Our 21st Festival

"Two Harbors" has just been invited to its 21st film festival - the Connecticut Film Festival, October 3 to 8. (Incidentally, this exceeds my (secret) goal of 20 festival screenings for the film.) It's a multi-venue event, with films screening at theaters throughout the state. That doesn't strike me as the best idea, but I'm not complaining. It's just that the best festivals I've experienced (and read about) have been able to build a lot of buzz in a central location.

The other big plus about this festival is that the programming director formerly programmed films for the Sundance Channel. I've always felt that "Two Harbors" would be a perfect fit for the Sundance Channel or IFC. So let's see if I can work this connection to the film's advantage.

Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival

I ended up not going to this festival, with some unexpected (and unpleasant) consequences. My flight was for 10 August, which of course was the day the new terror plot was uncovered in London. The prospect of 4 hour waits at the airport, and who knows what coming back on Sunday, was enough to get me to cancel. Luckily I can use the flight for the FAIF International Film Festival in October. (And I was not charged for the hotel or car rental.) Alex did go, however, with his wife Mary. He reported back Saturday afternoon after the screening. A great crowd, he said, very responsive. But small.

By that point, however, I was completely uninterested in the film or the festival, because the unexpected consequence had occurred the night before: my cat, Buster, who had never been out of the house before, somehow got out. And I didn't realize it until 5:00am Saturday morning. I was pretty frantic, walking the neighborhood looking for him. Adding to my frenzy was the knowledge that I had taken his collar off the day before! I often did this on weekends just because he seems more comfortable without it, and since I was around, what could possibly happen? Then I realized I needed to get organized. So I went home, made some flyers with the best photo of Buster I could find, and headed out. By that time, Phil Geller (Executive Producer of "Two Harbors" - just to keep this blog totally focussed on the film's festival experiences) showed up to help me search and put up flyers. We searched the neighborhood in ever widening radii until about noon, when I sent Phil home. I printed up a bunch more flyers and got a little more systematic, travelling the neighborhood by bike. I continued until it got dark, with no sign of Buster. I tried to stay on the porch Saturday night as late as I could, in case he came home. He didn't.

The next day, Sunday, was much the same. Except now there were intermittent strong storms and heavy rain. Where could he be in such weather? He must be freaking out, I thought. Or possibly it was a grand adventure for him, and only I was freaking out. By now I was joined in the search by Jana Kramer (Production Manager on "Two Harbors" - the point of this blog. Remember?) We got our first break Sunday afternoon when some people about five blocks north of my house said they had seen Buster under a car Saturday evening at 8:00pm. A break, perhaps, but that was 20 hours before. Does this mean he's heading north? Or that he was already farther north and was now heading home? At least he was still on my street. Maybe he knew his street? But of course he couldn't have recognized anything because he had never seen any of it before, not even my house; not from the outside, at least. So how could he possibly find it? Anyway, this became our new ground zero, and we spread out from there. I met a woman and her daughters and their friends nearby. The woman jumped into action and assigned each child a street or alley, which we then walked down for six blocks. When we reconnoitered back at her house 40 minutes later, nothing. No one had seen any sign of Buster. I was getting increasingly pessimistic, despite Jana's constant assurances that he would turn up. I was not convinced. Jana went home and I continued until about nine, getting a report of one more possible sighting from the day before, about 2 blocks from the first sighting.

Sunday night I couldn't sleep so I went out on the porch every half hour or so calling Buster's name. I must have dozed off because at 4:00am Monday morning I woke with a start when I heard a faint scratching at the front door. I flew down the stairs and unlucked the door, not even letting myself hope. But as I opened the door, in walked Buster, casual as could be. Not a scratch on his body, not a hair out of place. Not even slightly damp. I hugged him so hard I think he was about ready to run away again. Luckily he didn't. He was plenty hungry although not famished. Maybe someone had fed him? Maybe someone had been taking care of him? I'll never know. But late Monday I got a phone call from someone who had seen Buster on the same corner where he had first been spotted Saturday evening. And what should we do with him? We're holding him on our porch. What?! So clearly, Buster has a double who lives in that neighborhood; we had focussed our search there on bad intel. Two calls I got later made more sense: he had been positively ID'd on a corner two blocks from my house Saturday morning, either lounging on the front lawn, or trying to get someone to let him in their house. Which seems more in character for Buster. He apparently never got far from home, and maybe spent Sunday on someone's porch. Needless to say, I put his collar on him the moment he walked in, and it will never come off again. Not that it matters. He will NEVER get out of the house again, as god is my witness. And even if he's not.

And that's the report on the screening of "Two Harbors" at the Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival.

Festival update

I've been neglecting this blog big-time since it was created last October for the Austin Film Festival. But now I'll start adding to it regularly. So here's a brief recap of life on the festival circuit for "Two Harbors" for the past year or so. 18 festivals and 8 awards, in roughly chronological order:

Fargo Film Festival (My very first festival screening ever, so I'll always have a soft spot for it. Plus I was there with my mother and Jana Kramer, production manager and friend. Screened in the Fargo Theatre, a large, nicely restored Art Deco theater in downtown Fargo. Great sound system and great audience. They also gave me a Fargo Film Festival scarf. Which I've never worn)

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (This was only our second festival screening, and the theater - one of the Lagoon theaters in the Uptown neighborhood of south Minneapolis - was packed, so I'm glad Catherine E. Johnson and Alex Cole, the two stars of the film, were there to do the post-screening Q&A with me. I skipped the awards ceremony on the closing night of the festival because what were the odds? And then we won Best Feature! Alex was there to pick up the award for me. A painted eggshell.)

Free Range Film Festival (Wrenshall, MN - one of my favorite festival experiences. Films screened in a big barn, on a perfect summer evening. I only wish the new film - "The Quietest Sound" - had gotten in this year. Oh well.)

Bay Street Film Festival (I drove up to Thunder Bay for this festival - about a five hour drive - and stayed at the Prince Andrew Hotel. My room had a great view of the Sleeping Giant out in the bay. What's the Sleeping Giant? google sleeping-giant and thunder-bay and you'll see. Oddly, when I showed up for my screening, no one was there to introduce me, and there was no post-screening Q&A. Oh well. I still enjoyed seeing Thunder Bay for the first time, and was very happy to be at the Canadian premiere of the film.)

Austin Film Festival (Where this blog began. See reviews, interviews, etc. I loved Austin. It was my first visit. Highlights: the bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge, the LBJ Library on the UT campus, and visiting with my friend Kristi and her dog Cleo. I skipped the awards luncheon since it was the only time I had to see the LBJ Library. Luckily Alex was in attendance because he got an Honorable Mention for his acting.)

Milwaukee International Film Festival (The festival popped for my hotel room so I drove over the day before the screening. This time I did go to the awards ceremony and we won. Best Feature. And they handed me the award - a large replica of an old movie projector welded together from rusty car parts! I'm not kidding. It must weigh twenty pounds. The next day was another screening in the new wing of the Milwaukee Art Museum, which is very cool. Especially strong in their contemporary collection, I thought. Unfamiliar (to me) works that really worked together in the way they were displayed. My friends Doug, Steve and Roseanne drove up from Chicago for the screening, which was nice of them. (Here's a photo of the entrance atrium of the new part of the museum, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed building in the United States. It's amazing.)

Beloit International Film Festival (I didn't go to this one. But thanks, BIFF.)

Beverly Hills Fine Arts Industry Showcase (The film actually screened twice at this venue. Alex attended both screenings. I missed them.)

Sarasota Film Festival (You have to like this festival - they paid for my airfare, hotel room, and the filmmakers' lounge had so much free food I don't think I spent a penny the entire weekend. Plus, they had limos taking filmmakers wherever they wanted to go! I hope I go back there some day. Although I did get stiffed on a couple of t-shirts. But that's a long story. Also, for whatever strange reason, I was selected to appear one morning on the CBS affiliate's morning show. That meant getting up at 4:30am, sitting in the green room for an hour, and then trying to look intelligent on-camera at 6:00am. Luckily I didn't have to watch it, so I have no idea how it went. And did you know that television studios have no cameramen? I mean, they must be there, in a control room, but the cameras themselves - in this case at least four - are remotely operated, and move noiselessly around the studio like lumbering aliens. Very weird. But very cool, too. And a little alarming, when it's time for your segment and suddenly a couple of the camera-automatons turn and slowly and silently come at you.) That's a photo of the Ringling house in Sarasota, which is part of the Ringling Museum of Art, where I spent a pleasant few hours. The art is displayed in a separate museum building, but the house is also open for tours.

Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival (We needed an Iowa connection to get into this festival, and Jana provided it. She's a graduate of Grinnell. I didn't attend but we won the Silver Eddy Award. Which is very cool - they mailed it to me. A large 35mm film reel mounted on a wooden base, inscribed with my name and the title of the film. Again, if I ever figure out how to post photos....)

Eugene Film Festival (The festival director urged me to attend, and I tried, but I could never find a reasonable plane ticket. So sure enough, we won Best Feature. And another cool award - a black glass tile inscribed with "Two Harbors - Best Feature" and the name of the festival. Photo some day.)

Mendocino Film Festival (At a certain point I decided to start submitting to festivals in places I always wanted to visit, hence Mendocino. Again the festival provided my hotel room, which turned out not to be in Mendocino but up the coast highway a few miles. I'm not complaining. Mendocino is a beautiful little coastal town, albeit a little touristy. Unfortunately it rained both days I was there. The screening itself was in the historic Portuguese Workers Hall, or something like that. Very quaint. It wasn't large but it was packed for the screening, with maybe the best audience the film has yet had. They just didn't want to stop talking about it afterwards, at the Q&A. Finally we were sort of chased out for the next screening.)

Winnipeg Film Festival (I drove up for this festival because I'd always wanted to visit Winnipeg. And I wasn't disappointed - it has a French Quarter, a Chinatown, an Arts District. Plus striking architecture - old European buildings next to gleaming modern skyscrapers. And I had an incredible meal in a French restaurant. Best of all, Alex won the Sullivan Statue for Best Actor! Just coincidentally, I got the Sullivan Statue in the mail today from Winnipeg. It's a beautiful replica of the statue on top of the state house, or whatever it's called. A glass statue. A breakable glass statue. Which it did. Break I mean. Into six or seven pieces. I haven't told Alex yet. But it's the thought that counts, right? Maybe super glue.... Incidentally, this festival rounded out "Two Harbors'" six-state/province sweep of the upper midwest: it screened at festivals in Minnesota (twice), Wisconsin (ditto), Iowa, North Dakota, Ontario and Manitoba. And won four awards in the process. I never found a festival in South Dakota.) Photos are random scenes from the French Quarter in Winnipeg.

Victoria (Australia) Festival of Motion Image ("Two Harbors" was the only American film to screen at this entire festival, in any category; most were from Australia, Asia and Great Britain, and we won the Victoria Film Award for Best Feature in the Open Category! Again, I was not in attendance. Alex wasn't either, this time. But they said they would mail it to me. I hope it's not glass.)

Napa Sonoma Wine Country Film Festival (Tomorrow I fly to San Francisco. I'll stay in the city at my favorite hotel, the Hotel Kensington Park [I even have a favorite room, room 80; not sure if I'll get it this time] until Saturday morning, when I'll rent a car - actually a Ford Escape - and drive to Sonoma for an afternoon screening. Alex and his wife, Mary, will also be there.)

River's Edge Film Festival (Upcoming from August 17 to 20. I'm trying to figure out how I can make it to this festival because it looks like fun, and everyone says Paducah, Kentucky is an interesting town. We'll see.)

FAIF International Film Festival (This one's coming up in October. I might have to go, since the screenings are in Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. I'll report back if I do.)

I know I'm forgetting a couple festivals. I'll update this list when I remember them. And that's it so far. More festivals pending (I hope).