New Hampshire Film Festival - Day 2 - Brrrrrrr!!

I woke up Friday morning, showered, gathered my stuff and walked outside and was greeted with a bit of winter. It snowed in Boston but it was just cold in Portsmouth. I drove in to town to see the film Food Inc and it absolutely changed my mind about what I ended up having for dinner. This is a really powerful move done in a very cool way with a very strong message without making you feel like you're getting pounded over the head. I would highly recommend it - and I am once again saying hello to my old fishiterian ways.

I was fortunate enough to do a radio interview on WCSA radio 106.1FM in the afternoon and it was quite fun. Thanks to Rick Dirck for putting that together. I'll post the audio out on the Delta Rising website before I leave Portsmouth but I need to edit it down a little because it is basically a full hour. The DJ, Shawn Henderson, was really gracious and a true blues fan. I love doing radio.

Laura Bernieri (co-producer, co-director) and Andrea Wozny (director ToTimbuktu) attended a legal panel that was in their words - amazing. All the legal copyright investment law etc can be a complicated arena and this panel really spoke out on how to avoid the common pitfalls indie filmmakers fall into. We all had a chance to speak with Paul Durham (Entertainment, Media and Publishing Group) and we are better filmmakers for it. We invited Paul for a quick beer and a bowl of chowder and it was great sharing war stories.

THE SCREENING
So our screening was at 6:30 at the Muddy River Smokehouse. This is good venue for the type of film we made and we were in the basement screening room. The house was about 80% full and the screening went well. We did QA after and got to talk at length about the film, what inspired the story (thanks matt for introducing me to chris) and how it all came to be. It is always terrific to see the film in front of an audience and gauge their reactions, and I particularly like it when people laugh.

We went to get a bite to eat and then headed off to the after party which was really rocking - but my 50 year old body was knockin so I didn't stay long but when I left it was still going strong. Today is a day for seeing a couple films, I'm especially interested in seeing MINE a documentary about pets during Katrina which is rep'd by my lawyer - George Rush. I met the filmmaker Erin at the party and it was fun to chat and talk about the film and how small the indie film world is.

Okay more tomorrow - m

pictured above are L-R, Laura Bernieri, Andrea Wozny, Michael Afendakis, Deb Barry, Nicole Gregg

New Hampshire Film Festival - Day 1 on the way

I flew from San Francisco to Boston last night and got into Logan at about 11PM. Super smooth flight, I got upgraded to first class, the guy next to me was quiet and still, the flight attendants were really terrific and I watched THE HANGOVER on the little digital devices they give you sometimes. That is a funny movie. I checked in to the Courtyard Marriott Logan Airport which has a "re-imagined' lobby area which I found to be a maze sort of concept where things are hidden by these half height walls everywhere. I had a beer and went to my room and watched Conan. Not a bad day.

I woke up to this glorious view pictured above and am taking a break from repacking my bags. I picked up my red Ford Escape from Hertz and got their Neverlost Navigation system (which I sadly find to be one of the worst around) so I'm antsy to get to Portsmouth and get my credentials, meet some filmmakers and especially meet Deb Barry and Nicole Gregg who basically run the festival. When we go to the Telluride Film Festival my wife Buffy loves to go through the schedule and mark which films we will see and how we will get from venue to venue in time. I am on my own this time and I just hoping to see 5-8 films and get to know more of the filmmakers and Festival staff.

As always I have 3 backups to the master for Delta Rising just in case something goes wrong. This cut of the film adds a couple dimensions that weren't in the previous versions - better graphics, better still imagery, added James Super Chikan Johnson to a scene near the end and I am now dedicating the film to some of the subjects in the movie that have passed away. This has been a 7 year adventure almost and time takes its toll on some of these great blues legends. Okay going to finish packing and brave the crazy highways of Mass. - Michael

New Hampshire Film Festival - Portsmouth

Well I'm off to the New Hampshire Film Festival this week. Delta Rising plays twice in Portsmouth - Friday at 6:30PM and Sunday at 2:55PM. I have never really been to the Northeast at exactly this time of year and I am truly looking forward to it. There are some folks I have been chatting with on Facebook that I have never met that I'll get to meet and I will get to re-visit with some of my filmmaker partners and friends.

I'll be blogging away and let you all know what I see and experience. This will be the 10th festival for the film and each one has had its truly unique flavor and ambience, some are super glitzy and others are really down home and comfortable. I have loved each of them and I have seen an awful lot of the country due to the film.

So keep an eye out. Chat with you soon!!

Michael