Thursday, December 8, 2011

Super Shorts International Film Festival


To Rest in Peace is playing in London at the Super Shorts International Film Festival! We are nominated for Best Drama. Congrats to the cast & crew.

The screening is Sunday, December 11th, at 4PM.

You can browse the festival's magazine online.

And you can watch To Rest in Peace and vote online for the Audience Choice Award (possibly winning an iPad).

Super Shorts was the very first festival stop for To Rest in Peace, before the film was even shot. The script was a finalist at the 2008 edition. How perfect, then, that the 2011 edition will mark one year since To Rest in Peace started touring the world as a finished film. Our world premier was exactly twelve months ago at the 2010 Dubai International Film Festival.

Congrats also to Ali Scher, my fellow Trojan, who is nominated as best director for her musical The Maiden and the Princess. Ali is one of the special ones, overflowing with talent, and her film has been winning awards all over the world. I hope she can add 'Best Director – Super Shorts' to the growing list.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to cross the Atlantic for Super Shorts. This is a good time to reflect on a subject that's been on my mind for the last couple of months: missed opportunities. At the beginning of the festival campaign, I made an effort to attend every festival, for the full duration. As time went on, however, that became impossible for a number of reasons. It started with Cannes, which Josh and I were only able to visit towards the last couple of days. Then I attended the New York City International Film Festival, but missed the awards ceremony, which included a 'Best Student Short' for To Rest in Peace. The same goes for SoCal, Central Florida, Crystal Palace, and now Super Shorts.

It's very disappointing to miss any festival, because the programmers have honoured your work by selecting it, and the least you can do, it seems, is appreciate the honour with your presence. It's doubly disappointing when that festival marks both a second invitation and an anniversary.

But one strives to be always working, always building on past success, always looking for the next project. The past couple of months, while they have been negligent toward the festival circuit, have been very productive with my daily work at Mad Universe, and with my writing for producer Brian Zager. The list of active projects expands and contracts, but never dips below five. That is a very fortunate position to be in as a filmmaker, and a good reason to regretfully miss some good opportunities.

In the lead up to Super Shorts 2011, Edward Dark and Ismar Badzic have been the perfect hosts. I'm sorry I won't get to meet them in London, and I wish them both a very successful festival.

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