ONE - ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Film Noir Cinema, NYC starting 7/12/24

The epic event is here folks, see ya at the show - those who are bold & sexy enough to attend :) And, one last time, here is all the info, including link for tix purchase: DATE NUMBER ONE http://www.wilddiner.com/ a comedy about several first dates a movie by sujewa ekanayake Thursday, August 31, 9 PM The Two Boots Pioneer Theater http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/monthly_programs/2006-08.htm#DateNumberOne 155 East 3rd Street(between Avenues A and B, closer to A) New York, New York 212-591-0434 ticket prices:$9 adults, $6.50 members Buy Tix Now: http://pioneertheater.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=65968 Film's Description:"Date Number One" is a comedy about several first dates. This 115 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 Schroeder 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 rom...

One of the problems I had with American cinema back in the early 90's was that there weren't enough good roles/lead roles for minority actors. Not the biggest problem in the world by any stretch, but, since the world is very diverse ethnically or "racially"* & since America is very diverse, I found it very odd that most of the leads in most of the movies around me were "white" (I do however live in a very diverse part of the country, the Washington, DC area, so for someone who lives in an area that is not this diverse, it may feel perfectly normal not to see non-"white" people in movies). So, when I decided to become a filmmaker in '91, I also decided to have a very diverse cast in my movies & to create roles for minority actors. I was able to follow through on that goal in Date Number One . Date Number One, a film made up of 5 stories, features a diverse cast that includes 5 minority actors in lead roles: Shervin Boloorian in Story 2, ...

Regarding Date Number One , David Hudson at GreenCine Daily says, in part: "... witty (I particularly like the recurring references to a band's unlikely popularity in Ohio), often inventive (the story in which the first date isn't really the first date at all is particularly well-written and performed) and, even better, airy: characters are given time and space to spell out their views on abortion, Buddhism, quantum physics or the ongoing war in Sri Lanka, views that never bear the artificial markings of a Hollywood screenwriter's compulsion to reduce them to sound-bites." Read the whole review here . Thanks for watching the movie & writing a review about it David! Very exciting to see a review of my movie in GreenCine Daily (best indie film blog in the western world, no doubt), which is my favorite indie film blog (even if David's verdict on the film is a mixed one :). - Sujewa

Read all about it here: http://indiefeatures06.blogspot.com/2006/08/indie-features-07-is-alive.html Filmmaker/bloggers interested in participating in the 2007 version of Indie Features 06 should go check out IF07 blog & if their projects seem like a good match for the blog, can e-mail me at wilddiner AT aol.com w/ a description of their films. We'll take things from there. Thanks! - Sujewa

Just spent some time on the Greyhound website, looks like it is possible to travel relatively fast by land & for relatively cheap. The US is huge, but DC to LA in 2 days is not bad at all, for like $180 (1 screening with decent ticket sales can cover that easily). Also, if I work in some stops along the way - some screenings, like in Chicago, etc., the trip can be more bearable & useful. This of course is also a chance to imitate Jack " On The Road " Kerouac's cross country travelin', re-live my 18 year old self's fascination with (which happened the first time back in '91 when I was in Chicago) traveling America by land. And I am not crazy about flying. Feels weird. I'll do it if I must, but I prefer not to. Land travel by fast buses, w/ screening stops every few hundred miles may be the trick to getting around the air plane issue that comes up when considering a US wide screening tour. & bus travel is cheaper than air travel. Yeah, it could...

Read it here . good stuff if the top link does not work due to your irrational fear of registering with the Globe, read about the article here . - sujewa

i am trying to figure out the whole round trip dc-nyc/staying over night? thing for the thu 8/31 screening of Date Number One at Pioneer Theater in NYC. let's see: driving is a possibility, but doing 4 hours of driving each way/total 8+ hours in one day/24+ hour period may not be healthy, plus I may be sleepy + tired after the show lets out around 11 PM (later if Q & A goes long) - will most likely have to rent a hotel room or bug a pal for crash space if I am not going to drive back the same day. flying & train travel seem too expensive, plus not something that can be easily duplicated for other shows in nyc, due to cost of course. so, greyhound maybe the best alternative for a lot of east coast (let's say mid-atlantic area - DC, NYC, philly, baltimore, etc., i can handle being in a bus for 4-6 hours i think) travel for the diy filmmaker. they have round trip tix, dc-nyc, for around $45 - $70. and they travel overnight. so, if i want to, i can leave nyc at 1 am & ...

yup, due to a scheduling conflict at the bookstore, the Capital City Microcinema/Kensington Row Bookshop screening of Date Number One that was set for Thu 9/28 has been moved to Thu 10/5. more on that next week. in the meantime, here is the link to the info & tix for NYC Premiere screening of Date Number One, happening this Thu 8/31 @ Pioneer Theater. - sujewa

my previous post was about possibly moving to NYC in mid-'07. but i wonder if it is better to keep living in the DC area & keep making movies here, since so few people do something close to what i do (ultra-low budget, DIY features, comedies, self-distribution) in this area. either way, the key is to make good movies & then distribute them, where i live is not that important in comparison. also, due to the internet, i may not need to live in NYC to grow my career, i think i just need to keep making good movies & getting them out. who knows, but on to more important & immediate things, like the 8/31 NYC Premiere of Date Number One THIS WEEK!!! posts re: the film, a very important review, & a reminder or two about the screening coming this week. talk to ya soon! - sujewa

that's a quote about writers & paris that i am re-working up there. yeah, US indie film as we know it was invented & re-invented in nyc - thus each indie filmmaker in the US (& also US indie inspired world cinema) has a second home - a spiritual/creative soul home if you will - in nyc, the way i see it. the filmmaker(s?) who inspired the french new wave were from & were making their movies in nyc, i am pretty sure john cassavetes worked in nyc, & more relevant to my generation of filmmakers: jim jarmusch became the filmmaker we know & luv in/through nyc. and also (and this may be the biggest reason to move to NYC :) :) :) fellow MD New Wave filmmaker & "movie star of the future" Mike "Cocaine Angel" Tully is living & causing trouble/breaking hearts in NYC now. it will be fun to try living & working in NYC for a year. i am thinking brooklyn (got a few friends there now, plus jonas mekas lives there, also indieWIRE lives there n...