Sunday March 7th was a special day for two reasons. Those who follow me know it, I got my first short of Covid-vaccine, for which I am beyond grateful.
But also, in the beautiful city of Eau Claire, in Wisconsin, my short filmThe Last Touch , that’s currently on the festival circuit, was an official selection at Midwest Weirdfest and screened at the Micon Cinemas.
Every official selection is a reward in itself. Each festival receives thousands of submissions, so when our short is selected it’s quite humbling.
But this festival season is particular. Due to Covid, most of the festivals are virtual for the safety of all. And it’s a mixed experience for the filmmakers, as we stay at home, in our cold isolated living-rooms. “Cold” because that’s how it feels when a festival’s purpose is to connect with an audience, with other filmmakers, and when we get to see our film in our familiar environment, it’s hard to make the difference with the millions of times we watched it on the same screens while editing and polishing it.
Hey, but it’s for the sake of safety! And the advantage is that the audience may be reached on larger horizons with the festivals being virtual. When the festival is in person, only the people who can geographically make it to the festival, generally most of them locals, can get to see your film. But the virtual world opens all the horizons and borders to national and sometimes even international audiences! So that’s the big plus. And also... who knows if in normal circumstances I would have been able to even make it to the festival in person? So at least when it’s virtual, I can’t really miss it. So that was more or less my pros and cons.
Now this being said the other thing that made March 7th 2021 a special day is that for the first time, The Last Touch made it to the BIG SCREEN!!!!!!!!
Midwest Weirdfest made the bold choice - but respecting all safety protocols of half capacity… - to keep their festival in person! And while I couldn’t make it there, my “baby” was played on a big screen and it really feels as if it was indeed a baby taking its first steps. Even though I was not there, I can still feel inside a tremendous and overwhelming joy at the idea of The Last Touch finally on a big screen… I’m clapping and jumping and tearing virtually - for once I’m the virtual part in this haha! - just thinking that some audience who digs weird strange horror and sci-fi films got to see it....! And for that, I want to send a big heart of thanks to Midwest Weirdfest. Thank you for being the first screen to host my baby and allowing it to live the real experience of a theater screen, of a big screen, of a live audience. Hopefully next time I’ll get to be there in person.
Now this week, we’re back to virtual, but not less exciting because it’s a science fiction festival, MISCIFI (Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival). We already started to network with the other filmmakers, I can’t wait to watch their movies after seeing some promising trailers. You can watch The Last Touch from the comfort of your couch, on your TVs!!
To get your tickets or for more info: bit.ly/miscifi-tickets
Vive le cinéma.