I can’t state enough what a great festival this is and how hospitable our hosts (namely Hussain, Andy and Charlie) were. Awesome crowds, enthusiastic film execs, great potato chips that taste like prawns or roast chicken.
Today was our last screening and, apparently, the buzz had gotten around. The word in the main meeting place was that the film had a universal personal story and a global energy story. As a result, when approaching some of the higher up execs, they all seemed to know something about the film. It was a really good feeling to hear that we had made something that played well to an international audience.
The day was spent lining up meetings and preparing for our screening. To be clear, the weight had been lifted off the night before, so “preparing” also included ambling about in the Wintergarden market and looking at vast arrays of carved elves, handmade woven beer glass holders and a weird take on what they called “neon American mini-dresses.”
We made our way back for our tech check and found a big crowd waiting to see the movie. We were blown away. Especially since I couldn’t find any relatives (wife, children, mom, etc.) in the audience. Nor did I see anyone I had paid to come (that’s the last time I pass out one pound coins at a bus stop). The crowd was our best yet. They laughed, they cried, they gasped and then they clapped. The Q&A was amazingly profound and really smart. All in all, was an awesome experience.
We left the theater with a great feeling inside and a bit of spring in our step. In the time it took us to walk to the bar for a celebratory pint (the only tequila in town was, unfortunately, back in my room), we had requests for five meetings to discuss the future of “Haynesville”. We were pretty puffed up. That is until we met the bartender who met our “don’t you know who we are” with a vastly more powerful “I don’t give a crap who you are, just order your drink, pay your money and sit down.” Ah, being knocked down to earth can be harsh.
Same picture, but it is of a constant action here in Britain.