DIY Filmmaker (1 - DIY/indie/arthouse Filmmaker Sujewa Blog - 53 FILMS IN 53 MONTHS PROJECT)

Check it out here at the Hollywood Is Talking blog . Very glad that Jerry Brewington liked the movie. Here's a segment from the review: " Story 2 , ‘A Romantic Dinner for Three’, was my favorite because I have to admit, I found the characters and the premise sexy, sexy, sexy. Shervin Boloorian plays Kamal and Jennifer Blakemore as Sunshine are a hip, progressive couple in the most diverse region of the Americas , Washington DC . Sunshine wants to learn about Buddhism and meditation from her friend Rupa ,played so well by Dele Williams, but she has an ulterior motive as well and, ummm, it involves the number 3." Looks like Date Number One 's got some fans in LA area now. Will write more about this review soon. In the meantime, check it out! - Sujewa

Cinema Minima mentioned Date Number One a few days back, thanks a lot! - Sujewa

If you are a filmmaker/distributor in Washington, DC area & if you want to have your film play in DC & or Silver Spring, MD for a long period of time (& if you are not too fond of the Landmark theater corporation) then you have two options: The Avalon theater in DC & AFI Silver theater in Silver Spring, MD. Just as certain people are more appreciated abroad, local filmmakers are more in demand & better appreciated elsewhere than in the DC area (this is probably a universal phenomenon, I heard the same thing from some filmmakers in Seattle). So, getting The Avalon & or AFI Silver to book Date Number One for an open ended run is going to be a difficult task. Nevertheless, this coming week I am going to start my campaign for a booking in those theaters (actually, the campaign has already started). If you want to help & specially if you are in touch w/ the programmers at those theaters, please encourage them to check out Date Number One for an open ended booking...

We did Date Number One screenings # 1 & 2 in DC on 5/13 Sat, & then we did screenings # 3 - # 7 in Seattle 5/19 Fri - 21 Sun. Now screening #8 has been set up for Sat June 24 7 PM at the Kensington Row Bookshop, a Capital City Microcinema event. I expect to have retail DVDs ready for sale by that date. Lots of web pages to update, lots of e-mail to return, some packaging design stuff to do, some quote pulling to do, some phone calls to make, and lots of screeners need to be sent out to various venues & festivals. Rocking & rolling w/ Date Number One self-distro adventures over here. It is a most awesome (sometimes tiring, but awesome) experience. Making it happen is fun & satisfying. Review number 2 should be coming up this weekend or so from Jerry in LA, of Hollywood Is Talking blog fame. So far reviews/audience feedback have been generally excellent. Very happy about that. Will post the link to Jerry's review here as soon as I see it up on the web. - Sujewa

Hollywood Is Talking blog interviewed me about Date Number One & other Sujewa things. Read it in all its glory right here . Here's one Q & A exchange: H.I.T: What led you into filmmaking? Say, as opposed to painting or punk rock? Sujewa: Awareness of mortality: yes, it's true, I may die one day. So, "what awesome challenging (& legal) thing can I do (holding up liquor stores is out, not legal) during my time on earth?" was the Q I asked myself. I had always been creative & a thinker, and had a good sales skillz & entrepreneurial bent (this was when I was taking a look at myself at 18), and Spike Lee was getting well known for his indie filmmaking activities, & I liked the movies in general, and I wanted to have a positive impact on the world, so I decided to become a filmmaker. Indie filmmaking was the most accessible path to that goal. And now DIY filmmaking is the most accessible path, as far as I am concerned, for that goal. So I do that. I...

Chuck Tryon , blogger & media professor, is the first person to publish a review of my brand spankin' new film Date Number One . Chuck caught the movie last night at its World Premiere in DC. Here's a paragraph from the long review: " Like the characters in Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes who reflect on concepts of celebrity and fame, Date Number One's twentysomethings find themselves returning to certain questions, in Date's case the potential relationship between quantum mechanics and Buddhism, with varying degrees of seriousness and authority. The conversations provide some degree of unity between the various episodes, but more importantly, the conversations seem to suggest the way in which ideas or concepts can weave their way through a community of artists and readers who spend a lot of time in bookstores and coffeehouses. An overheard snippet of conversation might be picked up by someone else, and the questions about Buddhism and quantum mechanics ta...

DC World Premiere screenings of Date Number One are over, looking forward to Seattle next weekend: Fri 5/19 - Sat 5/21@ Northwest Film Forum, 6 shows. Blogger/film reviewer & media professor Chuck Tryon was at the show, said he enjoyed the movie, & said he will write a review soon. Looking forward to it. Thanks for coming Chuck. Ian MacKaye, one of my favorite musicians (The Evens, Fugazi, Minor Threat, Dischord Records) came to the 7 PM show. I think he enjoyed the movie (I was doing post-show Q & A when he left, did not get to talk to him at length). Thanks for coming Ian. Got to hang out w/ a lot of the lead actors from the movie, had not seen some of them in months, it was an awesomely good experience, looks like they enjoyed the movie. I was in a rush, did not take my still camera (took a couple of cell phone pics though), but I may still have some pics from the shows - from friend's cameras. Will post 'em up when I get 'em. About 80- 100 people total cam...

Read it here , straight out of the press material. But the next time the flick plays in DC there will be screener DVDs available & thus there should be a longer review in City Paper & other local papers. Here's what it said: " DATE NUMBER ONE A 110-minute film with unusual stories about five first dates--including a ninja looking for love and "air quotes" woman's search for a new boyfriend. (MM) Goethe-Institut—Sat., 5/13 " All in all the City Paper mentioned the flick @ 3 places - showtimes & the above brief description & the ad, not bad at all. Let's see what the attendance is like tonight & how many people found out about the screenings from the CP. - Sujewa

My scanner is having some trouble & I have not figured out how to get an image from a PDF file on to my blog. So, Jerry @ the excellent Hollywood Is Talking blog just posted up the ad art from the Washington City Paper ad for this weekend's Date Number One premiere (I'll post it up here too, as soon as I get the scanner thingy workin'). Here's the link , check it out! Thanks Hollywood Is Talking blog! - Sujewa

Chuck T. at the Chutry Experiment blog most recently mentioned the upcoming Date Number One premiere in DC here. Thanks Churty Experiment! If you mention Date Number One & any of its related missions (screenings, DVD, benefits) in your blog, let me know directly (the all seeing web eye of the sujewa is busy these days w/ the rough cut-fine cut of the film & screening producin' details, don't have as much time to comb the web), send me an e-mail: wilddiner at aol.com. I'll do some mutual appreciation by mentioning & linking to your mention of my movie here. Hollywood Is Talking should have the first web review of the film (done from the rough cut) tomorrow Fri 5/12 or Sat 5/13 (or as soon as JB can get to it, I think it'll be this weekend). Lookin' forward to the premiere on Sat night. I need to get a hair cut & lace up my nice shoes. Need to get a leash for my pet comodo dragon, taking it to the show. See ya at the show Chuck! - Sujewa

When I get a minute to do some blogging while engaged in the distribution of the juicy new film Date Number One , I will point out blog mentions of the film, reviews, etc. Here's one: Filmmaker Magazine's blog mentioned the upcoming World Premiere screenings at Goethe in DC this Sat, 7 PM & 9 PM. Thanks Filmmaker Magazine blog! - Sujewa ps: GreenCine Daily mention of premiere & Hollywood Is Talking mention links coming very soon, the next time I take a bloggin' break.

And when I say rock star I mean a real rock star, known to many world wide, secretly & openly worshipped by fans on all 5 continents, a dude who makes a living from music (not essential for being a rock star of course) and more importantly, one of my favorite artists. Very inspirational dude. He will try to make it he said (he's known for keeping his word, so it is a more firm statement than most peoples' "will try to make it"). If nothing else at least I got to talk to him on the phone (on my brand spankin' new "DC red" cell phone w/free incoming calls!) two days ago re: the Date Number One premiere on 5/13 Sat @ Goethe in DC. Dude is not a big fan of name dropping & over-commerciality & hype, as far as I can tell, so I won't mention his name here. But if he does show up, I'll mention it in the show report. Maybe I'll even be able to get a pic w/ him. Either way, it is all good, very happy about the premiere happening in DC, reg...

Event: World Premiere of film "Date Number One" * When: Saturday May 13, 2006 7 PM & 9 PM 7 PM show is a partial benefit event (50% of tix sales $s) for local social service organization We Are Family (see info on We Are Family at end of this announcement) * Where: Goethe-Institut 812 Seventh Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 venue info (location, directions, etc.): 202-289-1200 event info: wilddiner@aol.com , 202-491-5536 * How Much? $8 * Film Description: "Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 90 minute movie is made up of 5 different stories: Story 1: Just Another Ninja Searching For Love, about a ninja who goes on a blind date (ninja is played by John Stabb Schroder from the DC punk band G.I.), Story 2: A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, Story 3: Washington "City Of Love" DC/Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with h...

That line is from rule #2 of Jim Jarmusch's Golden Rules, a Moviemaker magazine article. Thanks GreenCine Daily for the link. Here's the entire rule #2: " Rule #2 : Don’t let the fuckers get ya. They can either help you, or not help you, but they can’t stop you. People who finance films, distribute films, promote films and exhibit films are not filmmakers. They are not interested in letting filmmakers define and dictate the way they do their business, so filmmakers should have no interest in allowing them to dictate the way a film is made. Carry a gun if necessary." Read all the rules here. Jarmusch, as always, rocks. He pretty much invented indie film as most of us know it with 1984's Stranger Than Paradise . - Sujewa

Anthony Kaufman points to this LA Times article about AMC's plan to devote 72 of their theaters (some screens? all the screens?) to indie films (most likely indiewood films). Could be a good thing (it's a small walk from the DIY world to indiewood). The article also provides names of other indie-friendly major/mainstream theater chains. From me, the ideal venue would be an independent, small theater w/a decent size screen, good sound, good seating (100+ seats) & responsive/non-crazy management. Most cities have a couple of such venues. But if those venues are too busy to show my film then I need some alternatives. The major exhibitors' interest in some indie programming could be useful to filmmakers like myself. Specially when I live in a time & place where the biggest indie chain pulls a movie 5 days before its premiere (Landmark, "I Am A Sex Addict") and there are some small indie theaters that I do not want to deal with due to various questionable pr...