The home stretch with Artois the Goat

Just got into Alexandria after a long exhausting 3 days, waiting for the final screening of Artois' Southern Circuit Tour.

The drive from Montgemery to Jackson was nice and relaxing. Lots of straight roads and trees lining them. Spent the time to work through Rush's early discography again, never time poorly spent. Once I arrived, i met my host and we headed out for a quick dinner. Gyros at Keifers. Absolutely delicious. Stuffed beyond capacity with beef and lamb and loaded with tatziki sauce. I need to start eating greek more often.

The screening was a bit light compared to earlier screenings, but the reception was just as good. Predominantly students, which has been rare for us at festivals and on tour. Lots of great questions about our influences and false endings.

The next morning I left early to make it into Batin Rouge for lunch. Another simile drive, almost to it's detriment, as I was very tired. I had some coffee and some Krystal burgers (I don't know why I do it to myself either, they always get me with their cute little mini burgers), which perked me right up. I met Michael Farrar, local journalist, at Sammys grill for lunch. The Catfish acadanian (sp?) was great. Fried catfish topped with ettouffee over rice. Great conversation too, about a lot of the finer points of production and distribution that I dont normally get to during q&as.

After a nap, I met Paige for dinner at Chelseas and had a wonderful poboy and probably one too many beers. One of the many perks of the trip has been sampling each areas cuisine. Sorry if I only reference food land marks, but I'm generally always a hungry person. After dinner, we headed over to the Manship for the screening. It's a really interesting layout, a giant circle. Each seat had great visibility. Everything looked and sounded great, so I was a bit disheartened to see another light crowd. Afterwards I was pleasantly surprised as the number of those in the audience had doubled. After the q&a, we all met for a nice little reception with wine and fresh local cheese. We talked a lot about the importance of being passionate about your work and the rise and importance of slow food.

Another early travel morning saw me arrive in Savannah in the late afternoon. After a quick nap, I headed downtown for a tech screening and dinner. I fell in love with the Lucas theater the moment I laid eyes on it. A restored old cinema palace. It's like the Paramount theater back in Austin, but with a facelift. Absolutely gorgeous and charming. And Artois the Goat was on the marquee again. I can't imagine ever being tired of seeing the name of my film on a marquee. The staff was very professional and both the image and sound were pristine. During the screening, i went and ate (it's what I do...) at Molly MacPhersons. Scottish food. Brilliant. Started off with a Gaelic ale and meat pies. Caught a bit of the English premier league match (so much more exciting than the world cup) and then went on to have a plate full of bangers and mash. All deliciously satisfying. When i got back to the theater, I was informed our audience was right around 100, making it the most attended (great because we were in s cinema palace). After the q&a there was a reception at B. Matthewws. More cheese. More Beer. Lots of great conversation about the movie and goats. Had a chance to talk with Jan for a bit, and go into the ideas behind the film a bit more, which was really refreshing. Also spoke with Jim Reed of Savannah's Psychotronic Film Society. We talked at length about the challenges of both independent distribution and exhibition. Always good to be able to swap war stories and learn about the other side if the business. If you're in Savannah, check out his film series. He's doing fantastic and important work.

One last screening to come. Stay tuned for one more post.

Richard