Sneak Preview of new cut at Arizona State University

This screening was one of the best experiences this fall. Sean Furman of Arizona Deaf Theater had organized the entire event, and did a fantastic job with our workshop and screening. I was picked up at the airport by a young deaf actor named Michael, who filled me about Arizona State University. We drove straight to campus, where I taught a three-hour voicing for deaf actors workshop. We had about 15 interpreters and 5 deaf actors. The work they did was outstanding. Many of the interpreters had never voiced for theater before, and they struggled through the various challenges. It was worth it when they were finally getting the laughs in the comedic pieces by matching their deaf partners' work.

After the workshop a bunch of us went to one of the best burger places called Chuckbox. We had a great conversation at dinner with some of my old friends from AZTI whom I had met while filming Robert here two years ago (including Donna of Deaf Cactus News). I also made some new friends - Haley, Timothy, Patrick and a few others. The town was filled with tons of football fans before a big game on campus, and people were nervous about crowds coming out for the film. They had nothing to worry about. People drove in from all over Arizona for the screening. I would guess that half of the crowd was hearing and half deaf, maintaining my goal that this film is for everyone.

I was testing out some new changes in the film, and held my breath while watching the audience during the new section. They were riveted, and I feel like I now have my final cut. They laughed in all the right places, cried in all the right places and participated in a lengthy and invigorating Q&A after the screening. I choked up when several people were near tears in their comments on how important this film is and needs to be seen by everyone. I felt a tremendous sense of support as the crowd vowed to get behind the film when we return to Arizona for our theatrical screening, and will be lining up to buy DVD's.

So Arizona, my birthplace, I look forward to coming back next year. Thank you for a fantastic reception!!

Things are happening

Hello everyone -

I haven't blogged in awhile because there's a very complicated release strategy that has been at work and I haven't wanted to share the details in public while it is coming together. Some amazing things are happening, including a 25 city tour of the film and a world premiere in Los Angeles coming together very soon. Tonight, I realized that it may not be bad to be transparent.

I had the honor of listening to Ondi Timoner at an IDA seminar, the only two-time Sundance Grand Jury winner. Her film We Live In Public is opening in Los Angeles tomorrow and she has my full support.

I was approached by the IDA media after the screening (they are my fiscal sponsor for "See What I'm Saying") to give my thoughts for their article, and I decided to post my full answer here so you can get a glimpse of what I am up against. Here are my thoughts from the evening.

September 24, 2009

I have a new hero, and her name is Ondi Timoner. I came to the IDA’s seminar to hear what the only two-time winning Sundance Grand Jury winner had to say about documentary filmmaking. What I got out of the evening was so much more.

This statuesque, confident powerhouse took the stage as I settled in to hear classic documentary war-stories of long hours in the field, wading through hundreds (or in her case thousands) of hours of footage and bad distribution deal offers. What I was took away from the evening was this inspirational human being, who opened herself up for nearly three hours about her life, her motivation and her fears. Ondi’s parents sat behind me and became part of the discussion, as did her beautiful five-year old son playing with an oversized magnifying glass in the front row, a subtle mirror of his mother. Ondi’s films are truly magnified, scrutinizing her subjects so they become fully accessible to us.

To hear Ondi’s war stories of having her film Dig! privately panned by a respected colleague the night before submitting it to Sundance and then going on to not only get in but to win the Grand Jury Prize is beyond inspirational – it is a lesson in perseverance and faith. To hear how she is self distributing “We Live In Public” after winning Sundance, asking audience members to help book her on radio shows in Los Angeles the night before her theatrical debut in Los Angeles defies all logic. But to hear how she breastfed her child between filming interviews in Europe and having what must be the most well traveled child I’ve met puts a human face on this extraordinary artist.

Having graduated cum laude from Yale University and founding her own production company Interloper Films, Ondi could have come across as yet another privileged filmmaker who had many advantages above the rest of us. Yet she is subject to the same obstacles of making, selling and distributing her films highlighted by the technical difficulties of even getting her trailer to run correctly in the Kodak Screening room by professional IDA filmmaking staff. Ondi has not just survived, but thrived because of her tenacity, talent and incredible smarts. Her candor and passion are mesmerizing, as she has no qualms of sharing actual numbers, names and intimate details that most filmmakers of her stature politely steer around. After the seminar I had a chance to talk with Ondi’s mother in the lobby who told stories about Ondi’s courage even as a small child. I vow to try to be as open and accessible if I ever get the chance to sit in front of a group of filmmakers, as I left with a new-found confidence that in my isolation as a filmmaker I am not alone, and I have a new hope in this world and her name is Ondi.

Festival Journey - sneak preview screenings

This has been a whirlwind. My last few nights in Los Angeles I felt there were angels all around me - the out of town strangers who bought me dinner, the people next to me on the plane who gave me cookies. After months of struggling with re-cutting the film and the financial burden that was overwhelming coupled with that decision, I start seeing signs everywhere that this decision is supported. Our original cut (which I am considering calling the director's cut) was accepted into the Rochester Deaf Film Festival and the Philadelphia Film Festival, acting as sneak preview/work in progress screenings.

I arrived in Rochester at 1:00 AM and found the festival director had fallen asleep in the car at the airport while waiting to pick me up. I knocked on the window to make sure it was her, knowing a hearing person would have woken up, then tried calling her cell phone to see if that would work. Nothing. Bingo - it was her. Leaving little choice, I gently rocked the car to wake her up. I startled the wits out of her, which embarrassed both of us upon our first face-to-face meeting in the middle of the night. She has done an amazing job putting this festival together, and I was honored that she drove out so late to personally greet me.

We drove to RIT and I stayed in the deaf-friendly NTID dorm housing. I love my door flasher! My colleague/intern/friend Julia Dameron was already there. We chatted for at least an hour, both excited about being there for the festival. The next day was filled with filmmaker workshops and a very cool reception at a unique artist space. I met filmmakers from around the world - Israel, Amsterdam, South Africa who were at the festival with their films. I was honored to be one of the few hearing filmmakers there.

Our screening on Saturday had a great turnout considering that we couldn't do any advertising because of our sneak preview status. I was filming the day's events which I later turned into a short video journey of our festivals. My original plan was to have a deaf team of filmmakers/editors to do this with me, but we don't have any funding so I am doing it myself. Hopefully I will meet a motivated filmmaker soon to join me. It was OK to hand the camera over to various friends as I jumped in front of the camera to explain what was going on. A bit awkward - I need to figure this out. After the film Robert DeMayo, Julia and I went out with friends and other filmmakers to an Irish bar and had a chance to have fun. I had a great conversation with Ryan Commerson, a filmmaker working with Wayne Betts who is currently screening his master's thesis around the country.

The next day I took an 11-hour Amtrak ride to Boston to visit my sister Rachel. It was wonderful - reading EAT PRAY LOVE on the train having a day to relax. My second night in Boston I got a call from my new editor telling me that there was a problem burning our new cut for submission to the Los Angeles Film Festival. The deadline was the following day, and her computer had crashed. Being 3,000 miles away didn't help. It was very stressful, especially since I didn't see the final submission cut, the Fedex tracking number didn't register and I was once again waking up with panic attacks. Are we ever going to have a world premiere? After several frantic phone calls between the two of us, she found a helpful friend who came in to save the day. Hurray!

After a short stay with family, I arrived in Philadelphia a few days later. The entire festival staff and volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful and made me feel incredibly welcome. I went to the filmmakers reception, which had fantastic food and drinks, but I had a hard time mixing. This usually isn't a problem for me. Maybe it is coming from the warmth closeness of the deaf film festival and having a hard time swinging back into the hearing world.

Our first screening was at the International House. I was completely bowled over to see an entire clan from AZTI (Arizona Total Immersion sign language program) come out - Joan Hanna, Tom Driscoll and so many others. They were all wearing "I love you" handshaped headbands with Robert's photo stapled to the top. I absolutely adore these people, and felt truly honored that they came all this way to see the film. I looked over, and another surprise was in front of me: my NTD buddies Frank Dattolo and Camille Jeter!! I haven't seen them in years, and it was one of the best surprises ever. They were responsible along with Robert for planting the seed back in 1996 that I wanted to do a film on deaf entertainers.

The audience was packed. They laughed and cried in all of the right places, and at the end of the film stamped their feet sending echoes like an earthquake. It was one of the highest compliments I could have received. My dad and Renee were in the audience and told me later that they had never experienced anything like it. We went out to celebrate at Pod sushi restaurant with our own private room. Robert loved the buttons on the wall that you could punch to change the color of the room.

We had a second screening the next day at the huge Prince Theater. I wasn't sure what kind of turnout we would get since I plan on coming back to Philadelphia with the official screening. I was impressed that we had an audience. Robert was so inspiring and eloquent at the Q&A after the screening - I was glad that we got it on film (thanks, Robin Robin.)

The next day Robert and I were filming pick-up shots for the new cut when the festival called. "There is an awards ceremony tonight that we want you to be at. We can change your flight and put you up at the hotel for another night. We really think you should be there - wink wink." I was floored. This was totally unexpected, since we were supposed to be out of competition. I was too nervous about having this win somehow affect our world premiere status which I have been working so hard to protect. But my gut said I should celebrate this win, so Robert and I finished our filming, quickly changed and headed to the reception. The award ceremony was surreal - back at the Prince Theater where we were the day before. The theater was packed with about 800 people who were there for the awards and the closing night film Lymelife. I graciously received an over sized wrestling belt with BEST FEATURE FILM that the festival made for the awards. All I could think was, "How am I going to get this through security at the airport?" The enormity of the prize and the meaning behind it didn't hit me until after I got home to a sea of congratulatory emails and phone calls.

I still feel like our journey hasn't even begun yet until we have an official screening of the final cut and work towards that golden prize of a distribution deal. Luckily we have enough booking requests to carry this film independently. I return to finish up the final cut, continue to try to raise funding for post production on this new cut and try to catch up on sleep.

Changes in the film and testing at Rochester Deaf Film Festival

I've spent the last 3 months doing private test screenings and focus group screenings before any public screenings. Everyone loves the film, but we are making some changes to make the film even better. I have a great team on board helping me, including my new supervising editor Tom Miller and his editor Morgan Stiff. I love the new changes of the film! This new version will be ready very soon.

My test screenings have continued, including a small showing at the Rochester Deaf Film Festival, which showcased films done by deaf filmmakers. I got some terrific feedback and feel very strongly supported by the deaf community. I am hoping to have a formal screening of the film in Rochester in the fall of 2009 along with some educational workshops, and made some great new connections who are working with me to make this happen. The best part of the weekend was meeting deaf filmmakers from all over the world who had their films screen in Rochester, including filmmakers from Israel, South Africa and Amsterdam. I am extremely excited about what is happening in deaf cinema and strongly support these new visionaries.

I am off to Philadelphia for another test screening/sneak preview of our old cut. I am glad that these audiences are helping to shape the final vision of the film, and am grateful for all of the incredible support. 

I will continue to keep everyone posted on what is happening. Thanks for following our journey!

Hilari

Sneak Preview Screenings

I am so very happy to announce some sneak preview screenings of SEE WHAT I'M SAYING at the Philadelphia Film Festival at the end of March and a screening at the Rochester Deaf Film Festival. You will have a chance to see our work in progress gearing up to a world premiere of the film later this year. I am waiting on details from all of these screenings such as exact dates and locations to add to our website and send out in our newsletter announcement.

I am very excited about all of this news and will post details the moment I get them.

Here we go!!

Thanksgiving

I have taken a little much-needed time out for Thanksgiving this week and am visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Atlanta. It's an exciting time for them, expecting their first child in April, and fun for me to see my sister pregnant.

As much as I am enjoying being with my family, I know that Sundance, which is held every January in Utah, is going to start announcing their lineup any day. I know that the film is going to find its way into the world premiere that is right for us, and Sundance may not be that place. Not only is it expensive and one of the most competitive festivals in the world, but there are threats of Sundance being boycotted by Hollywood this year over Utah's support of passing Prop 8. I doubt that will happen, but I do support gay rights include the right to marry.

So I am trying to quell Sundance fever as it is sometimes called, and staving off potential disappointment from so many supporters who have been involved in this film. I have submitted the film to 15 festivals around the world, and know that we will play in front of many wonderful audiences.

Every project has their inevitable ups and downs, and I am reminded of stories of films that get into Sundance, get ignored by distributors and the filmmakers leave the festival dejected and broke. Others were rejected by Sundance and ultimately ended up with a theatrical run.

Perhaps I am just preparing for sour grapes and the disappointment of not being one of the 16 films selected out of 1,500 documentaries submitted, but here is a quote from "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. "Sundance is the ultimate gimmick," says Parker, "there is nothing independent or artistic about it and it's ridiculous."

So this Thanksgiving I toast to independent filmmaking and getting an important message out about the talents of these entertainers that I will continue to shout and sign from the rooftops.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Vizual fundraiser

I am finally getting caught up with everything that has been postponed during production. We had an incredible fundraiser in June to raise finishing funds for the documentary.

My rockin' friends Ninette and Phil opened up their home and their backyard to host Vizual, our Cirque du Soleil style fundraiser complete with aerial acts by Ninette and her Silk Sisters Buffy and Emily. The event was hosted by Gary Anthony Williams and CJ Jones, with entertainment from Kathy Buckley, Dan Thurmon, aerialist Lexi Pearl and contortionist Jacqui.

Sheena McFeely was our incredible event planner who organized a team of volunteers and helpers.

I am putting together a video of the evening. You can take a look at some of the photos on Facebook here at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46678&l=d443c&id=646672134

Thank you to everyone who came and made the evening a success. We were able to raise enough funds to finish the film - yahoo!