New Yahoo Group for DIY Filmmakers/Self-Distributors

I just created a Yahoo Group for DIY filmmakers/self-distributors. Hopefully it will quickly evolve into a place where DIY filmmaker/distributors can ask each other questions, get answers re: distribution & production matters - w/ out having to post Qs at the Comments section at various blogs/entries & waiting around 'till they get answered, which is how it is happening now. We'll see how it goes. In the meantime, here is the link (go join!) :http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/usdiyfilm/

And here is the official introduction to the group:" This group is an attempt to create a forum of communication for US based self-distributing low budget filmmakers or independent/D.I.Y. (do-it-yourself) filmmakers. Group started & moderated by Sujewa Ekanayake, director & distributor of the 2006 comedy feature Date Number One (http://www.wilddiner.com/). Hopefully this group will offer a place for filmmakers to quickly figure out answers to production & distribution questions and also a place to share experience for the benefit of other filmmaker/distributors."

Thanks!

- Sujewa

IFC.com profiles Mutual Appreciation, Date Number One, Head Trauma & self-distribution of those projects

Very exciting to be featured in a story on self-distribution at the IFC website. The story is an IFC News item titled "The Final Frontier of Filmmaking: Three Stories of Self-Distribution" written by Alison Wilmore. Here is a paragraph from the article:

"These days, a crowded market and the sheer difficulty of making money on a theatrical release has made distributors wary of taking any chances, and often when an offer is made, it's not at all favorable towards the filmmaker. Suddenly self-distribution, once an unthinkable rarity, seems like a viable option for filmmakers who are willing to do the work to get their films on screens. September may be the month self-distribution comes into its own. The three filmmakers profiled below are all in the midst of releasing their own films, and they're not the only ones."

The filmmakers & projects profiled are: Andrew Bujalski & Mutual Appreciation, myself (Sujewa Ekanayake) & Date Number One, and Lance Weiler & Head Trauma. (DNO & HT are Indie Features 06 projects, most awesome - IF06 is on the cutting edge of indie film baby :)

Read the article here.

Thanks for writing about DIY distribution Alison & IFC!

- Sujewa

GreenCine Daily Review of Date Number One

Regarding Date Number One, David Hudson at GreenCine Daily says, in part:

"... witty (I particularly like the recurring references to a band's unlikely popularity in Ohio), often inventive (the story in which the first date isn't really the first date at all is particularly well-written and performed) and, even better, airy: characters are given time and space to spell out their views on abortion, Buddhism, quantum physics or the ongoing war in Sri Lanka, views that never bear the artificial markings of a Hollywood screenwriter's compulsion to reduce them to sound-bites."

Read the whole review here.

Thanks for watching the movie & writing a review about it David!

Very exciting to see a review of my movie in GreenCine Daily (best indie film blog in the western world, no doubt), which is my favorite indie film blog (even if David's verdict on the film is a mixed one :).

- Sujewa

Movie Trailer Question - Answered!

Hi Stacy,
The person you would need to contact is (name left blank intentionally).
He is the one who reviews and approves content for the trailers site.

At this point all they need to be are films that are headed for U.S.
release. That release can be limited, but.. well.. a "real" release- not
into a college circuit or to video/web only. Verified acceptance to major
film festivals also count for placement consideration on our site. All
independent trailers are posted on a time/space available basis- submission
doesn't always lead to posting on the site. Films already out on DVD
typically do not qualify for placement on the site.

Trailers should be viewable for all audiences, free of foul language,
nudity, etc. NTSC tapes should be delivered to us on HD (D-5 1080p),
Digibeta, or BetaSP tapes. We would also consider an *uncompressed*
QuickTime movie file on a DVD-R disc. MPAA approved trailers are no
problem. We would want to encode it to assure the highest quality possible
since we are also the developer of the technology. We think you'd agree
your asset should look as good as possible. Our corporate campus is an
administrative site so tapes or DVD-R discs may not be able to be returned.
Prior notice and return packaging will need to be sent with the asset and
arranged beforehand.

Prior to posting a trailer, Apple will also need to have an email
containing:

1. Principal cast list w/ director
2. Synopsis
3. 1 sheet (theatrical poster)
4. Release schedule

That's pretty much it.

Thank you for considering our site for your trailer.

-Movie Trailers Team

--Sounds pretty doable to me!
If you want the email address for the contact at apple, send me an email and I'll send it on to you. I didn't want to put it on the web and let the trollers pick it up.
(Last one with their trailer on the apple site has to hold the boom...)

Indie Features 07 is alive!

Yup, the self-promotion festival that is Indie Features 06 will live on in the coming year at Indie Features 07 : http://indiefeatures07.blogspot.com/.

Filmmakers interested in participating in the blog should send me an e-mail with a description of the film that will be in distribution in 2007. E-mail me at: wilddiner AT aol.com

Thanks!

- Sujewa

Posting Trailers to the Apple Site

I want to put our trailer on the Apple trailer site. I've emailed Apple and am still waiting for a response.
Does anyone here know: Is it a submission process or do they troll certain websites for trailers?
When I find out, I'll post the answer. If you already know the answer, please post it.
Thanks,
Stacy
www.jumpingoffbridges.com

jumping off bridges in Seattle and Albuquerque

Our tour officially begins in September.
Please help us get the word out about our screenings in Seattle and Albuquerque:

9/13, Seattle, WA
Broadway Performance Hall
7:30 p.m.
Tickets available through ticket window online.

9/15, Albuquerque, NM
Southwest Film Center, 7pm
Sponsored by the Agora Crisis Center

9/16, Albuquerque, NM
Southwest Film Center, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm
Sponsored by the Agora Crisis Center

6 days to go until the 8/31 NYC Premiere of Date Number One

Making travel plans, sending out e-mails, getting some DVDs & tapes ready for today's mail are the kind of "1 week 'till NYC screening" stuff I am attending to right now. Doing these one-off screenings are useful. So far each screening produced some changes to the movie. I think the version that will play on 8/31 @ Pioneer will be the very final version of the movie. So, screening #10, the NYC premiere, is coming up, & after that 100s more screenings to set up & do, DVDs to make & sell, & also need to look into VOD. Also trailers, clips on the web, posters, post cards, action figures. Right now DIY distribution is a full time commitment underwritten by full time dayjob work. DIY filmmakers/distributors are the hardest working (& sexiest :) people in show biz (next to James Brown, Michelle Mae & Ian MacKaye that is). But am glad the flick is getting out to customers, little by little. Here's all the info on the 8/31 screening in NYC. Tix are on sale now, see link below. Thanks!


DATE NUMBER ONE
http://www.wilddiner.com/
a comedy about several first dates
a movie by sujewa ekanayake

Thursday, August 31, 9 PM
The Two Boots Pioneer Theater
http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/monthly_programs/2006-08.htm#DateNumberOne
155 East 3rd Street (between Avenues A and B, closer to A)
New York, New York
212-591-0434
ticket prices:$9 adults, $6.50 members
Buy Tix Now: http://pioneertheater.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=65968

Film's Description:"Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 115 minute movie is made up of 5 different stories: Story 1: Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, about a ninja who goes on a blind date (ninja is played by John Stabb Schroeder from the DC punk band G.I.), Story 2: A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, Story 3: Washington "City Of Love" DC/Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Story 4: Air Quotes Woman, about a woman who always uses air quotes, and her search for a new boyfriend, Story 5: The Superdelicious French Lesson, about a first date where a character learns a little bit of French in an unusual way.

Featuring Hot DC Indie Film Stars John Stabb Schroeder, Julia Stemper, Jennifer Blakemore, Shervin Boloorian, Dele Williams, Steve Lee, Kelly Ham, Christine D. Lee, Fritz Flad, Subodh Samudre, Jewel Greenberg

Not Rated * 115 Minutes * yummy

Director will attend the screening.

"The film is about as charming as they come...presents a world in which cultures don't clash, they mesh. It's refreshing to see characters who all appear to have a natural optimism, as opposed to the typical indie-film predilection for bitterness and cruelty. "
- Michael Tully, Rotterdam & SXSW film festivals selected filmmaker http://blogs.indiewire.com/tully/archives/010529.html

"I found the characters and the premise sexy, sexy, sexy."
- Jerry Brewington, Hollywood Is Talking blog, on Story 2 of Date Number One http://hollywoodistalking.com/Blog/508/

"FIVE really entertaining, fully realized romantic interludes...a shamefully rare achievement"
- Tom Kipp, Seattle audience member, former film reviewer for Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger
http://diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-with-seattle-audience-member.html

"Heartfelt...poignant...I loved it!"
- Jon Moritsugu, award winning filmmaker

"Date Number One is quite funny...twentysomethings and occasional thirtysomethings looking for romance recall Richard Linklater's philosopher slackers and Jim Jarmusch's minimalist attention to conversation...also a subtle, thoughtful film...might be understood as the anti-Crash depiction of life in the city...depicts a comfortably multi-ethnic community...I'd happily recommend it."
- Chuck Tryon, media professor & blogger, The Chutry Experiment blog http://chutry.wordherders.net/archives/005873.html

BUY TICKETS NOW FOR THIS MOVIE:
http://pioneertheater.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=65968
(Pioneer is a small theater, buy tix as early as possible, thanks!)

website: http://www.wilddiner.com/
blog: http://www.diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2006 Sujewa Ekanayake/Wild Diner Films

A DIY breakdown

Over the course of the run I want to share as much of the process as I can. Here's a breakdown on how I’m working the HT release. This theatrical release is designed to:

A. Give HT a chance to play theatrical so audiences can experience the movie on the big screen. In some cases this will also help to spark word of mouth and assist in building a mailing list.

B. Help build awarness for HT on a national level – to assist in making the movie a national story.

C. Having a national theatrical release will help to position the DVD release of the movie.

So here is a brief rundown of the mechanics of the theatrical release as they stand so far. The DIY distro book I’m writing will go into WAY more detail. It will be release in 2007.

The DEAL
I worked out 50/50 splits with each of the venues so that I don't have to four wall. In some cases four walls can be great but since I was doing 15 cities without any real budget it was out of the question. I approached the theaters with a pitch, it was designed to show that I was approaching the runs as business partnership of sorts.

The Promotion
For the press I target print, radio, print, TV, web. I start each cities press push about three weeks out. I make sure to coordinate the efforts with the theaters. In fact in most cases I get a press list from them. The first wave is e-mailing and faxing a press release. Next I'll follow it up with a phone call to let them know I'll be in town for the run. And the last phase consists of two media alerts. In most cases the media alerts are for radio and TV due to the fact that there is always a chance that they could have a slot open up.

The Hard Costs

DIY on a large level can be a challenge and the biggest issue is finding a way to make money and then how to not spend money along the way.

To help offset travel expenses I booked about $1500 worth of speaking engagements at various schools and film socities. This not only helps with cash but in most cases will lead to free lodging and also free meals. It also helps drive people to the theater.

I made a run of really high quality 27 x 40 posters, which I can sell for $10 bucks each. In my experience I sell about 5 to 20 posters in a night. This money is great for food and miscellaneous expenses.

I don't do advertising unless I can find sponsorship to help offset the costs and even then I won’t do anything but a weekly city paper ad. These on average cost anywhere from 250 to 1,000 or more per ad. I’ll usally run a 1/4 page or smaller.

In each city I'll send the theaters and or street team (die hard fans) a package of flyers (b&w) with a high quality master so more can be made if needed. I’ll also include a small number of postcards. $12.00 in flyers per city and I pay $250 for 3,000 4 color front and 1 color back postcards.

To be continued…

New York City to see a lot of indie film DIY distribution action in the 2nd half of 2006

LOL, Date Number One, Head Trauma, Four Eyed Monsters, Mutual Appreciation, The Guatamalan Handshake, Jumping Off Bridges will all screen in New York City starting late August (LOL & Date Number One at Pioneer Theater in August), through September (4eyed, mutual, HT & more in September), and into late '06 (Bridges in Nov at Pioneer).All of the films mentioned are being fully or partially self-distributed.

I am preparing a more detailed post re: this wonderful occurrence, will have all the info - dates, places, film summaries, soon (let's say by Tue, got a few Date Number One edit things to do this weekend).

Post comments here about other DIY distributed low budget indie/real indie flicks that I may have missed/not heard about yet. Will look into them to include in the upcoming more detailed post re: The Heavy DIY Season New York '06.

In the meantime, check out this awesome indieWIRE article about Head Trauma & Four Eyed Monsters & their DIY distribution adventures.

Also, if you live in NYC, & you want to check out Date Number One, meet the director, hang out, you can NOW BUY TICKETS for the 8/31 Thu 9 PM show! See ya there.

- Sujewa

Report from Portland

So far today had been great. HT has gotten some great reviews in the weekly pubs. I'm doing some radio tomorrow and I did an interview today for a major online site - more on that next week.

The ad I placed in the weekly looks excellent and the placement is killer. I did a tech run through today at the theater and everything is ready for tomorrow night. I'll be talking after each of the evening screenings this weekend - so if you happen to live in Portland or know some who does tell them to come on out to see the flick.

On the buzz side of things. IndieWire ran a nice story about HT and Four Eyed Monsters yesterday. Click here to check it out.

I got into Portland late last night. Over five months in the making and tomorrow night everything goes live.

Yesterday I finished preparing HT for a 24p HD digital transfer. A number of the screenings of HT will be making use of a new prototype d-cinema solution. A self-contained media server of sorts that provides true HD resolution and surround sound. The box is called IndEx and a team of very talented people created it. Index is meant to be an economical solution for filmmakers and theaters. A way for a filmmaker to travel with their work and no matter what venue their in they’ll have a pristine version of their movie to show. IndEx comes out later this fall. When I can I’ll make sure take a ton of pictures. And as I can release more details I’ll post them here.

I’ve added two more venues - because I’m crazy. I’ve picked up an additional screen in Seattle and the 2nd venue is a surprise, so I can’t say but I promise it will be something worth checking out if you can.

Juggling press, theatrical runs and a DVD release is a handful. I’ve been documenting as much of the experience as I can. I’m working on a book about DIY distro and the changing landscape of content distribution. Last week I brought on a co-writer and a researcher in order to help meet our deadline for 2007. We’re very close to working something out with a publisher that will have the book out in a huge way.

Even though DIY can be a bitch at times it really can open doors. The forward momentum that it gives a project is amazing. I’ve been fielding a lot of amazing offers over the last few weeks. Offers to make another movie with a larger budget, invitations to speak at various conferences, publishing opportunities, as well as a couple very cool job offers.

More to come….

Quick Update

Here's a quick update -

Earlier today iFilm featured the HT trailer and a special "Making Of" web short on the front of their site. Since then the trailer has been viewed over 9,000 times. And if that wasn't cool enough HT is ranked #2 just behind the Descent as the most popular horror vid on the whole iFilm site. The exposure resulted in a ton of e-mails and feedback. Gotta love the internet.

In other news I've been working on a new addition to the htMob (the film community for HT) and I'm happy to announce that it's ready for consumption. It's called Head Trauma radio and I've been seeding it for the last six months or so - making it available via myspace so that people could take the code and embed it into their own profiles, blogs or pages. I've gotten e-mails from Germany, Norway and a bunch of people here in the states that have embed the simple player into their profiles and pages.

What's really cool is that once it is embed in a page or profile I can update the audio tracks at any time. So it's like my own channel that rides over myspace profiles or any where else that someone embeds it. It allows me to update people about the project without them coming to my sites.

Here's what it looks like.

It's pretty simple - some would call it an audio blog of sorts others might call them podcasts but I'm calling it radio. HT radio is something that I plan to update as often as I can from the road. I'm trying to document all the phases of making HT. I started this past weekend with a couple posts about the Twisted Horror Weekend horror convention that I attended in Ohio. I plan to give simple audio updates about my travels in addition to interviewing various cast and crew involved in the making of the movie.

I've also setup a flickr account and over time I'll be uploading all the photos from the making of the film. Big props to Martin Pepe for all his behind the scenes photography. I'll also be snapping new pics from the road.

Checkout http://htmob.com/vlog or http://htradio.blogspot.com to listen and see the pics.

Twisted

I’m writing this from Cleveland. I’m in town for a horror convention called Twisted Nightmare. I’ve been invited to speak about indie filmmaking and to show some clips from HEAD TRAUMA. The convention started tonight and runs until Sunday afternoon. I’m going to be attending a number of horror cons over the next couple months - it’s a great way to get the word out about the movie. Plus horror fans are excellent and best of all there rabid fans! I’m going to snap a bunch of pictures to share the weirdness.



In the next couple days I’ll be launching a new feature to the htmob (which is a community, promotional, viral marketing experiment) - I’m calling it head trauma radio and it’s an audio blog / podcast of my experience on the road. As I’ve mentioned before I’m trying to document as much of the experience as possible. head trauma radio is a project I’ve been seeding for the last 6 months or so. In the next post I’ll go into more detail and I’ll also provide a link to the broadcast.

HT got a nice write up on the filmmaker magazine blog yesterday. People seem to be responding not only to the movie but also the way in which we’re rolling it out.

“Lance Weiler, writer/director behind The Last Broadcast, begins a 15-city self-distribution tour of his new chills-fest Head Trauma on August 15th. Weiler, who received slack and acclaim for The Last Broadcast – the first all digital release ever, isn’t a traditional filmmaker in any sense…” Read More

Last but not least I’m happy to report that I booked the 15th screen earlier today. Next week I’ll list all the venues, dates and links. Plus it looks like I could be adding a couple of extra screens! More info to come.

Storie Girls on the move...

A month ago, we decided to self-distribute jumping off bridges in a limited theatrical release. Our goal was 20 cities across the country, partnering with local and national suicide prevention groups. We wanted to reach out to the audience that kept reaching out to our film.


Our strategy: Play in venus that are indie friendly and in areas with a strong suicide prevention coalition and work with local film festivals and film societies to arrange special screenings.

I'm happy to report that yesterday, we hit our goal of 20 cities and there is a list of more we're still working to lock down.

We'll keep everyone posted as dates and venues are locked.


Please encourage your friends and family in Dallas, Lubbock, Seattle and Albuquerque to attend our August and September screenings!

jumping off bridges: Fall 06 screenings

August

• 8/9, Dallas, TX, Dallas Video Festival, Angelika Film Center, 7pm
• 8/11, Lubbock TX, Flatland Film Festival

September

• 9/13, Seattle, WA, Broadway Performance Hall
• 9/15 - 9/21, Overland Park, KS, Kansas City International Film Festival
• 9/30, San Antonio, TX, Historic Guadalupe Theater at Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 7pm

October

• Baltimore, MD, TBA
• Washington DC, TBA
• Chicago, IL, TBA
• (week run), Jacksonville, FL, San Marco Theater, TBA
• 10/3, Austin, TX, Alamo Drafthouse South, 7pm
• 10/3 - 10/8, New Haven, CT, Connecticut Film Festival
• 10/6 - 10/7 (weekend run), Tallahassee, FL, All Saints Cinema
• 10/7, Boston, MA, Capital Theater, 6:30pm
• 10/14, Nashville, TN, Belcourt Theater, 2pm
• 10/14, Houston, TX, Rice University Media Lab, 7pm
• 10/26, Portland, OR, The Hollywood Theater

November

• Los Angeles, CA, TBA
• 11/2, Montclair, NJ, Montclair State University
• 11/3 and 11/4, New York City, NY, Pioneer Theater, 7pm

You can NOW BUY TICKETS to the Aug 31, 9 PM NYC premiere of Date Number One! :: less than 84 seats left

Want to experience the superdelicious, no-budget, ninja-errific DIY filmmaking & self-distribution glory that is Date Number One when the flick has its New York City premiere? Want to hang out with the filmmakers & actors, possibly make some new cool friends? Then go HERE to buy tickets to the Thu, Aug 31, 9 PM NYC premiere screening of Date Number One at the Pioneer Theater. As far as I know, less than 84 seats are available now. Buy tix, spread the word, let's have an awesome time on 8/31!

- Sujewa
ps: I am going to be speaking about self-distribution at an IFP panel event in October, it would be very nice to have a DNO NYC premiere tix sales success story to tell :) thanksalot.

A Hollywood MESSIAH?

The hits just keep on coming this week for The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah. FAIF International Film Festival, which unfolds in the heart of Hollywood at Mann's Chinese Theatre October 5-14, has invited us to screen!

This is our Hollywood premiere, so naturally I'm excited and really hoping to go.

Date Number One NEW YORK PREMIERE Thu Aug 31, 9 PM at Pioneer Theater!

DATE NUMBER ONE
http://www.wilddiner.com/
a comedy about several first dates
a movie by sujewa ekanayake

Thursday, August 31, 9 PM
The Two Boots Pioneer Theater
http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/
155 East 3rd Street
(between Avenues A and B, closer to A)
New York, New York
212-591-0434
ticket prices:
$9 adults, $6.50 members

:: link for advance ticket purchase will be available soon ::

Director will attend the screening.

"The film is about as charming as they come...presents a world in which cultures don't clash, they mesh. It's refreshing to see characters who all appear to have a natural optimism, as opposed to the typical indie-film predilection for bitterness and cruelty. "
- Michael Tully, Rotterdam & SXSW film festivals selected filmmaker
http://blogs.indiewire.com/tully/archives/010529.html

"I found the characters and the premise sexy, sexy, sexy."
Jerry Brewington, Hollywood Is Talking blog, on Story 2 of Date Number One
http://hollywoodistalking.com/Blog/508/%22Date+Number+One%22+Review.html

"FIVE really entertaining, fully realized romantic interludes...a shamefully rare achievement"
- Tom Kipp, Seattle audience member, former film reviewer for Seattle alternative weekly
The Stranger
http://diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-with-seattle-audience-member.html

"Heartfelt...poignant...I loved it!"
- Jon Moritsugu, award winning filmmaker

"Date Number One is quite funny...twentysomethings and occasional thirtysomethings looking for romance recall Richard Linklater's philosopher slackers and Jim Jarmusch's minimalist attention to conversation...also a subtle, thoughtful film...might be understood as the anti-Crash depiction of life in the city...depicts a comfortably multi-ethnic community...I'd happily recommend it."
- Chuck Tryon, media professor & blogger, The Chutry Experiment blog
http://chutry.wordherders.net/archives/005873.html

Film's Description:"Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 115 minute movie is made up of 5 different stories: Story 1: Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, about a ninja who goes on a blind date (ninja is played by John Stabb Schroder from the DC punk band G.I.), Story 2: A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, Story 3: Washington "City Of Love" DC/Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Story 4: Air Quotes Woman, about a woman who always uses air quotes, and her search for a new boyfriend, Story 5: The Superdelicious French Lesson, about a first date where a character learns a little bit of French in an unusual way.

*

Featuring Hot DC Indie Film Stars John Stabb Schroeder, Julia Stemper, Jennifer Blakemore, Shervin Boloorian, Dele Williams, Steve Lee, Kelly Ham, Christine D. Lee, Fritz Flad, Subodh Samudre, Jewel Greenberg

*
Not Rated * 115 Minutes * yummy

website: http://www.wilddiner.com/
blog: http://www.diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2006 Sujewa Ekanayake/Wild Diner Films

* see you there *

More MESSIAH news

The latest on "...American Messiah" -- just found out that the film will screen at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival, August 23rd - 27th.

DVD news

Today I recieved the print proofs for the packaging of the HEAD TRAUMA DVD. It was wild to see the final proof on a nice paper. I also ran through the DVD check disc and gave the replicator the go ahead.

So in 7 days I'll have the finished packaged DVDs. They will arrive just in time to send out for promotion and sales. Even though the DVD doesn't street until September 26th the earlier you have it done the better. It helps to get it in front of the press for long lead pubs and to also give the sales team a good lead time.

Fangoria ran a news piece about the HEAD TRAUMA DVD specs today. I`m really excited about the the DVD - the packaging is killer and there are a ton of special features. The DVD hits stores nationwide on September 26th. The DVD will have a limited run of two collectable covers.



Here`s what fangoria had to say.

Virginia Film Festival

Sorry to post two in a row, but I had to share the good news: THE PROPER CARE & FEEDING OF AN AMERICAN MESSIAH was just invited into the prestigious Virginia Film Festival. Their theme this year is "REVELATIONS: Finding God at the Movies" -- so AMERICAN MESSIAH is a great fit.

They're working on some great guests and fascinating films. You can check out the fest director's blog at http://vafilm.blogspot.com/ and the festival site at http://www.vafilm.com.

We'll be in Charlottesville in late October -- if anyone is around, hope to see you there!

American Messiah on iFilm

I was contacted by the head of the INDIE section on iFilm, to feature the trailer for The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah. Check us out on there at:

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2754595
And hey, if you're there anyway, leave some nice comments about the film, the trailer, or whatever.

jumping off bridges fall tour in the works

We're putting together a fall tour of jumping off bridges. Here's what we have so far. We'll be adding dates and locations to the list as we lock them down. If you live in one of these cities, please come check out the film and say hello.

back from the show

I just returned from a video dealer's convention in Vegas. I was invited to speak and ended up talking about my distro plans for HT. I meet some very cool people and made some great contacts. The show is the largest gathering of video dealer's and buyer's from around the country. I promoted the upcoming DVD release of HT with some mini comics of the website. I used a similar promotion at the LA FILM FEST a couple weeks back. There a great cost effect promotional tool with a strong impact. I do a limited run at kinkos and print them up on a laser paper. They end up costing about .22 cents a piece.


Front cover of the comic

On the theatrical end of things I've just booked the 12th screen of the run. Three more to go. I'll be posting a list of cities and venues within the next two weeks so stay tuned. If you happen to live in one of the cities let us know info @ headtraumamovie.com

The alternate soundtrack has a new release date. It will be coming out on Oct. 10th on Park the Van records. We're currently working on putting together a couple of shows that will feature some of the bands on the soundtrack accompanying the movie live. The soundtrack is called Cursed - the HEAD TRAUMA music project and features performances by:

Bardo Pond
The Capital Years
Dr. Dog
The A-Sides
National Eye
Marshal Allen (SunRa)
Greg Weeks (Espers)
Steve Garvey (Buzzcocks)
and many more...

This coming week I'll be unveiling the final package design for the HEAD TRAUMA DVD's. I'm so excited about the way the whole thing came together. I'll be posting some hi-res photos for everyone to see. More details about what's on the DVD and within the packaging will be announced very soon.

Lastly, I started yet another social network experiment for HT. So far I have a myspace and tagworld profile. And now the newest addition to the social networking family is a filmmaking social network called iklipz. It's too early to tell what I think of it. I'll keep you posted.

IFILM wants more trailers & clips from real indie movies

Read all about it here!

- Sujewa

Killing Down Update

Hadn't posted anything in a while on this blog. Been reading it though regulary and glad to see the progress of everyone's projects.

Currently we're finishing the final-final color correction and about to do the final-final sound mix. I say "final-final" because I had to do a complete temp color grading and temp sound mix back in May for our premiere screening at the USA Film Festival in Dallas. That was a great event, but it put us way behind on getting the film, well, finalized. So, here we are two months later about to finally finish. :)





















We've been creating some new artwork gearing up for our industry screenings (these should happen in late August into September) and I've uploaded a preview of a new poster look here. If you don't know anything about the film it's a psychological thriller about a guy named Steven Down who thinks people are out to kill him - so we're trying to play up the paranoia angle.

Hopefully we'll have some (good) news to report in the near future about our distribution on "Killing Down".

-Blake

Date Number One screening, Thu July 13, 8:30 PM, Sangha, Takoma Park, MD

DATE NUMBER ONE
http://www.wilddiner.com/
a comedy about several first dates
a movie by sujewa ekanayake

"The film is about as charming as they come...presents a world in which cultures don't clash, they mesh. It's refreshing to see characters who all appear to have a natural optimism, as opposed to the typical indie-film predilection for bitterness and cruelty. "
- Michael Tully, Rotterdam & SXSW film festivals selected filmmaker
http://blogs.indiewire.com/tully/archives/010529.html

"I found the characters and the premise sexy, sexy, sexy."
Jerry Brewington, Hollywood Is Talking blog, on Story 2 of Date Number One
http://hollywoodistalking.com/Blog/508/"Date+Number+One"+Review.html

Thursday July 13, 8:30 PM, $5
SANGHA
7014 Westmoreland Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301.891.3214
website: http://www.sangha.ws/
directions: http://www.sangha.ws/VisitingSangha.html

Director & some of the stars will attend the screening.

"FIVE really entertaining, fully realized romantic interludes...a shamefully rare achievement"
- Tom Kipp, Seattle audience member, former film reviewer for Seattle alternative weekly
The Stranger
http://diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/2006/05/interview-with-seattle-audience-member.html

"Heartfelt...poignant...I loved it!"
- Jon Moritsugu, award winning filmmaker

"Date Number One is quite funny...twentysomethings and occasional thirtysomethings looking for romance recall Richard Linklater's philosopher slackers and Jim Jarmusch's minimalist attention to conversation...also a subtle, thoughtful film...might be understood as the anti-Crash depiction of life in the city...depicts a comfortably multi-ethnic community...I'd happily recommend it."
- Chuck Tryon, media professor & blogger, The Chutry Experiment blog
http://chutry.wordherders.net/archives/005873.html

Film's Description:"Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 115 minute movie is made up of 5 different stories: Story 1: Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, about a ninja who goes on a blind date (ninja is played by John Stabb Schroder from the DC punk band G.I.), Story 2: A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, Story 3: Washington "City Of Love" DC/Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Story 4: Air Quotes Woman, about a woman who always uses air quotes, and her search for a new boyfriend, Story 5: The Superdelicious French Lesson, about a first date where a character learns a little bit of French in an unusual way.
*
Featuring Hot DC Indie Film Stars John Stabb Schroeder, Julia Stemper, Jennifer Blakemore, Shervin Boloorian, Dele Williams, Steve Lee, Kelly Ham, Christine D. Lee, Fritz Flad, Subodh Samudre, Jewel Greenberg
*
Not Rated * 115 Minutes * yummy

website: http://www.wilddiner.com/
blog: http://www.diyfilmmaker.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2006 Sujewa Ekanayake/Wild Diner Films

* see you there *

At Sujewa's Capitol City Microcinema

Hey all -- I just posted on my own blog about my experience showing the film at Sujewa's screening series in the DC area... rather than reposting it here, I'll just provide a link:

AMERICAN MESSIAH at Capitol City Microcinema.

Thanks again, Sujewa. Had a great time.

Off to Vegas

Well I’m getting ready to leave town again. I’m headed to Vegas for the VSDA show. The VSDA show is one of the largest gatherings of video retailers in the country. I’ve be invited to speak. A few years back I started a program called the Filmmakers of Tomorrow. FOT was all about putting independent filmmakers directly in touch with independent retailers. After doing our own distro with TLB, we saw first hand how great working with independent retailers could be. It made a lot of sense to cut out the middle man and the independent retailers were looking for ways to give their customers something different. At the time there were over 10,000 independent video stores. Well the program has since changed names and expanded. I’m excited to return and see how its grown.

Theatrical bookings and a long lead press push have been taking up a lot of my time since getting back from the LA Film Fest. I’m close to locking the 12th screen! The theatrical run is going to be great. I’ve been able to secure some excellent venues. I’ll have a final list of venues in the next few weeks. If you happen to be in a city and would like to have HT play there let me know.

Well we turned over all the final print materials for the DVD on Friday. The packaging is killer. Sparkart did an amazing job. Between the movie, the 2 hours of bonus features, the collector’s booklet with linear notes by Stephen Susco (the Grudge & Grudge 2) and some original artwork from famed comic book artist S.R. Bissette (Constantine and Swamp Thing) - I’m jumping out of my skin to get my hands on the final version. If all goes well we should have check disks next week and then final packaging the week after! The DVD release date is official SEPTEMBER 26th and then 2 weeks later the alternate soundtrack will hit stores OCTOBER 10th, thanks to Park the Van records. The alternate soundtrack is meant to be lined up with a special scene in the movie - so when you turn down the tv and turn up the stereo you'll experience an alternate version of the movie.

There are some other exciting things in the works for HT but it's too early to tell . BUT I can say they involve the trailer and also a very special screening!

Until next time…

Eve of Understanding

Hi. I'm Alyson Shelton, writer/director of 'Eve of Understanding' a feature currently doing the festival circuit. We also have a blog we've been keeping since August 2004, that goes into detail about all phases of productions.

The film has screened at:

The Sedona Film Festival
MethodFest (Nominee for Best Actress)
Waterfront Film Festival
Female Eye Film Festival (Winner for Best Feature)

and on Sunday, July 23rd at 7:15pm at Laemmle's Fairfax 3 in Los Angeles, CA in the Competition Section of:
Dances with Films.

We're in the midst of the selling game. We decided to spend some of our last dollars to hire a publicist for Dances with Films to help us generate some buzz. It felt like the right thing to do. Dances with Films is a discovery festival - that's us - no name talent or crew - and we felt like we wanted to do a full sales push at this festival. It will be interesting to see if it pays off the way we hope. We'd really like to have the film sold by the end of the summer. We'll see.

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…