Sonoma/Mendocino County American Red Cross Short Film Festival

I have been asked to judge the Sonoma/Mendocino County American Red Cross Short Film Festival. They are looking for entries from young filmmakers that have shorts that are 10 minutes or less. The grand prize is $250 cash and itīs separated into age groups. If you are, or know, a film maker between the ages of 12-22 please let them know about this.

Pass it on and support local filmmakers:

To get more info click here: http://www.arcsm.org. More info to follow,

Darwin

Good news for those of you who have Comcast. No, itīs not another rate hike.....Our movie īFairfield, Idahoī will be playing on channel 72. It will be followed by an interview with Jeremy Moore, Jon Lohne, Steve Aja and myself.

It plays on Friday nights June 29 and July 6 at 12:30 am (itīs actually Saturday morning) followed immediately by the interview at around 1:30 am.

It also plays Saturday nights June 30 and July 7 at 2:00 am. (again itīs actually Sunday morning)

Set your Disk recorders to channel 72 on the Comcast cable system in Santa Rosa.

Spread the word....

The Morning After....

As I sit here at my laptop I am at a loss for words. If you know me at all you know that is not a common problem for me. But here I am watching the NBA Playoffs, fighting off the familiar hangover symtoms and wondering where to start.

I guess the best place to start is to say that I am humbled. I am humbled that over 425 people jammed The Roxy last night to watch our film. More impressive was the intellegence and respect of the crowd. "Fairfield, Idaho" is a subtle, brooding film. It requires the viewer to invest themselves in it. Which in turns requires one to allow the film to run itīs course. The film was designed to follow the arch of Dayton Millers life, to put the viewer in his skin. The beginning starts slow, builds tension and if you let it it wil draw you in and hopefully deliver some type of payoff at the end.

It may sound weird to you but having spent the last 3 years working on this I really had never seen the fim all the way through without interuption until last night. It was last night where I got to turn off my detail oriented editing mode and actually feel the film. I cannot say how impressed I was with the cast and crew. If any of you have ever acted you will know the courage it takes to allow yourself to be filmed and shown to a crowd of your friends, family and peers. I was proud of everyoneīs performances and in awe of their craft. I am especially proud of Paul and Larissa. Both of these actors had to portray characters that showed a wide range of emotion. They also were not allowed to ever look good! This may seem petty but seriously, both Paul and Larissa are very attractive and I would not allow them to ever look that way! It just wouldnīt have fit the characters and it took courage on their part to trust me in this regard. To be that vulnerable AND look like shit on film is a lot to ask of someone and they both delivered amazing performances. I was also delighted that every character in the film (regardless of the size of the role) was essential to the project and created that much more depth.

I also would be remiss to not mention the music. I canīt tell you how many people have already asked for the soundtrack. Due to contractual obligations I cannot sell a soundtrack. I will however be giving out some promotional CDs in the near future. I have said this time and time again but as a musician and huge fan of music I have always had a very emotional attachment to it. In this film I often let the music be the dialogue or in some cases almost a character in the film. So to each band and musician I am grateful. Your music was essential and inspiring. I would especially like to thank Pedro the Lion and Jade Tree Records for having the courage and character to essentially lend their songs to a nobody like me.

At the heart of this film is our tireless and talented crew. Aside from a few moments of lameness on all our parts we all worked together with great ease. I atttibute this to the character of Steve Aja, Jon Lohne and Jeremy Moore. Each of them has so much talent and dedication it amazes me that they would lend their skills, time and energy to this project. They were always there for me. They did a lot of the things that I will get credit for. They are the offensive line to my quarterback and everyone who knows anything knows they are of equal, or sometime greater, importance.

There were many other artists, assistants and helpers that you can find in the credits. Not the least of which was Dustin Healdīs make up work and Michael Houghtonīs assistance of various means. Each one of them are responsible for some detail(s) that helped make the film you saw. Whether it be a prop, holding a light, lending their home or work as a location, etc etc. Even the smallest contribution was essential to making the finished product you saw last night.

Lastly, I must again thank all of our families. They also made amazing sacrifices for this film. They took on more at home so we could be away. They were SO generous with our time and even though there were times it must have been killing them they smiled as left and always asked "howīd it go" the first time they saw our faces 10 hours later. We love and respect you all and donīt think for a moment that we donīt appreciate your part in whatever success this film is set for.

The future? Whatīs next? Thatīs what I was asked about 50 times last night. As for now I plan on spending some evenings and weekends with my wife and daughter. In May I am recording a full length album with The Secret Courtesy. As for film.... I am not sure. We are not going to participate in the 48hr Film Festival this year I know that for sure. We have talked with both Our Lady of the Highway and The Velvet Teen about making a music video too. I currently am in the process of writing a short film but itīs only in the very early stages. Itīs called "Driving Your Girlfriend Home" and itīs based on the song of the same name by Morressey. Itīs quite possible that I may co-direct and write it with Cianna P. Stewart which would be a thrill for me. Right now I am just happy to take a deep breath and maybe get to bed before midnight for a while and to get "Fairfield, Idaho" into as many festivals as possible.

I could really go on and on. I am floating right now. This is why I do this. Last night was great but believe me had this been an easy thing to make it wouldnīt have. Itīs all about the process....

Please spread the word about Trick Knee Productions and "Fairfield, Idaho". We are looking to get this thing shown as much as possible. DVDs will be available soon.......

with love and humility,Darwin / TKP

"FAIRFIELD, IDAHO" PREMIERE - April 21st, 2007

Tickets are now on sale for the April 21st Premiere of our feature film "Fairfield, Idaho".

You can get details and purchase tickets here: www.fairfieldmovie.com.

There are 375 seats available and they are going to go fast. The tickets will also be available at The Last Record Store within the week. There will be NO tickets at the door.

For those purchasing tickets online, make sure to print out your PayPal receipt and bring it to will call. You should also bring an ID, just in case.

See you There,

TKP