to thank the entire staff for making this a place to see ground-breaking work in such a wonderful setting. Filmmakers…send in you work for next year…asap. As one of my first big festival experiences it was amazing and exhausting…ass fatigue set in for sure…but worth every moment. I really have to give kudos to those who follow a film on the fest circuit. It’s tough to make it to all the great films, still have time to eat, AND get in the much needed play time. I was fortunate enough to meet up with the director and actor of Bonne Annee. A film made by Americans and Parisians living in Costa Rica…oh and it was shot in Argentina. The film is made up of roughly (10) ten minute shots and couldn’t be more compelling. I also couldn’t have met more humble, enjoyable filmmakers; Alex, T-Bo, Karen…thank you for the hospitality and friendship. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mark Rudd from the Weather Underground at the screening of the documentary. It was also sweet of him to hear me talk about my ideas for the next film that has a character with the revolutionary spirit; he must have thought it weird for me to run after him calling him sir after seeing him on his way to the screening. (As I had blanked COMPLETELY on his name.) Thanks to Evan, Ella, Jessica, Alec, Gary, and Ron for making me feel welcomed and at home. I’ve been a huge fan of the book God is Dead for quite some time now and I squealed a bit like a fawning fan after I realized who I was talking to. Thanks for taking it like a professional Ron. Great work…can’t wait to read the next one.
Cheers
John
Tags: God is Dead, independent film, Indie film production, Maine, Maine International Film Festival, The brave and the kind
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
hey john -
thanks so much for the rundown on the festival. i know you probably put it out there as more of a thank you than anything else, but I’ve always wondered what the experience might be like. was it a different process for you than it would have been for me just showing up? did you have some connections already in place or were you just another person trying to hunt down the artists you were interested in? glad it’s going well man. all the best.
cheers
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Hi scott…I just submitted, got in, and took a chance. I didn’t know too much before I went and it was well worth it. I had a few films I wanted to see, but Bone Annee was at the top…it was great to get to hang with those guys and see the film. I might be back next year even if I have no film in the fest.:-)
cheers
John