Blog & News

Admittedly, I was exhausted by even the mere thought of attending another fest this past weekend after the last 6 weeks on the road.  But, I knew I’d hate myself if I didn’t attend.  And I’m so glad I did.  It was the perfect transition back to LaLa land.  For the past few days I’ve met some super cool people, seen some fabulous films (including fellow AFI sister Susan Cohen’s brilliant film Open Your Eyes which is up to like 5 million awards by now – Go, Susan!) and simultaneously written outlines for 2 new screenplays and finally came up with an idea for a webisodes series that I totally can and want to do (fortunately several Deviant team members were in attendance and we’ve already begun strategizing).  I owe this inspiration to the Broad Humor Film Festival.

This is our third time to screen in this fest, but the first time I was able to attend for the duration and I’m so glad that I did.  It was amazing to see how it’s grown in 5 years and the quality and wide variety of the films this year were truly impressive.  There was a particularly inspirational writing workshop with Julie Gray and a fun brunch where I learned much about the inner-workings (and money-making opportunities) of youtube, and more collaborative efforts and international film tours were discussed.  It was a very pro-active event.  Plus, we found a place to get yummy margaritas nearby which is never a bad thing.

Sadly, I missed opening night when Death in Charge screened due to a late flight, but trippin’s screening went over marvelously well.  I couldn’t have asked for a better response from our laughing, groaning audience.  Interesting how playing in a comedy festival (as opposed to, say, a horror one) seemed to change some of the reactions.  People laughed in places they don’t usually and the climax was met with a wild laughing uproar as opposed to the usual gasps.  I do think we play better presented as a comedy.  And, as always, folks were positively blown away when we shared our miniscule budget.

Of course the highlight of the weekend was the awards ceremony and after-party.  Congrats, Team – we won Best Feature!  After we got our awesome star trophy (plus a bunch of exciting new movie software – thanks, Broad Humor and sponsors!), I was moved by the kind praise we received from both friends and strangers.  As has happened now at near every fest we’ve played, a few folks told us, this is better than most films they’ve seen in the theaters this past year and asked if there’s any chance we’ll go theatrical. Aw, shucks!

For the record, no, we will not go theatrical.  It’s far too small of a film, it could never happen.  There have, however, been some interesting offers proposed so far so we’ll keep posted when we decide which route we plan to take.  In the meantime, pat yourselves on the back, Cast, Crew and Supporters – a Grand Jury Best Feature award is pretty darn nifty!