I got the call on Saturday. Both Rectify and The Addict have been invited to screen at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. This is the first time I have had one of my films accepted into a festival so I’m pretty excited. The festival organizers are still creating the schedule so no word on dates or venues just yet. I will post new information as it comes in.

Also, this is the final week of the OurStage promotion so if you haven’t already done so please take a minute to go here and sign up for an OurStage account even if you have already seen the film. They won’t spam you, I promise. =) So far we’ve raised enough money for one festival submission but I would like to double that by the end of the week. Thanks!

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So I finally checked Casablanca off my list. The list to which I’m referring is the “dude you’re a filmmaker so you need to see these movies” list. I make no claims that my list is “complete”. I have a strong dislike for pretentious film snobs that the only good movies are the “important films” so I’m sure my list differs from most. That said, I don’t want to be ignorant of some of the more influential movies that have been made.

To be honest, Casablanca was better than I expected. In general I’m not a big fan of older movies. Maybe it’s because the movies I enjoy most stem from the time period that I live in, grew up in or heard a lot about from my parents. Maybe the romance of the stiff acting, soft focus, and harsh lighting is lost on me. Maybe I just find it hard to relate. Whatever the reason is I don’t normally go out of my way to see the old black ‘n’ whites; but this was an exception I was glad I made. The story explains itself enough that you didn’t have to be alive in the 40s to appreciate what was going on. Rick’s character, while uber-cool, was still relatable. The story was interesting with plenty of twists and turns. I actually found my self hurrying back to my chair after a mid-DVD pit stop to find out what was going to happen next. It was a well made film in all respects.

I’m sure that to the die hard fans of Casablanca find my review akin to saying Mozart was good at making pretty sounds. I’m fine with that. If you are a die hard fan of Casablanca then this review isn’t for you anyway. This review is for the average movie watching person like myself who might skip over a good movie it because it looks “old”. Yes it is old but it stands the test of time. If you haven’t seen it yet then toss it into your Netfilx queue and let me know what you think.

Next on the list… Easy Rider.

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I just signed a deal for a win-win type agreement between Rectify and OurStage.com. If you use my referral link to sign up for a FREE account with OurStage.com they will give me $1. No tricks, no spam, no kidding. It’s a cool site and they believe in helping the new generation of filmmakers.

In return for taking 60 seconds to sign up I am making Rectify available for viewing online for FREE. That’s right. If you did have a chance to see it at the Christoff screening now’s your chance. This if for a limited time only. To check it out go to www.rectifyfilm.com/ourstage.

And of course, tell your friends. Thanks! =D

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Greetings! The submission process has begun. To date Rectify has been submitted to the Seattle True Independent Film Festival, Port Townsend Film Festival, and the From Here to Awesome online film festival - which is what I want to talk about today.

FHTA was founded by DIY filmmaking pioneers Lance Weiler (The Last Broadcast, Head Trauma), Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters) and M dot Strange (We Are The Strange). These guys are leading the pack when it comes to successful self distribution and are nice enough to share their knowledge as they go. With the tidal wave of change in landscape of media creation and digital distribution we can either sink, swim, or surf. FHTA is offering surfing lessons so I’m grabbing my wet suit. Nobody is “hanging 10″ just yet, but at least somebody is getting up and riding this thing.

For those of you who are interested in taking part in the pioneering of film making history check out our submission video below and help spread the word.

I think it’s worth mentioning that I do realize that Rectify is a film for select audiences. It’s dark, it’s creepy and it’s not for everyone. My goal is to give that select audience a chance to see the film and be able to share their opinions. With so much media available it’s not a matter of finding something to watch but a matter of finding something that matches our unique tastes.

Or, we can turn the future of media over to these guys.

Tags: The aftermath // 1 Comment »

A huge thank you goes out to everyone that helped make Saturday night a success. Sally and Shannon did an awesome job making sure there was enough food for everyone. Seth from the gallery was super helpful in getting things set up.

Here are some of the pictures we got from our camera. If YOU took any pictures please send ‘em my way.

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The Rectify DVD is done and being duplicated! All day yesterday was spent testing and refining and testing and more refining. Thanks to Val and her sister Viko’s tireless efforts it even has accurate Spanish subtitles. All modesty aside, this is a pretty cool DVD. The case and label artwork look great. It has Rectify, the re-edit of The Addict, a director commentary for Rectify, a photo slide show of production stills, and an Easter egg for those willing to find it. Not bad for a low budget indie. =)

Don’t forget to RSVP and I will see you on Saturday!

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Our gala event — the grand premier — everyone’s very first ever screening of this remarkable film is just days away!

We hope as many people as possible will join with us in celebrating on Saturday evening.  Please come prepared to have a great time, to view some sterling independent film making, and  to support our efforts.

We will be providing some Mexican style finger foods, but any and all additions to that menu that you would like to share that evening would be much appreciated.  Please respond to this blog or email Dan if you plan to contribute any food.

Also remember, we will have a no-host bar to support the location, and we will be giving everyone an opportunity to purchase posters and DVD’s.

See you Saturday!

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Behold, it’s a Rectify Sprout! What is a Sprout you ask? Good question. Spout is a cutting edge web application that lets you build and share rich, dynamic Flash apps and share them with your friends. What’s that mean in English? It means you can make cool stuff like you see below and share it like Youtube videos. It’s as easy as clicking the little share button on the bottom of the Sprout and pasting the code into your blog, Myspace, Facebook, or whatever. If you are a serious web user like myself you no doubt realize how cool this is. If not, just trust me, it’s pretty frickin’ cool.

So take a look, watch the trailer, share it with your friends and let me know what you think.

Also, this Sprout is also on the home page of this site - www.rectifyfilm.com - so feel free to include it in your emails, post it on your blogs and write it on your loved ones. Spread the word!

Update:
Sprout is still in beta which means there may be, and in fact are, some bugs with the widget. If you are having trouble seeing the trailer try refreshing your browser. It may take a couple of tries but it seems to do the trick. This is the price we pay for being on the cutting edge of technology. =)

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