Sunday night we had about 20 people here for a sneak preview screening of trippin’. The technology wasn’t optimal. A too small TV perched upon cardboard boxes, bad speakers and seating that ranged from folding beach chairs to a rock hard sofabed does not quite compare to the Arclight, but bless our dear supporters for enduring. They were a truly generous audience and I believe a rather good time was had by all.
As is our custom with trippin’ screenings, we served spaghetti, garlic bread, beer and wine preceding the screening. Others contributed brownies, cookies and chips/salsa. It was a fun feast accompanied by lively conversation, which was a great prelude to our film.
The screening itself was fun – lots of laughs throughout. Feedback was great. Our suspicions have been confirmed. trippin’ is not really a horror film, but rather a dark comedy. But there’s no shame in that. Ivan Schwarz, the Cleveland Film Comissioner with whom I had a great meeting a few weeks back, said the same thing about Death in Charge. He told me we were limiting our market by calling it “horror.” To the contrary, not calling it horror could open up our market that much more apparently. I forget not everybody’s a die-hard genre fan. Some unenlightened people actually discriminate against our beloved horror genre. Fortunately, horror fans are still likely to embrace our dark comedy as there are a number of familiar tropes and nods to the dark comedy’s more sinister cousin.
The scariest thing about making a film, I think, is that period between completion and getting into your first fest or getting that first positive review. It’s not that I require outside approval to feel good about myself or our film. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and genuinely like our movie, regardless of what others may or may not think of it. But like any doting mom, I want our baby to be accepted in the world, to make friends, to have a fulfilling life. 
Besides, as directrix, I feel responsible to my cast and crew to make sure their hard work pays off in pleased audiences, numerous screenings around the globe and exposure outside our deviant family. Until one sees her film having a life of its own, seeing how different audiences react, reading what critics have to say, it’s hard to know what to expect.
Sunday night boosted my confidence immensely. I asked people to be candid. I told them where we were at and what we were looking for in feedback. I explained we couldn’t make any changes to the cut at this point in time, but that we still wanted to know our strengths and weaknesses so we could properly market our baby. I asked for honesty and not merely the praise of a friend trying to just be supportive. What is our film, what isn’t our film and where and how shall we send it out in the world?
We got some very valuable feedback. It was fun sharing the trailers and hearing people’s thoughts. We’ll be posting them this week incidentally so come back and check them out soon. We’d love to hear your comments, too.
I think the coolest part about last night was the group participation. It was nice letting more people into the world of trippin’ . 
For so long now it’s been just this small group of us toiling away. Now we’ve begun to introduce her to the extended family. It’s great to be surrounded by people who respect what we’re trying to do and feel comfortable being candid. I feel like people sincerely want us to succeed, not always the case in this oft-competitive town.
But no time to bask in Sunday’s glory. It’s serious crunch time. I missed a friend’s screening last night (sorry, Robert!) and a super cool jam session (sorry Jeremy & Spider!) last night to stay home and work and I’m still behind on some looming deadlines. 
And now I learned I have to jump a supershuttle at 3:20 am – yipes! I’m off to the New York City Horror Film Festival where Death in Charge will screen (as will Troy Romeo’s 2095 and Voltaire’s X-Mess Detritus – congrats, Boys! Hope to see you there!) I had a blast at this fun fest run by Michael Hein several years back when Raven Gets a Life screened, but I had to duck out before my own screening to double-dip and attend a second fest that same weekend. This time I’m there for the duration and can’t wait to not only do the fest right, but visit my old haunts should any still be standing which is looking less and less likely (ah, Kiev – why did you turn into a yuppie martini bar and then disappear entirely? ‘tis a sad state of affairs.) But no time for girlie sentimentalizing, it’s time to fly…