Many thanks to everyone who came to see and support our film “Blind Sight” on July 16th, Wednesday, at the Rialto Lakeside Theater. There were 90 people in attendance. We were able to successfully pay off the theater rental fee, in addition to raising my exact target goal of charity funds: enough for 1 student in Guangxi, China to receive 1 year’s education (room & board, supplies, etc. included). I’ve just emailed the charity with the good news.
For those who could not attend, here’s a quick synopsis of the evening:
5:30pm- I arrived with my longtime friend and collaborator, Christian, at the theater. Christian filmed behind-the-scenes of the event, keeping himself quite busy for the entire event. He deserves a very big THANK YOU. 6pm- My parents arrived with the DVD’s (we brought backup copies just in case) and a few of our custom-designed tshirts. We set up a table inside in front of theater 1, the largest in the building and capable of holding over 200 people. A few people approached our table with questions about the film, and 2 bought tickets, coming back later to watch the film.
6:30pm- Guests began to arrive. There were many familiar faces and my Mom deserves a very big THANK YOU for doing much of the advertising. Many members of my family came, as well as friends and faculty from elementary to high school. There is another film called “Blindsight” (one word) that you can find out about by clicking here. It is currently touring many cities and film festivals, and I believe is now showing in Vancouver. The plot is quite different from my film, though it looks quite interesting. But there was an unfortunate mishap where a few people came expecting to see a film about 6 blind Tibetan teenagers climbing the north side of Mt. Everest.
One family drove all the way from Marin to see that film. I was shocked by this, as I did not expect my little film to be this well-known. The family was very kind and understanding, and they stayed for my film. (After the movie, they told me they enjoyed the film and complimented Stanley, our talented main actor, and his performance). An even bigger surprise was that the Father of this family turned out to be one of heroes: Dave Goelz, one of the lead performers for The Muppets, and creator, operator, and voice of the character “Gonzo.” Here I was in front of someone who influenced about 85% of my humor, who worked on one of the greatest Christmas films of all time, yet he was extremely humble and friendly. I restrained my impulse to ask for an autograph or a job application with the Muppets. It was an honor to meet him and his family, and I’m so happy they could have a positive experience watching one of my films. I hope to meet them again someday.
7:18pm- I gave my first speech, to introduce a short comedy film made recently (in only 4 days) with good friends Christian and Jimmy. The audio was a bit too loud, so it was difficult to hear all of the laughter. But I do know a few parts worked. And for 4 days, that’s pretty good. I gave my second speech to introduce Blind Sight, which was different from my Vancouver premiere speech. Once again, I didn’t follow a written plan. (But I had spent the entire day thinking about what to say). 7:30pm (approx.) Blind Sight began. The audio levels were correctly tuned this time. The film looked good on the big screen.
9pm- Applause. Compared to the Vancouver premiere, the applause here started earlier. Since the cast & crew (except myself) couldn’t be there, it became a way of celebrating each performer as their name & image appeared onscreen. Everyone received generous applause. For those who worked on the film, I wish you could have been there to hear what you deserved. I said a quick “Thank you” and everyone headed out to the lobby. There was a lot of chatting and it was generally a warm atmosphere. The Rialto theater has a beautifully decorated interior. I clutched my bouquet of flowers (from Joanne, my Tai Chi teacher) and smiled. The magic of movies is not onscreen…it is in the audience that watches them. Thank you, everyone.
