Microfilmmaker
News:
Recap of May's Ultra Indie Film Weekend
by
Kari Ann Morgan
Every
filmmaker has the dream of one day walking down the red
carpet to the flickering brilliance of hundreds of camera
lights, surrounded by lots of people decked out in expensive
outfits… everyone there to see their film, their
project, their baby that they’ve put so much time
and effort into. We had our first ever Ultra Indie Film
Weekend this past Friday and Saturday at Lexington’s
historic Kentucky Theater. The featured film was Ryan
and Tracey Graham’s zombie comedy Livelihood, and
they (along with several other cast and crew members)
came from Baltimore for the weekend. There was no red
carpet, no paparazzi, no stunning designer outfits. Our
photographers were ourselves, all taking numerous pictures
of each other, and our evening finery was the 'I *heart*
Zombies' t-shirts that we had specially made for the event.
And it was absolutely awesome.
Ryan
and Tracey were accompanied by Curtis Crispin (the executive
producer and “Dr.
Greg Geisterfar”), Nikc Miller (producer and “Buckets”),
Ryan Stachurski (producer and the “A-hole drummer”),
Steve Thomas (the infamous "Billy Jump"), and
Steve’s girlfriend Dana. I went to greet them Friday
afternoon at the local Microtel they were staying at (Microtel
for Microfilmmakers!), where I was greeted by the laid-back
and deceptively quiet Ryan and his enthusiastic, pixie-like
wife Tracey. It’s interesting when you meet someone
in person after you’ve only gotten to know them by
email or phone; even though I had exchanged several emails
with them and chatted on the phone a few times, it was
like meeting a long-lost sibling for the first time. And
I suppose in a sense, we are siblings; connected by the
“family” of microfilmmaking, we were all finally
getting a chance to meet people who share the same passion
and vision. There are few things more encouraging or more
reaffirming than meeting other people that not only support
what you’re doing, but share your enthusiasm as well.
After
grabbing a bite to eat, we hooked up with Nikc, Stachurski
(thus dubbed to distinguish him from the other Ryan),
and Curtis before heading off to the Kentucky Theater.
(Steve and Dana arrived later on that night.) We had a
decent turnout overall; some were local friends who came
out to support the Ultra Indie Night, others had heard
about it on the radio, and a few zombie-movie enthusiasts
had spied the one-sentence blurb in the newspaper about
a “zombie comedy” showing at the Kentucky that
night. All things considered, it was a good turnout (for
our first go-around), and the audience response was great.
After the film, we gave away some t-shirts and stood around
chatting with audience members in the lobby. (That is
one cool thing about a smaller crowd; it’s more intimate,
so they get more one-on-one time to hang out with the
director and cast/crew members.)
After
a much-needed full night’s sleep, we all met up again
the following day, and spent
the next ten hours or so driving around Lexington and
getting to know each other better. One of the most amusing
things about the day was that we couldn’t seem to
make decisions:
“So, what do you all want to do now?”
*Shrugs from rest of group*
”We could go check out one of the horse farms or
the castle in Versailles or hang
out at the park downtown…"
“That’s cool”
“Which one?”
”Doesn’t matter.”
“Okay… anybody have a preference?”
*Indifferent grunts from rest of group*
*Long pause*
“Okay…”
Needless to say, we did eventually come to a decision,
and spent most of the day in hanging out various groups
and clusters, talking about all sorts of things, from
movies to politics.
After
a brief rest, we congregated back at the theater for the
second (and last) screening. It was about the same turnout
as the previous night (which was actually encouraging,
considering that we were competing with the Kentucky Derby
and the numerous citywide parties that accompany it),
and the audience enjoyed it just as much as the previous
one. After the film, Ryan and Tracey came up with the
rest of the cast and crew and thanked Jeremy and me for
what we’d done for them, and then presented us with
one of the coolest props from the film: the samurai sword
that decapitated Alexander Keaton at the beginning of
the movie.
The popularity of Livelihood with those who saw it
was so high and they were so excited to bring their friends
that it was obvious that the theaters would be packed whenever
we invited the film back. One couple commented that it was
'the best film they
could recall seeing' in recent memory. Another couple mentioned
that they hated zombie movies, but loved Livelihood because
it was so much more than any zombie film they had ever seen
before.
As such, Microfilmmaker is inviting Livelihood back
to be the main draw in our September Ultra-Indie Film Weekend.
Additionally,
Visionary Comic Books is in talks with Ryan Graham about
possibly making a Livelihood comic book, which might
well be sold outside the next showing.While
we don't know exactly what that will look like, the mock
up to the left might be a start!
In the
end, we at Microfilmmaker were honored to be able to bring
attention to these creative and talented filmmakers, and
it was a rewarding experience for everyone involved. And
we want to let all of our readers know that if you have
an awesome ultra-low-budget film we'll do everything we
can to make sure it gets noticed! Carpe cinema!
A
powerhouse in management, Kari
Ann Morgan successfully produced a feature length film before
coming to work at Microfilmmaker as Assistant Editor. In addition
to writing for the magazine, she's been successfully working with
various distributors to get microfilmmakers the chance for theatrical
distribution.
Every
filmmaker has the dream of one day walking down the red
carpet to the flickering brilliance of hundreds of camera
lights, surrounded by lots of people decked out in expensive
outfits… everyone there to see their film, their
project, their baby that they’ve put so much time
and effort into. We had our first ever Ultra Indie Film
Weekend this past Friday and Saturday at Lexington’s
historic Kentucky Theater. The featured film was Ryan
and Tracey Graham’s zombie comedy Livelihood, and
they (along with several other cast and crew members)
came from Baltimore for the weekend. There was no red
carpet, no paparazzi, no stunning designer outfits. Our
photographers were ourselves, all taking numerous pictures
of each other, and our evening finery was the 'I *heart*
Zombies' t-shirts that we had specially made for the event.
And it was absolutely awesome.
“Dr.
Greg Geisterfar”), Nikc Miller (producer and “Buckets”),
Ryan Stachurski (producer and the “A-hole drummer”),
Steve Thomas (the infamous "Billy Jump"), and
Steve’s girlfriend Dana. I went to greet them Friday
afternoon at the local Microtel they were staying at (Microtel
for Microfilmmakers!), where I was greeted by the laid-back
and deceptively quiet Ryan and his enthusiastic, pixie-like
wife Tracey. It’s interesting when you meet someone
in person after you’ve only gotten to know them by
email or phone; even though I had exchanged several emails
with them and chatted on the phone a few times, it was
like meeting a long-lost sibling for the first time. And
I suppose in a sense, we are siblings; connected by the
“family” of microfilmmaking, we were all finally
getting a chance to meet people who share the same passion
and vision. There are few things more encouraging or more
reaffirming than meeting other people that not only support
what you’re doing, but share your enthusiasm as well.
spent
the next ten hours or so driving around Lexington and
getting to know each other better. One of the most amusing
things about the day was that we couldn’t seem to
make decisions: 
they
could recall seeing' in recent memory. Another couple mentioned
that they hated zombie movies, but loved Livelihood because
it was so much more than any zombie film they had ever seen
before.
As such, Microfilmmaker is inviting Livelihood back
to be the main draw in our September Ultra-Indie Film Weekend.
