And...we're back!!

Note to self: Never follow months and months of working 7 days a week with a 3-day wedding extravaganza, and a 2-week trip traveling state-to-state all through the south again...because you WILL get a horrible, debilitating cold. Got it. Never again.

Yes, Gita and I enjoyed our first two screenings on the Southern Circuit Film Tour. We enjoyed our two free days in Nashville. We flew to Alexandria, Louisiana on day 5, and promptly got sick. Me first and then Gita-- both with bad colds that we are just now beginning to recover from. Let me tell you, nothing cures a cold faster than constant travel...lots of airplanes and driving.



It started with a sore throat in Alexandria. But with our biggest crowd on the tour-- a really great, engaged audience-- it was easy to look past it. We were told before the screening that a soldier had called the venue, saying he had been through Bangor and been greeted by the Maine Troop Greeters, and was planning to attend the show. During our Q&A, he stood up and recounted his experience traveling through Bangor, saying he remembered how nice my Mom had been to him. After the Q&A, he introduced himself as Bobby Strother and said he had a gift he wanted to send back to the troop greeters with us. We agreed to meet him the next morning so he could bring us the gift before we hit the road to New Orleans. The next morning we met Bobby in front of the local drug store after stocking up on cold medicine and tissues. Bobby handed me a large triangular wooden box with a glass front. A perfectly folded American flag rested behind the glass, and an engraved plaque read...



This was no normal gift...a unit coin, a thank you card, no-- this was something Bobby had laid his life on the line for. Something that represented everything Bobby loved about America, and he talked to us for a long time about just that, and about how tough it is to come back after serving and having to re-adjust, and about friends getting divorced, and about friends dying, and about how if he had to go back again he'd pack his bag and leave tomorrow because serving his country was worth it. He said, "when we're over there we're wearing our vests which are about 75 lbs. and all our gear and we carried two weapons, so you're talking about 100 lbs of gear...we had a lot of weight we were carrying with us over there."...And it just made me think about watching the troops walk down the ramp over and over again at the Bangor International Airport and seeing them breathe a big sigh of relief at the sight of the troop greeters, and the flags waving, and the smiles welcoming them home, and how it really is "that moment" when the weight of it all is finally lifted off their shoulders. I can't wait to get back to Bangor to pass along Bobby's gift.

Tomorrow, I'll spare you the most boring trip to New Orleans ever, as we spent the entire time in our hotel room coughing and sneezing, and I'll skip ahead to our screenings in Alabama and Mississippi and the story of "Big Joe" Evans going for the oyster eating record. How can you not be excited?!

Southern Circuit Welcomes Brad Jayne with Three Short Films

Southern Arts Federation welcomes Producer/Director Brad Jayne with his Three Short Films - "Song of Pumpkin Brown," "Search," and "Le Croisment." Brad Jayne will be on the 2009-2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers beginning Thursday, October 22, at The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and concluding on Wednesday, October 28, at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus, GA. Along the way, the films will also screen at the Historic Polk Theatre in Lakeland, FL; The Grand Theatre in Fitzgerald, GA; and the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center in Madison, GA.

More about Brad Jayne, his short films, and the tour schedule

Web sites for Brad Jayne's films: Creative Forge Productions and www.BradJayne.com

Audio interview with Brad Jayne

Southern Circuit Film Tour - Day 1 & 2...

"This is not our honeymoon..."
Aron Gaudet

This was Gita and I on Friday...



That's right, we got married on the coast of Maine (notice the paparazzi chasing us?), and two days later we were in Nashville, TN. The Southern Circuit Film Tour happened to fall directly after our wedding, and so although we made it very clear to each other that "THIS IS NOT OUR HONEYMOON!", the trip definitely has a weird honeymoon vibe to it all.

Day one took us from the Bangor International Airport (where much of The Way We Get By takes place) to Nashville and Vanderbilt University. This is the first year the folks at Vanderbilt have taken part in the Southern Circuit Film Tour-- so that means we're even. It meant maybe a slightly smaller crowd than normal, but definitely a group of people that would probably otherwise never have the opportunity to see our film in a semi-theatrical setting. And even though we were screening at a university, the crowd was littered with people of all ages, so the word apparently had spread beyond the campus. All in all a successful screening.

Gita and I love a good breakfast place, so day two started with us trying to choose between the Loveless Cafe and The Pancake Pantry-- 2 local favorites that everyone seemed to recommend. The choice was made easier when we discovered The Pancake Pantry was less than a mile away. We drove up to find a long line waiting outside on a Tuesday morning!! This place had to be good right? The line moved quickly and Gita and I were soon experiencing the best pancakes either one of us has ever had... we're still talking about them. Let's hope the pancakes on day two are not the highlight of the trip, but you've got to start somewhere.

After the best pancakes on earth, we set out for Bowling Green, Kentucky for our screening at Western Kentucky University. It's a little over an hour north of Nashville and the scenery is exactly what I would expect driving from Tennessee into Kentucky-- rolling fields and farms, old weathered boards holding up barns that looked like they should collapse, but somehow were still standing. Just beautiful countryside for a drive.

We made it to Bowling Green and to our screening to find a bigger audience made up primarily of students. We always like showing the film to a younger audience because everyone assumes that The Way We Get By will appeal more to senior citizens and baby boomers, but what many people forget is it's young men and women on the other side of the handshake, heading to war or returning home, so a university campus is filled with people that have brothers or sisters or friends that have been through Bangor and met the troop greeters. Last night was no exception, as a student approached us after the film to tell us he had been deployed through Bangor and remembered meeting all three of the subjects from the film-- especially Bill who is always the first in line to greet the troops. Everywhere we go it seems the Maine Troop Greeters have made their mark in some way. It was reassuring to know Bowling Green was no different.

Coming up... Day 3 & 4 are rest/travel days so we're working on something fun to do before heading to Alexandria, LA for our next screening on Friday. Keep reading.

Southern Circuit Welcomes Aron Gaudet, Gita Pullapilly, and "The Way We Get By"

Southern Arts Federation welcomes Director Aron Gaudet and Producer Gita Pullapilly with their highly acclaimed documentary, "The Way We Get By," on the 2009-2010 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers beginning Monday, October 19, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and concluding on Friday, October 30, at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Along the way, the film will also screen at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky; the Arts Council of Central Louisiana in Alexandria, Louisiana; the Mobile Arts Council in Mobile, AL; the Capri Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama; Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi; Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina; and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina .

More about Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, "The Way We Get By" and the tour schedule

Web site for "The Way We Get By"

Audio interview with Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly

Augusta

This is sadly my last post for Pants On Fire, as I am now back in LA. I have heard from my cohorts, Nicolette and Mercedes, that their Southern Circuit Tour experiences were also all immensely positive. On Wednesday I drove from Auburn, Alabama to Augusta, Georgia and got there with 2 hours to spare, so I walked along the beautiful river walk and dined at the quaint Boll Weevil. Then I watched the film with a sparse but enthusiastic crowd at the beautiful downtown Imperial Theater. Again, the whole audience stayed for a lengthy Q&A. There were some film students in the audience particularly interested in some of the nuts and bolts on indie filmmaking. Then I took in a late night swim at the hotel and went to bed. Thursday I crossed back into South Carolina and flew back to LA. All in all the tour was a great shot in the arm. The crowds were so engaged and enthused - it was all very gratifying. I hope to get the chance to tour again. I had never been to South Carolina, Georgia, or Alabama and I appreciated the opportunity! I want to thank all my host theaters and Allen Bell for putting together a terrific experience. All the best.
-Colin

Another great screening for Pants On Fire. This time at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. I'm not sure the film qualifies as Fine Art, but that's okay. It was a smallish crowd, but hugely enthusiastic. I think literally the entire audience stayed for the long Q&A. It's been a blast hearing the audiences' laughter throughout the film. These crowds are really great - every filmmakers' dream. Gotta go to bed. I'm off to Augusta Georgia and the Imperial Theatre tomorrow.

Peace Center in Greenville

I had my first taste of the Southern Circuit Tour last night. Pants On Fire screened at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts in Greenville, SC. It was a fantastic screening! And what a beautiful venue. It's an old converted Huguenot mill and they tricked it out into an amazing state-of-the-art theater but still managed to maintain some of the look and feel of the old brick buildings. We had a great, enthusiastic crowd that stayed for a long Q&A afterwards. They had fantastic questions about all aspects of the film. It was really gratifying. Greenville rocks. I had some delicious Sushi and gelato - their downtown is really beautiful. I am going to hit a toy store for my kids, then hit the road to Alabama! I've got a screening tonight at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University for anyone in the area. I'm also enjoying the fall weather - something we don't really have in LA.