Museum of Fine Art, Boston

My schedule prevented me from attending the screening in Boston, but we did get a nice article in the Edge there.  Check it out at:  http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=movies&sc2=features&sc3=&id=124930

Fresno Reel Pride Film Festival

Ran up to Fresno today for our afternoon screening.  Met executive director, Jon Carrol, and got a quick introduction to their festival.  We screened in a cabaret-style room (very reminiscent of the "living room" theaters in Seattle) and had a pretty good turnout.  In the audience:  Fresno natives Kristi Johnson and her mom, winners of the AMC backstage tour from the Outfest auction.

The drive there and back was spectacular!  Over the San Gabriel mountains through the "grapevine" and then across some beautiful farmland plains -- thousands of acres of vineyards (for raisin production), almond & pistachio orchards and other truck crops, truly spectacular vistas.  A great afternoon overall and a trip well worth taking.

FilmOut, San Diego

What a crazy weekend!  I raced back to L.A. from Alabama on Sunday morning, showered, repacked, jumped into the car and drove down to San Diego for our featured, closing night screening there.  Head programmer, Michael McQuiggan, and is crew were great and what a terrific screening!  We had a long Q&A after -- covering some questions & issues that I'd never gotten the time to address on other occasions.  They were a thoughtful, generous audience and I had several exchanges with folks afterward that made me feel tremendously welcomed.  And the film seems to have made a good impression at FilmOut because we received quite a few of their awards!

Best Narrative Feature
Best Direction
Best Supporting Actor:  Cheyenne
Best Supporting Actress:  Illeana
Audience Award for Best Lead Actor:  Jason

 Check out this article for a full list of the awards:  http://sdgln.com/news/2011/09/08/green-wins-top-honors-filmout-san-diegos-lgbt-film-festival

The biggest surprise of the day came when a guy walked over to me in the lobby prior to the screening and asked, "Are you Steven Williford?"  I said, "Yes."  Then he extended his hand and said, "I'm Scott Williford."  You could have knocked me over with a feather.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've met other Willifords out in the world.  And the even crazier thing is that Scott has a brother named Steven, with a "v"!  We had a terrific conversation before and after the screening and I look forward to climbing high up into the family tree to find out if we're related -- which is a remote possibility since his grandparents originally hail from Dunn, NC.


Scott and his partner, Grant, live in San Diego and saw my name in the festival literature, prompting their trip to the theater that evening.  I still can't get over the serendipity of all that and I look forward to the next opportunity to share some more time with my heretofore unknown potential cousin.

Sidewalk Film Festival/Shout, Birmingham

I can hardly believe that this was my first trip to Birmingham, Alabama.  Having traveled extensively around the country, it seems impossible that I would have missed the place where so much of the Civil Rights Movement had transpired -- but I had. 

Jeff & Melanie Jeffcoat with Edward Journey

Luckily, I had a passionately well-informed native son in my friend Edward Journey who introduced me to some of the city's sites, sounds and culinary pleasures.  In a fleet 24 hours, Edward managed to provide me with a tour of the city's highlights and I found Birmingham packed full of surprises.

My first significant surprise was the chance to reunite with two classmates from the University of Washington, Melanie (Van Betten) & Jeff Jeffcoat.  They married after grad school and I'd not seem them since Seattle.  After several years in L.A., they relocated to Birmingham to raise their two girls where they'd also be able to utilize the close proximity of Jeff's family.  They're both doing extremely well and have recently launched Circle X Films.  Melanie associate produced Man in the Glass:  The Dale Brown Story, which won this year's Sidewalk Audience Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Alabama Film.

Though we've not been notified -- nor can I find any evidence of it online -- Melanie tells me that The Green received an Honorable Mention among the Shout awards.  Shout is B-ham's LGBT film festival and it operates in conjunction with Sidewalk.

Our Shout screening went well, about 150 people in attendance.  We screened at The Carver, a restored theater located in what is recognized historically as the former "Black" side of town. 

The theater is located very near the memorial park that was the site of some of the first civil rights riots.  On my whirlwind tour of Birmingham, Edward took me to the park where I grabbed a few shots of the statuary.
 

I was deeply moved by this sculpture in particular: two people hiding from danger just inside an open doorway.

 

I was tremendously impressed by the tone of the sculptures and the park overall because the energy of the unrest and struggle was captured so beautifully.  My visit reminded me of how "young" the civil rights movement had been.

A sculpture depicting police dogs designed so that you walk thru the attacking dogs.

Rhode Island International Film Festival, Providence

WINNER:  Alternative Spirit Award

Check it out:  www.film-festival.org/award11.php

NewFest, New York

Right on the heels of our premiere in Los Angeles, we hit the ground running in New York with two great screenings on July 24th & 26th. Loads of friends and family rallied around in support -- thank you! We packed both the School of Visual Arts Theater and the main theater at Village Cinema. Intelligent, fun Q&A's after each.

It was a smooth run except for the arrival of a fleet of firetrucks that appeared during our second screening when someone in the other theater reported smelling smoke. Luckily, the house manager threw herself in front of our door and prevented the firemen from entering to investigate.




Following the second screening, I got the news that we'd gotten a two-year deal with Showtime. They called the firemen back to handle the fireworks that shot out of my ears. A great finish for our New York debut.

Outfest, Los Angeles

July 9th, our official premiere. We screened at the Directors' Guild of America, Theater 1 -- and we packed the house! Standing room only. It was the first time so many of us (both producers + several cast & crew members) were able to attend a screening. It was a magnificent night with tremendous support for the film.

Pictured at top: Jason Butler Harner, Paul Marcarelli (screenwriter/producer), Cheyenne Jackson, Molly Pearson (producer), me.

During our Q&A, a gentlemen who identified himself as a teacher spoke of a terrible prank played on him by a student posing as a parent in an email exchange. Needless to say the similarities between our film's story and what happened to this teacher were hair-raising. His story shot through us like a lightning strike -- a blinding, first-hand reminder of the precarious position many of our LGBT educators find themselves in daily. I was also taken with how deftly this teacher concluded his story with an off-handed remark that got a huge laugh -- a laugh of communal recognition and commiseration.

Pictured at bottom: Paul, Chris Bert, Molly, Jason, Cheyenne, me, Julia Ormond & Illeana Douglas

The screening was followed with a cocktail reception at the theater in the HGTV Lounge, and then we reconvened at Lola's for a premiere party with the company and friends.

Another bit of good news came when I was notified that we'd been given a 2nd screening. It was scheduled on the last day of the festival at the REDCAT (Roy & Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) on Sunday, July 17th @ noon on the dreaded "Carmageddon" weekend -- but we managed to fill about half the theater, have a great screening and an intimate Q&A after.

Thanks to Kirsten Schaffer, exec director of Outfest, and her entire remarkable team: Kim Yutani, Bryan Stamp, Alphonso Duralde, Dilcia Barrera, Kerri Stoughton-Jackson, Shari Greicar, Landon Zacheim, and everyone who made our screening and the festival such a fulfilling experience. Our premiere could not have gone better!

My friend Bridget Fonger wrote an article in response to something Julia Ormond had spoken about during our Q&A. Please check it out at: www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/film/julia-ormonds-the-green-is-a-human-movie-not-a-gay-movie/

Frameline Film Festival, San Francisco

On Friday, June 17, we screened at the 1,200 seat Castro Theater for a gigantic audience who could not have been more "with" the film. They were the most enthusiastic, attentive, vocal crowd I've experienced yet! It was like winning the lottery. They ooh-ed and aah-ed, screamed, and even booed at a pivotal moment! It was a thrill-a-moment ride. Incredible.

Afterward, friends of friends of the film, Steven Angelo & John Anthony, hosted a great party at their beautiful home around the corner from the theater. We had a thoroughly good time with all but particularly enjoyed being introduced to the spirited work of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

One of our hosts, Steven, spoke lovingly of one of the sisters that he's terribly fond of, Sister Constance Craving. He promised to hook us up with her when we find ourselves back in San Francisco for a return engagement. The Sisters are widely known for their special "blessings" and Steven promised the Sisters would happily honor our film with one of them the next time around. Those Sisters are not JUST doing it for themselves.

Thanks Steven and John for a fantastic party. And of course a HUGE shout out to our Frameline hosts, executive director K.C. Price, programming and hospitality associate Alexis Whitham, and our travel coordinator, Texas Starr. Yes, that's his real name. They could not have been nicer or more accommodating. Frameline exceeded my expectations -- and then some.

Connecticut Film Festival, Old Saybrook

Screening: Friday, June 17, 2011

WINNER, Best Narrative Feature

OutFilmCT: Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Hartford

Screening: Saturday, May 28, 2011

WINNER, Best Narrative Feature -- Audience Award

Check it out at: www.outfilmct.org/FF/2011/CTGLFF-FF24/Welcome.html