Monday, September 17, 2012

The Morning After.

Sea View
I awoke, not with a sore head, thankfully, but with a view of the sea and a little stuffed toy beside my head (sent in my suitcase by my 2 and half year-old daughter, for luck). I think maybe it did bring me some luck, because the night before, last night, was a success.

We've been building toward this night for a long time, a year since we shot the film, two years since I first set out to make it, and three years since the idea first landed. So yeah, a long time coming.

I spent the day at the festival, arrived early, caught a few short films and sat in on the talk by writer Bernard MacLaverty (Lamb, Cal) which was very interesting and insightful. As a writer I always find it intriguing to get a peak into the process of others, find out what's similar to my own process, what's different. More often than not it is quite similar, and when coming from such a successful writer, encouraging.

I had a couple of hours before my own screening, enough time to allow the nerves to build sufficiently. Spoke to a few filmmakers in attendance. Which is always nice. As an indie filmmaker you're often off on your own island doing your own thing wondering if you not doing it all wrong anyway, so it's nice to hit the mainland and see that there are many others in the same boat, headed in the same direction.

People started to arrive from the film, some of the actors, the crew. It was good to see everyone again. It was something of a reunion, which was nice. Of course I was grabbing snippets of conversation where I could, before someone else would arrive and I'd be pulled off in another direction, which was fine by me, served as a distraction!

I poked my head into the Awards Ceremony, where we got a Honourable Mention, very nice! Thanks for that. Then it was time for the screening. Everyone was ushered into the hall. Dave Byrne, the director of the festival, gave an opening speech and then called me up. I rambled something... kinda forget what?! But an introduction nonetheless, and the screening began.

I was able to finally relax then. Once it was one screen it was at last out of my hands and into the audience's.

With Steve Gunn (Davey-boy), John Lawlor (DOP) and Elaine Reddy (Kate)
Afterwards, there was a positive reaction. Many of the audience members came up to congratulate me, said nice things. The cast were happy. So I was too! Always a worry that you wont have paid homage to the work that was put in, that somehow, in the translation and assembly, something will be lost - I don't think it was, I think everything that happened on set, the energy, the tension, the electricity, went into the lens and came out the other side intact.

So a good night in all. We're on the road now. I'm not sure exactly what is next. I held off on entering festival once the sound got delayed, so I'll start up on that again. Hopefully Derelict has some legs. It will be interesting to see where it goes next.

My thanks again to the cast and crew, first for the talent and work and secondly for their patience! My thanks again to the Underground Cinema Film Festival for holding out for the film, for accepting it, giving it the Closing Night slot and the cherry on the icing on the cake an Honourable Mention! Too kind!!!

Onward...

No comments: