Iowa Independent Film Festival: Awards Ceremony

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The last film to screen in the Mason City Community Theater was Stockton to Table Rock. the film was about a high school senior who faced her abusive mother hoping change was possible. The mother deflected and denied while claiming her daughter was manic depressive.

The entire film I felt myself urging the 18 year old to just leave, but relationships are complex and change is scary. There was love even in the alcoholism and abuse. The actress for the film was in the audience and was there for the question and answer session. She seemed so much older and mature in person. I guess that is the sign of a good actress. After the screening the theater had to be made ready for the awards ceremony. Stars had to be hung on the curtains. I stood outside and tried to recover from Stockton. It is a film that lingers and leaves you thinking. It was hard to shake.

The hosts for the awards ceremony where The Other Guys, a local comedy duo in red tuxedos. Most awards went to filmmakers who were not at the festival. Those awards were stacked up on an oval shaped table to the right. As I mentioned in a previous post the filmmakers for a music video called Infinite Battleground were seated next to me in the back row. Unfortunate they did not win, that honor went to Obsessed directed by Ashley Cherie Long. Obsessed got a good laugh when the singer suddenly woke up from a dream and found herself in a harvested cornfield.

Then came the Best Animated Film Award category. I was pleased to be nominated and they played what seemed like a good solid minute of the film. I kept sketching as the other animated films were shown. My fountain pen literally snapped in half over the movie screen in my sketch and a single blob of ink dripped on the screen before I could get a rag to stop the flow of ink. The winner of the best animated film category was Truth Detector, Directed by William Reliford. I finished this sketch in the airport with a sharpie, prismacolor pencil and watercolor.

COVID Dystopia: PPE Fashion Show

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The bottom line in the PPE fashion show is that the police wear several thousand dollars worth of PPE and weaponry while a nurse might get by with a garbage bag and home made plastic visor for as little as $27.

Mark Esper who was secretary of defense was told by then president Trump that he should have the military shoot protestors in the legs in the nation’s capitol. THe nation wide protests fired up after the murder of George Floyd by police which was captured on a cell phone video. Since Esper refused to follow the order from the commander in chief, he was fired with a tweet from the POTUS.

This scene had a depth map and very subtle animation of the angel wings rising. Nurses who lived through the height of the pandemic now refuse to wear masks to keep themselves and patients safe. Many went from being angels of mercy to angels of disease and death.

Sanford Florida: The Barbara Lee

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The Barbara Lee of the Saint John’s River Company is docked at (433 N Palmetto Ave, Sanford, FL). The river boat became the site of The Barbara Lee Comedy Wedding which is a fun dinner theater show.

A group of misplaced New Yorkers arrive at the river boat and what follows is an ill planned, madcap wedding. The audience is part of the dinner party and if anything can go wrong it does go wrong to hilarious effect. On the three hour cruise the guests enjoy a four course meal while the bride and groom cope with escalating high jinks.

Performances are on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month. Guests board at 4:30pm and the boat leaves the dock, cruising from 5-8pm. There is also a 4th Thursday boarding at 10:30am for lunchtime wedding chaos. Tickets are $85.

COVID Dystopia at Cordillera Film Festival in Reno

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COVID Dystopia will screen in Reno on September 27, 2024 at 10:30pm in the Music Videos and Party-Short Films Program #4. screening. The screening is at the Greater Nevada Field, 250 Evans Avenue, Reno, Nevada. I had hoped that the film might be shown on the jumbo tron under the stars, but the 1992 feature film A League of their Own starring Tom Hanks, Genna Davis  and Madonna, will be shown on that huge screen. The short films will be shown in a VIP  lounge upstairs inside the stadium building. Hopefully they will cobble together a decent screening room. If they screen it on a bed sheet with a tin can for a speaker,  I believe there will be tears. They say there is no crying at Film Festivals.

Festival organizers let me know that my art bag would not get through the stadium security. I’ll just have to pocket a few pencils and carry my sketchbook if I want to sketch. Art supplies are often a weapon that is hard to get through security.

Mygration Films Meet and Greet 2

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The first sketch I did of the Mygration Films meet and greet was done while the filmmakers were looking over the envelopes they had picked to learn about the subject of their documentaries. The room was quiet as they read and thought.

Once the artists entered the room and were introduced to the filmmakers the room buzzed to life. There was a definite excitement as plans were hatched for the following two days of shooting. Unfortunately I am not sure who the artists or the filmmaker was who was seated right in front of me. They stood in for all the excited conversations that were happening at all the tables in the room. I will learn the story about the creative people seated in front of me when the films are shown as part of the Global Peace Film Festival.

I introduced myself to the filmmakers at Stella’s table briefly but didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the conversation.  A creative marathon was about to begin. Mygration films will capture the stories of Central Floridians who came here from around the world in short 3 to 5 minute documentaries. The filmmakers had just 2 days to shoot the films. The title of the film about Stella Arbelaez is titled Path to Healing and I can’t wait to see how it turned out. The films will be shown on September 22, 2024 starting at 5PM at Afro TV, 7220 International Drive Orlando Fl. Tickets are $10. Stella’s wrote her story in Footprint Magazine should you want to read more and see some of her art. I am curious to see how such an epic story can be told in a 5 minute short.

 

Mygration Filmmaker Meet and Greet

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Stella Arbelaez let me know about a filmmaker meet and greet happening at Full Sail. Lori Turchin was running the event.

Fusion Fest was having filmmakers create short documentaries about local creatives. The films had to be shot over the course of 2 days. It was to be a fast marathon of creativity.

I arrived at Full Sail a bit early to start the sketch. Lori explained that pairing so many creatives was an arduous process. Filmmakers would meet their prospective subjects in the Tree House, which was a student lounge with a small stage up front. When a filmmaker would arrive they would meet Lori who had a series of numbered envelopes they could choose from. Each envelope contained the name of a local artist along with biographies and other pertinent information. The filmmakers sat at their tables and poured over the material in the envelope.

Stella explained that she did quite a bit of work prior to the meet and greet. She acquired permits for the shooting locations and UCF required a script, so she essentially build a script around the questions the filmmakers would be asking. The theme of Stella’s short would evolve around her love of nature and the sense of place the brought her back to Orlando where she put down roots. She knows who she is creatively and she knows what brings her joy.

Stella’s filmmakers, M.D. Elliot and Ethen Paonessa, came from Ringling and after this initial met and greet they went out for dinner to continue to plan the filming production. The following day Stella’s daughter arrived. Five hours of footage might be shot which would need to be edited down to 3-5 minutes.

One aspect of Stella’s story  of healing that really fascinated me was her decision to walk the full 1,500 mile length of the Florida Trail. She had a home made backpack. Her small dog followed her on the journey. Hikers on this trail often are given nicknames and hers became acorn. She met up with other hikers along the way and there is a sense of community among those who feel the drive to walk the length of the trail. When blisters halted her progress, other hikers carried her gear so she could keep moving forward. COVID hit when she had just 80 miles to go to complete the trail. The trail was shut down. The open air of the trail was probably the safest place to be, but she had to return to civilization. That final 80 miles stretch was completed much later when lock downs were lifted. A person’s strength and resolve is tested on such a journey, and a love of nature is given room to blossom. The trail will provide.

All of the short films, which are referred to as Mygration films, will be screened as part of the Global Peace Film Festival on Sunday September 22, 2024 at Afrotainment, 7220 International Drive Orlando Fl. The screenings start at 5pm. Tickets are $10. I will be there to cheer on my fellow Florida Creatives.

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COVID Dystopia is an Official Selection for the Orlando Film Festival

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I really didn’t think COVID Dystopia would ever be screened in Florida. There are so many scenes that feature Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis that I assumed any juror who is conservative would guarantee the film is never seen.

The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 28 to November 4, 2024. That means COVID Dystopia will be screened right before the November presidential election. The film also features many scenes of Trump’s failed COVID policies. This is, I am assuming, another reason many film festivals consider the short to be poison for the big screen.

A Rhode Island film festival organizer e-mailed to let me know that she contracted COVID-19 at the the in person screenings at the film festival. This meant that approvals for the festival had to be delayed while she recovered. I thought, that might mean that COVID Dystopia might have a better shot at approval, but the film was still side lined. People prefer to pretend that life has returned to normal even as they get repeatedly infected. Every film festival is a super spreader. One in 35 people are infected right now. We are just now starting to come down from a COVID wave that peaked in late August 2024. I think I am still a COVID virgin. Even though I take every precaution, I will likely become infected at one of these Film Festivals as I promote COVID Dystopia.

I am finishing up the design work on a 200 plus page book with over 600 COVID themed illustrations. If the copy editing is done by late October, I could publish the book in November of 2024. The COVID Dystopia book gives a more sweeping overview of everything that has happened in the ongoing pandemic. The short animated film would become a teaser to promote the book.

Charlotte Film Festival

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The schedule is out for the Charlotte Film Festival. COVID Dystopia will be screening in the Animated Shorts block on Saturday September 28, 2024 at 11am. at the Independent Film House, 4237 Raleigh Street, Charlotte, North Carolina. A general admission ticket is $12.

Unfortunately I can not get to Charlotte since I will still be in Reno Nevada at the Cordillia International Film Festival. COVID Dystopia will screen on September 27, 2024 at 5pm at the Greater Nevada Field 250 Evans Avenue Reno Nevada. I suspect it is being shown on a jumbo tron in the baseball field. I have to see what that looks like. If they have a dance party in the outfield that would be even better, but details are scarce.

I am sad I can’t get to Charlotte. I love that the animated short 8th Day is screening right after COVID Dystopia. 8th Day shows a world of animals all interconnected by colorful fibers. A dark fiber spreads taking over the world. Should anyone who helped in in producing COVID Dystopia want to go to the screening, let me know and I will arrange to get you my filmmaker pass.

Ringling Library Demo

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One of my online students is planning to attend Ringling College here in Florida. I asked her to pick one of the Ringling College buildings to sketch and she chose the library.

I worked on a sketch along with her to show how to block in the big shapes and then work towards smaller detail. When we got to color I stressed leaving the lightest areas alone. The temptation is to add some color to the light areas first but that only darkens them.

The other lesson is to always make a mess and then try and clean it up. The goal isn’t photo realism but a rough monstrosity that could have been painted by a child. I am proud to say that my student is now a Ringling student and forging her way towards a new career. The building looks a bit like a gator wearing horse blinders.

Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill

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Wow. this production blew the white socks right off my feet. Desiree Montes stars as the venerable lady day at Theater West End (115 West 1st. Street Sanford Florida.

From the moment I entered the lobby I felt like I was in an intimate smoke filled night club.

I had seen this production once before but Desiree’s performance was the most visceral and vulnerable depictions of the singer I have witnessed. She was hesitant to start the performance but when she sang, she melted into the music. The piano player tried to keep he on the play list but she could not be boxed in. Her life was too large to follow a single line of thought.

Since this was a dress rehearsal, the audience was small but Lady Day often left the stage to mingle with the audience. Some joking interactions drew out audience members who shouted back and laughed with gusto. This was pure theater magic. During one song, a small dog could be heard howling off stage like he wanted to also sing. Later Lady Day brought he pup out to cuddle and share with the audience.

She talked of loss and the challenge of performing as a star in a racist country. When she began singing Strange Fruit, it clearly resonated with the horrors of her own life. What she most wanted from life was a home and a family she could call her own, but the life of a singer never allowed that dream to come to life.

Desiree is Lady Day. Performances are September 13 – 29, 2024. You do not want to miss this show.