ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

Not sure if I mentioned this at this blog in a while, or at all, but there is an IMDB page for Date Number One . Check it out here . Just added it to the links on the right. - Sujewa

Filmmaker & self-distributor Lance Weiler (Head Trauma) interviews filmmaker Joe Swanberg (LOL, Hannah Takes The Stairs) here . - Sujewa

At this blog entry Kaufman talks about SXSW '07 highlighting a group of indie filmmakers known to some as the mumblecore movement; Bujalski (Mutual Appreciation), Swanberg (LOL, Hannah Takes The Stairs), Duplass bors.(The Puffy Chair), Katz (Dance Party, USA, Quiet City), etc. And I ended up leaving a couple of long comments re: a couple of other commenter's comments about the praise worthiness of the movement. Interesting stuff if u r into real indie (ultra low budget/no star/non-Holly or Indiewood) stuff. - Sujewa

just updated the Date Number One screenings page : the "July 12 - 18 in the DC area" run is on the boards now, as they say. when all the details of the run are finalized next week, will post all the info. re: the event at the same page & here at this blog & elsewhere where i post stuff up on the web. couple more things to do on the editing front this weekend. should be able to order the first batch of retail DVDs on Mon. i think i'll get 100 at first, & order more as i sell them. if you want one, for now, & if you live in the US, send a check or money order for $12 (postage included/paid by me) to: Sujewa Ekanayake Wild Diner Films 10408 Montgomery Ave Kensington, MD 20895 if all goes well you should get your DNO DVD w/ in the first week of April or earlier. make sure to include your mailing address & in case i need to contact you re: the order, e-mail & or phone (optional stuff, but could be useful if there is some confusion with the order). and f

Well, at least a week in July in the DC area. Looks like July 12 - 18 will be the dates for the 1 week long run of Date Number One in the DC area. Will have all the details such as venue, show times, etc. very soon. Maybe if the 1st week goes well, there can be more. Perhaps even a whole summer worth of screenings :) who knows, we shall see. - Sujewa

1 - the best so far version of the movie, one of the audience members said he did not notice any sound problems. the film is now just a couple of changes away from being on retail DVD. 2 - located a better projector. better as in far cheaper to use than the one that i've been renting. 3 - got the invitation to create a film festival, by two very significant sources of support. it will be small at first, very real indie, and will incorporate some of the things I like to see in other fests: a % of ticket sales $s going to the filmmakers, etc. more on this project once i've completed a formal proposal & a budget in a few weeks. hopefully my fest will have its debut this year. 4 - located a venue for a long run of Date Number One. 5- made some new friends, & got DNO a couple of new fans. a handful of people showed up to the screening last night. it was raining, could not have helped with the turnout. but very happy that i had to get stuff done yesterday for the scree

Once all the details are worked out, will announce name of venue, when the week long DC area Date Number One run is happening, early ticketing info., & all that jazz. For now, I'll just say that the venue is large (can seat over 200 people), affordable, is used for performances, and if I can pull this event off well, I will have another very useful tool in my DIY distribution tool box, another option to pursue when art/indie houses are not accessible/too expensive, etc. The venue is a fairly unconventional place to play an indie/art comedy, but, this is indie film/the DIY/up and coming edge of indie film at that, so a little unconventional should not be a big issue for the Date Number One audience. And indie rockers play at all kinds of odd places, so why can't indie film do the same? Anyway, very happy about it. This'll give me the excuse to promote DNO all over the DC area for weeks to come. Most likely I will do the week long run of the flick at this mystery v

From around 11/15 to about,well, today, 3/15, I usually end up taking it easy(er). Holidays & cold weather & all, you know. For the first time in a couple of months, I got up today around 6 AM & promptly got started on film work. Screening tonight. Very exciting. Also made more detailed plans on getting this movie out as wide as possible in the US this year. Hopefully in a couple of days I can set up a week long run for May in DC. Andy Horbal & Lucas in PA are waiting for screeners , new reviews to look forward to. The version of the movie screening tonight at Kensington Row Bookshop is a new version, cuts are tighter, unwanted space between dialogue has been taken out. But this won't be the ultimate version that will end up available on retail DVDs w/ in 10 days or so (definitely before April!!!). Still working on that version. Re: putting time into making movies vs. distributing movies: I think I am going to try to get each movie I make seen & sold

At Lucas McNelly's 100 Films blog there is a quite a bit of enthusiasm by a handful of people, yours truly included, about starting a web based independent film encyclopedia - a wikipedia for indie films, if you will. As a very early step in harnessing this energy, the group blog IndieFilmPedia has been set up. Interested people at the 100 Films blog have been invited to start organizing material for the wiki at the IndieFilmPedia. Maybe this will turn out to be something, maybe nothing, maybe a better working tool will be discovered, but, for the moment, here it is . We'll see what Lucas & the 100 Films commenters will want to do, I am certainly all for the project (as time permits). - Sujewa

It's about the film Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. Check it out here . Here is the opening paragraph: "As something of a companion piece to my Greencine interview with Rory Kennedy regarding her documentary Ghosts of Abu Ghraib , which premiered last night on HBO, I offer up this report of her onstage appearance at San Francisco's Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, with Mark Danner , author of Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib and the War on Terror , sponsored by the World Affairs Council . It was an evening made memorable—not only because of the opportunity to speak with Rory and to watch her hard hitting documentary—but because the RMS Queen Mary was gliding underneath the Golden Gate Bridge lit up like a brilliant tiara sailing out to sea. I love San Francisco. Living here is the best of many worlds." And once more, here is the link to the post. - Sujewa

Pittsburgh indie filmmaker & film blogger Lucas McNelly's French New Wave inspired short film L'Attente will open for my feature Date Number One on 3/15 in Kensington, MD. Scroll down for all the info. on the 3/15 screening (place, time, & more info. on DNO, etc.). - Sujewa

Just e-mailed Pittsburgh Filmmakers & Chicago Filmmakers to see if they want to screen Date Number One at their venues. I like these filmmaking non-profits that exist around the country. When I want to play in a certain city, I look to see if I can work with any such institutions in that city. It would be fun to visit Chicago & Chicago Filmmakers again, the last time I was at both those places was in late '91 - early '92. I have a couple of film fan friends in Pittsburgh, and it would be fun to visit that city for the first time & hang out with people I know, meet new people. Will see how it goes with Chicago Filmmakers & Pittsburgh Filmmakers. I will definitely play in Chicago & Pittsburgh this year. Of course the venues are not known so far. I also want to play New York City again (for at least a week this time, need that New York Times review), Los Angeles, Seattle again (a week or more this time around), Austin, San Francisco, Philadelphia, DC

The book Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics tells a story that is ripe for a Hollywood adaptation. Have not read it yet, but it sounds very interesting. - Sujewa

Things can be made to look either empowering or intimidating/stand-off-ish/too formal/too solid. Greco-Roman inspired architecture is intimidating (think federal buildings, banks, courts, etc.). Design of DIY album covers, DIY movie posters, some restaurants, lots of websites, can be fun, with some hand drawn elements or other non-slick/non-computer made looking design elements, bright colors, and that look can be both inviting & empowering. Empowering as in: that looks fun, easy to do & maybe fun to do, I want to try it. I guess in some situations you want a combination of the two approaches. Just some stuff to think about when you are designing posters, DVD packaging, web site for your indie filmmaker non-profit, whatever. By the way, I am not an expert on design. These are just my amature graphic & packaging designer observations. Stuff that I am thinking about while thinking about the Date Number One DVD packaging. - Sujewa

Found this great book at work , we are selling it. Here is some info. from the back cover: "The first fully illustrated, intimate account of Truffaut's life and work, with the director himself as the guide. 500 illustrations, including 140 plates in full color " The book is about 13" tall and 10" wide. 240 pages. Published in 1987. In near fine condition with a very good dust jacket. From the inside flap: "As one of the most influential and beloved film directors of the last twenty-five years, Francois Truffaut was the subject of numerous books and articles. He was also that rarity - a filmmaker who wrote with grace and perception about the work of others. Now, for the first time, a book brings together Truffaut's revealing insights on his own life and work and illustrates them with previously unpublished documents from his own files." * E-mail me at wilddiner@aol.com if you want to buy this awesome book. A very good & inspirational read, spe