A Much Needed Win

So today I want to share some good news on the creative front, a much needed win that my family is currently enjoying. I had mentioned that one day there may be another blog for this kind of thing, but since this still doubles as my personal blog, you get to read about it here. 🙂

Long-time readers will know that last year The Director did a new short film called Jeune Fille, and it really became a project for the whole family (I wrote the film score and handled the audio, and The Wild One stepped in as producer.) The film is finally complete, the private premiere in January went extremely well…and now we’re in this in-between place of trying to get it into film festivals, and not knowing if it will be accepted in that circuit. Long periods of time where it feels like nothing is happening. The Director has felt it more than anyone else. This was a passion project where he put his heart out on the line, and it feels like the only response is crickets chirping. And we wait.

But meanwhile, a local filmmaker with a heart for gathering other local filmmakers has been doing these little showcases where his films and others are shown. He decided to turn this into a little short film festival. Through a mutual contact, Juene Fille got on his radar; he loved it and decided to showcase it at the festival, which happened last night.

At the end of the festival, The Director was informed that his film had been awarded Best of Show. He even got to do an on-camera interview with a journalist from an independent film publication.

By any standard of measure, this was a little, dinky, unknown festival, literally just getting started, and with fairly few people in attendance. But to us (and to The Director, in particular), you’d have thought it was Cannes. It wasn’t just getting picked as the best–it was much more than that. This win, along with the attention he received from other filmmakers during the event, represented the first time The Director’s work was recognized and legitimized within the film community itself–in other words, recognition from his peers. It could not have come at a better time.

It’s a small win, but a much needed one. In this business, a win is a win, and every little laurel-leaf symbol you get to put on your film’s promotional material provides incentive for other film festivals to consider your work. In other words, this little victory can lead to more, larger victories. The only real prize from the festival was bragging rights, but the right to brag is actually a huge plus when it comes to promoting a film. This literally could be the ticket to get Jeune Fille into more festivals.

So I’m done rambling now, and I’m done being a braggadocios parent. (Actually, no I’m not; I’m just going to spare you, for now.) Just wanted to share. I’ll keep you posted–and meanwhile, if you’re a film festival goer, you might check the schedules of festivals in your area. You might just find Jeune Fille on that list sometime in the next year. 🙂