We had a great time at the Santa Fe Film Festival! HUMBLE BEAUTY screened to an enthusiastic audience and we even sold some DVDs afterwards. Got lots of great feedback.
We went to the premiere of Wes Studi's film THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN, which was very good and beautifully shot entirely in the wilds of Kansas (set in 1905 Kansas). Not only did we get to meet Wes Studi [DANCES WITH WOLVES, LAST OF THE MOHICANS, GERONIMO, many others] but he turned out to be a friend of Judy's old friend from Wichita, Ann Garvey, arts supporter, philanthropist, and all around lover of life. Ann attended the festival to see our film and the Wes Studi film and introduced us to Wes. When he heard Judy was a big fan, he kissed her hand. Such fun! We got a photo. He's a wonderful actor, mostly Native American parts and westerns, and is very active in Native American affairs. He and his wife live in Santa Fe where he is definitely the local hero and big man on campus.
Two days later, THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN received the top prize for a dramatic feature at the festival! So everyone can look forward to seeing it in a theatre or on a premium cable channel soon.
The top documentary prize went to MYTHIC JOURNEYS by husband and wife filmmakers Whitney and Steven Boe. The film is a unique fusion of documentary, animation and story starring Tim Curry, Mark Hamill and Lance Henriksen. We had a chance to meet the Boes and chat about their film but it screened after we left Santa Fe. Can't wait to see it! More info on their website,
http://www.imaginalcellsinc.com/mythicjourneystrailer.htm
Saw other great films, went to parties at night at various restaurants and clubs around town, networked with other filmmakers and got some distribution tips which we'll follow-up. It was a lot of fun being there and Santa Fe itself is so beautiful with more upscale art galleries and restaurants per square inch than anywhere else.
But it was FREEZING. When we arrived it was 17 degrees and the next day we woke up to snow on the ground and flurries of ice and snow throughout the day. Friday morning it was down to 4 degrees. BRRRR. Our teeth were chattering, not used to those conditions, being California wimps. Even the Santa Feans were cold. But everything inside was cozy and warm and full of noisy conversation and laughter.
Hopefully, being a part of the Santa Fe Film Festival will lead to more good things for HUMBLE BEAUTY. We got lots of local publicity from Press Releases we had sent out and one unexpected inclusion in a "highlights of the festival" article in an online arts & culture magazine (
http://www.sfreporter.com/stories/get_your_film_on/5203/)
Another viewer, Maureen E.Doallas, has written a beautiful tribute to HUMBLE BEAUTY on her interesting art-centered blog. Don't miss this wonderful writer's comments.(
http://www.facebook.com/l/46d68;writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com )
Thanks for all your continued encouragement and support.
