Back from the LA Film Fest

We got back early Friday morning after a long night of travel. The festival was excellent. Almost 800 people saw HT during its two screenings. There were lines down the block. The audience reaction to the movie was overwhelming. They laughed in the right places and the scares made people jump out of their seats. It felt so good to finally share the movie with an audience!

The move to Westwood seemed to serve the LA film festival well. Westwood has some amazing theaters and the ease of walking everywhere was nice especially in a city like LA. The festival also held a retreat for all the feature length filmmakers, which was a great way to get to know each other before the festival started. The retreat was held at skywalker ranch just outside of San Francisco. I hope more festivals follow suit and provide networking opportunities for the visiting filmmakers.

We received quite a bit of press out of LA. Here are some additional write ups about the movie. As I have more I’ll post them.

LA Weekly - review

HEAD TRAUMA (USA) In this game melding of the conventions of the modern Japanese ghost story with those of the standard American amnesia melodrama, writer-director Lance Weiler delivers a fair number of chills, a modicum of thrills and some downright nifty pyrotechnics. Tracing the doomed efforts of its whiny protagonist (Francis Coppola look-alike Vince Mola) to salvage the run-down and apparently haunted house he’s inherited from his grandmother, Head Trauma unassumingly works its way under the skin, raising neck hairs while teasing us to pry open its psychological puzzle box of unpaid pipers and arrested development. (Majestic Crest, Sat., June 24, 11:59 p.m.; Landmark Regent, Mon., June 26, 10 p.m.) (RS)

Movie City News - Festival pick

Head Trauma. George Walker returns to his claim his dead grandmother’s home in a rural backwater. His intent to find a safe haven in an otherwise chaotic life quickly evolves into his worst nightmare as neighbors harbor suspicions and something horrid in the basement of the ramshackle house begins to make its presence felt. A low-tech horror outing that revives the under appreciated monster of the id to great effect. [10 p.m. Landmark Regent] - Leonard Klady

Feature article from the Beach Reporter - click here to read

Now the focus will shift to prepping the movie for its national theatrical rollout, which kicks off August 18th and continues until September 26th. So far I’ve confirmed venues in Portland, Seattle, Tucson, Albuquerque, Philadelphia, Providence and a number of other smaller towns and cities.

Check back for more details in the coming week.

Until next time…