I have been thinking about how this project has taken on many different stages over the past year – and how every part of this “journey” has been so uniquely different, yet so focused toward the same vision. An idea that came to me one day when I was with a friend in a museum, blossomed into an eternal and deep bond with my daughter, an enormous amount of personal and creative growth and a film that has the ability to cause a “shift” – and make our world a better place.
It has been the “journey of a lifetime” but it’s not over. In some ways, it’s just the beginning, at least in terms of it being a film. Lately, I have been entering it into film festivals and that comes with yet another learning curve and some strategic thinking. To be eligible for the Sundance competition for instance, the film must make its “world premiere” there – it cannot have been publicly screened prior to the Sundance festival. It can have had private screenings for invited guests – but nothing that is open to the public in order to be considered for the competition. That means that if we submit the film to other festivals and it’s lucky enough to get in – it would be ineligible for the Sundance competition, unless the other festival was after January. But, I will continue to submit the film to various festivals and what is meant to happen – will happen.
I’ve also been working on a press kit, which entails everything from a “tagline”, to a various length synopses to a “one sheet” or movie poster. I’ve had to flip my brain into a different type of creative mode to assemble this kit. I needed to start looking at this project through the eyes of the public. That’s tough to do with something that I am so intimate with on so many levels. I knew I needed outside help, especially when it came to creating a movie poster.
In what seems like another lifetime, I am a contributing “stock” still photographer to various agencies that license my work. This week, there was a discussion on a listserv amongst some of the photographers of one agency, about compositing and 3D. I put out a query to see if anyone was interested in “collaborating on a movie poster for a worthwhile project that had a meager budget” and within 5 minutes I received a phone call from a guy who is one of the best digital artists I’ve seen. He had known about our project and wanted to be part of it! I can’t even begin to describe how blessed I feel – once again.
As this journey morphs from one stage to the next, I try to follow what seems to be the natural pace and rhythm of where it needs to go. There have been highs and lows along the way and more to come I’m sure, but the seed of this idea that was planted long ago has just begun to grow.
P.S. Almost forgot. To all my “backers” – “rewards” will go out next week – finally!
