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"They didn't build their sales model for you" - Jonathan Marlow

They being studios/Hollywood. Interesting read over at GreenCine Daily , check it out here . Marlow talks about something I've brought up a few times at this blog. From the article : "The festival circuit has instead become an ersatz distribution system unto itself that, for the most part, keeps money away from the makers. The ten or 20 dollars you spend on a ticket (or the $50 to $500 you spend on a pass) rarely finds its way into the hands of the folks behind the camera." Read the rest of the long GreenCine Daily article here . - Sujewa

Long introduction

4 years after I wrote the first words of the Date Number One script, the final version of the movie has been screened once to the public and is now on its way to festivals, and homes, offices, and home offices of various interested people. Even though I've blogged a lot about the movie at this blog and elsewhere during the past 4 years, I felt that it was necessary to write a new & somewhat lengthy introduction/promotion piece for the movie, maybe something like a director's statement; with the simple, short description of the movie inside. So that long introduction has been written, check it out here . It will probably accompany film fest applications, press packets sent to screening venues, and the retail DVD (maybe it could be the insert). - Sujewa

Armando Valle on his visit to Lo-Def & on Date Number One

Baltimore based filmmaker Armando Valle came to Silver Spring on Thu. night to check out Date Number One at Lo-Def screening #1. From Armando's blog : "Last night, I drove down to Silver Spring, MD, for a screening of DC filmmaker Sujewa Ekanayake's 'Date Number One'. The event took place at Jackie's (8081 Georgia Ave), just a few blocks from the AFI Silver Spring theater. Sujewa is working with Jackie's management to program a series of local shorts and features all thru this summer (the next screening looks to be on June 26th).'Date Number One' is a charming, DIY feature romantic-comedy presenting a refreshing, positive outlook on the trials of contemporary dating.A multi-ethnic cast, among them a seductive Indian man, a french-speaking hottie, a curvy blonde seeking a blissful three-way bi-sexual relationship, a Buddhist African-American woman, and a lonely career Ninja seek love in the modern city. The episodic film, completed through a long pe

a few photos from Lo-Def screening #1, 5/22, Date Number One

photos copyright 2008 sujewa ekanayake * here's 5 of about 17 photos from the 5/22 screening of Date Number One , more soon perhaps. photos 1-3: people checking out Date Number One. about 25 people were there; they dug the movie, eat, drank, hung out, & had a good time. photo 4: the brains behind Lo-Def; Sujewa & Jackie (owner of Jackie's) photo 5: Jackie & friends photo 6: after the show, in front of Back Room; John Stabb, Amanda Haynes, Sujewa, J. Kim (whose short film 1 on 1 we'll show on 6/26 @ Lo-Def), & J. Kim's wife whose name sadly I do not recall at the moment photo 7: wide shot, outside the Back Room Lo-Def #2 happens on June 26! Get ready, see ya there. - Sujewa

Lo-Def screening 1 was a success, DNO will get a 1 week run in Silver Spring this summer, Lo-Def #2 on June 26

5/25 update: no 1 week run of DNO @ Back Room this summer, venue is too busy, however, the other Lo-Def screenings (June, July, August) planned thus far are still on (will update if those changes). I am glad (& am a little bit surprised) that Lo-Def #1 came off as well as it did (tons of impossible deadlines had to be met, but in the end it all came together). Photos & notes tomorrow (sleep now). Some of the fruit of Lo-Def #1: - DNO will get a week (maybe more) long run in Silver Spring, @ Back Room @ Jackie's, this summer, dates coming soon - had to finish the new version of DNO (nothing like a screening deadline/one for your own event - as motivation), instead of keeping on editing it forever; the film is vastly improved (a little more sound work needed in A Romantic Dinner For 3, this weekend, and then that's it, no more editing, screeners going out to people & places & indie film events on Monday, & very soon (June) limited DVD sales/from my site for th

Texas Snow review at The Chutry Experiment

Check out Chuck Tryon's review of Aaron Coffman's new feature Texas Snow here . (full disclosure; i will be screening Texas Snow at Lo-Def on August 21, so i am glad chuck liked TS) From the review : "...Texas Snow is a well-crafted film. The cinematography is quite good, and Coffman is content, in places, to simply allow the camera to observe, to capture subtle details of a space, such as an apartment or an art gallery. The twentysomething characters certainly brought back memories of my own late nights during graduate school, and I think Coffman is attentive to the nuances of character and dialogue,..." Read the rest of the review here . Texas Snow site . - Sujewa

See ya tonight in Silver Spring!

The LO-DEF Screening Event & Wild Diner Films presents: A writer, A ninja, A woman who is working on saving the world, and a guy who works at a bookstore searching for love in DATE NUMBER ONE http://datenumberone08.blogspot.com/ A movie by new director Sujewa Ekanayake Thu May 22 8 PM FREE The Back Room @ Jackie's http://moviesatjackies.blogspot.com/ 8081 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 Event contact: Sujewa Ekanayake, wilddiner@aol.com , 240-354-3394 Date Number One, a comedy about several first dates, is made up of 4 different stories: Story 1 - Start Over, about a writer who tries to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Story 2 - 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 3 - A Romantic Dinner For 3, about a woman attempting to add a third partner to a romantic relationship, and Story 4 - The Superdelicious French Lesson, about a first date where a charact

Check out some Cory & Yann Seznec music

Cory & his brother Yann did some music for Date Number One back in '04. Some of that music will be heard in Silver Spring tomorrow night, when the movie screens at Lo-Def. Check out Cory's MySpace page here for his latest music, and he plays in a band called The Groanbox Boys. (show dates on the MySpace page ). And here's Yann's site , with links to music new & old. - Sujewa

Two ideas DIY filmmakers do not have to accept

1. DVD is not a public exhibition format. Well, that depends on the venue. In a small room, say one that seats around 50 - 100, it may be perfectly fine to screen using a DVD. I know Angry Filmmaker Kelley Baker has successfully screened (without technical problems) his movies quite possibly hundreds of times thus far using DVDs. I've also screened Date Number One about 20 times so far, to crowds that range from 25 - 100, using DVDs. HOWEVER, some venues may have trouble using DVDs; not sure why this exactly is, 'cause DVD players work perfectly fine for millions of people - so, it is a good idea to have your movie on Beta or DigiBeta or some other pro tape format. Also, many film festivals may also request your movie on a pro tape format for their screenings. Another option is to screen using MiniDV. I've tried this - using a MiniDV camera as the playback source, works fine. If you have a feature you'd have to get it on a MiniDV or DV tape that can hold it (i think so

Thanks for the movies Ray

One of the key venues that aids in the growth/revival of real indie filmmaking (we are still in the early phase of this current - digital filmmaking & ultra-low/"no" budget & blogs & fests & self-distribution & DVD enabled - version of the movement I think, as opposed to the 16 MM, fests & distribution companies enabled indie scene of the 80's on) in the US is the Pioneer Theater in Manhattan. And for many filmmakers, the Pioneer Theater means Ray Privett. But now, after four years of extremely essential work, Ray is moving on to other projects; from the New York Sun : "...the Pioneer is not just a small venue supporting emerging artists, but the epicenter of an independent film scene that has long since been squeezed out of most cities — and is currently being forced out of Manhattan — in favor of corporate-owned independent theater chains that cater to the specialty divisions of major movie studios. In only eight years of operation, the

Another source for DIY screening promotion ideas: Promoting A Film Festival for the Long Tail article

As we have taken ideas & methods from indie rock, Hollywood, indiewood & wherever else in building DIY filmmaking & distribution practices over the years, I am taking a closer look at the film festival world; people like film festivals, a lot of them are well marketed & well attended (certainly more so than most DIY screenings) - so, there are probably practices in the film fest production & marketing world that can be adapted to serve DIY screenings well. Here's a starting point, an article called Promoting A Film Festival For The Long Tail: A Digital Marketing Case Study . - Sujewa

Clean Freak, Dog Me: Potluck, need to get the DNO trailer done, various

Got Chris Hansen's latest film the short Clean Freak in the mail today. Also received a feature called Dog Me: Potluck (IMDB), ( official site ) by Silver Spring, MD based filmmaker M. David Lee III. Looking forward to checking these two flicks out when I get some down time later this month. Everything takes 50x longer in DIY filmmaking & self-distribution because a lot of things are being done by one person & when there is a free/non-day job & other-stuff-that-has-to-get-done moment. And that's cool, every situation has its down sides; I am sure indiewood & Hollywood filmmakers have complaints about their situations too. Even though a lot needs to happen over the next couple of days before the Thu screening of the new version of DNO in Silver Spring, I am going to try to cut & post up a trailer for DNO tomorrow. Will have screener DVDs of the new version of DNO this weekend. Retail DVDs at some point soon (probably after I figure out if I am doing a longer

Full Movie - SNEAK PREVIEW - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene And The Mystery Of Immortal Time Travelers

NEW - COSMIC DISCO DETECTIVE RENE (2023) - TRAILER!

The Secret Society For Slow Romance (2022) - available to rent as a new release starting January 1

Werewolf Ninja Philosopher at Vimeo VOD

Reading Material

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip