Last Saturday we dropped the velvet curtain on the seventh annual Santa Cruz Film Festival. The nine day Festival included 146 films from 26 countries. Each year this festival blows me away—both in the quality of the films and its global reach. We opened to a full house with One Fast Move and I’m Gone: Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur, an eye-opening documentary on how fame tortured the Roadster Kerouac. Up ’til 2 a.m. on night one, the second day brought the opportunity to enjoy dinner and conversation with the directors Tom Wheelan and Brian LaBelle of The Art of Travel, a fun coming of age/traveling adventure tale starring Chris Masterson (Malcolm in the Middle) and Brooke Burns. There’s nothing more refreshing than meeting humble directors with great films. Their film set the pace for what seemed like a wanderlust theme in ‘08.
As the week carried on Festival attendance proved stronger than all previous years and film goers were blown away by The Listening Project, a film that went around the world asking “What do you think of America?” and Ripple Effect, starring Forest Whittaker and Virginia Madsen.
When closing night finally arrived, I was honored to take one of The Listening Project’s directors, Dominic Howes, out to dinner before he was bestowed the Jury Award for Best Documentary.
It was a long nine days, but it was a blast. Thank you to all who helped fund and support this year’s Fest. Please join me for year eight in 2009!
I spent a good portion of my Labor Day weekend laboring over a simple 30 second commercial for my Aunt’s Web design business, Rockport Websites. It gave me a chance to play with the new iMovie–a vast improvement over the old one.
The ad is to be screened at the Rockport Film Festival, target markets are Rockport residents looking for a local non-techie Web designer for their business or special events.
P.S. Note to self, learn how to embed video tomorrow.
I’m going to camp! Okay, not real camping with fires and smores, but a weekend long seminar on WordPress, the application I use here to power my Web site. I know it’s dorky, but I’m excited. And best yet, WordPress comes free with Cruzio, so I can share the love with my customers. That’s what I call a win-win!
The Santa Cruz Film Festival VI: STAY TUNED, dropped the proverbial velvet curtain last night after 10 days and nights of independent spirit.
The Festival has been my life outside of work the past six months and its conclusion is both sad and a relief. Despite giving up my nights for months on end, the payoff was reward enough: full houses, our highest tickets sales ever, amazing films, pleased audiences, and equally inspiring team members.
Sometimes it’s hard to explain to people why I volunteer for organizations such as the Fest. “You already work full time” they say, “Why do you give your only free time away?” While that’s a rational observation, I’ve always volunteered, starting at the age of 13. Volunteering, signing up, and standing up for what you want to see changed in your own community makes every day meaningful. There is nothing that makes you feel more alive than doing something outside of yourself with no expectation of return.
Volunteering has always led me to the best people and opportunities in my life, even when the tasks weren’t that fun or easy. It’s the perfect way to network, make friends, learn new skills, and have fun. When else would I get to meet David Arquette or a horse who walked 20k miles (pictured) all in the same week? The question I ask in return is why wouldn’t you want to volunteer?
But with my volunteer time now spent, it is time to shine the spotlight inward for a bit: hubby and the “kids”, home, soon-to-arrive vacation and catching up with family. That’s something I’m ready to volunteer for!
“Accept your quirks as your special gifts.”
This is just one of the quotes I retained from a moving presentation by Joel Meyerowitz at the MacWorld conference yesterday. A photographer whose career has been based primarily in street photography, he captures random moments unexpectedly revealed in front of him, as opposed to creating structured fallacies. This approach and his openness to life made a deep impression upon me.
It made me think about how much is contrived and the amount to which life should be as honest as possible. In my life and my work how can I be more truthful? I believe that as human beings, mostly what we seek is connection and meaning, and by bringing forth honesty, instead of contrived promises, won’t we all be happier and more enriched? Or do we want to live in a fantasy?
I’m not sure, but it’s an interesting thought for me, a marketer, a role that has the reputation of falsity. But if you know me, you know that’s not what I’m about. My intention is never to mislead, lie, confuse or falsify. The proof must be in the pudding. I would not do what I do unless I believed the magic ingredient was in fact there.
So as Mr. Meyerowitz discussed that “gut feeling” or “sweetspot” he innately feels when he snaps his camera, I too must follow my gut. If it is one of my quirks, I should accept it as a gift, and you should too.