Dear Lemon Lima * Gainesville, GA * day 3

When I was younger, I daydreamed about running away and living at the Holiday Inn - the indoor pool, the glorious arcade, the stuffed vending machine; obviously, my family could come and visit, but my parents would have to let me and my sisters enjoy the unlimited sugar cereal available at my vast breakfast buffet. Needless to say, I never lived out this childhood fantasy, but I continue to have butterflies in my stomach whenever I am about to stay at a Holiday Inn.

After the scenic, hour and a half drive Madison, GA to Gainesville, GA, my love of Holiday Inn was affirmed when I stepped inside, exhausted and hungry. The bubbly attendant offered a peanut butter cookie and I traded her a Dear Lemon Lima cupcake postcard. Her eyes lit up and she yelped "Kawaii!!"* I knew I was going to love the audience and people of Gainesville from that point on, because, even though we weren't in the heart of LA or hustle and bustle of NY, she was aware of the Japanese cultural term that is a key influence in all things Lemon Lima.

The Gainesville audience embodied the sweet spirit of Dear Lemon Lima. When I entered the Smithgall Arts Center, I was greeted by Gladys, the charming head of the Gainesville Art Council and Professor Jeff Marker and Professor David Smith or Gainesville State College. If I had to choose team captains for the Snowstorm Survivor Competition, I would elect each of them in a heartbeat and I would be honored to have all of the students from Gainesville State College on my team. After a delightful BBQ and packed screening (which I slipped out of to finish The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest,) the q&a was super fun and the students were thoughtful and gracious with their questions.

*Kawaii (可愛い) is a Japanese term which means cute or (literally) adorable.

<3

Dear Lemon Lima * Madison, GA * day 2

The amazing Madison-Morgan Cultural Center set up a class visit at the local high school. I had a very interesting experience speaking with the "Introduction to Film" students. Usually, when I am perplexed by human behavior, I work through my feelings in an entry for the Dear Lemon Lima book, so today I am sharing the Madison-Morgan High School Dear Lemon Lima book entry with you. Needless to say, I am the boring Horticulturalist and definitely lack the patience required to be an educator. It did make me realize that it's very important to say:

"A million thanks to every teacher that I have ever known. I am sorry if I ever made you feel boring or not special. You imparted the wisdom and morals that guide me through every day and every episode of Jeopardy."

Dear Lemon Lima * Madison, GA

As I drove down the dim street and screeched through an illegal u-turn, I thought about the bottle of wine haphazardly placed near the dashboard. Headlines flashed through my mind - "Family film director boozes day before high school presentation" or "Dear Lemon Lima smells of alcohol. Not cupcakes." Then it dawned on me that there wasn't a drop of alcohol in my system, and that my subliminal buzz was the aftertaste of an amazing Q&A and reception with the kind-hearted and delightful audience at my first Dear Lemon Lima Southern Circuit screening in Madison, Georgia.

The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center is a school building from 1895 that now hosts cultural events, exhibitions and performances. After learning that Madison has the second largest historic district in Georgia, I snuck out of the screening to enjoy the antebellum architecture during sunset - a breathtaking visual relief that I craved after seeing the pixelated DVD projection of normally vivid and crisp Dear Lemon Lima. The projectionist was super patient and kind, addressing my concerns as he navigated through the projector menu to balance color and saturation. Although I'm not sure we accomplished much, it meant the world to me when he took the time to humor my neurotic tweaking and he also assured me that story trumps aesthetic. The poignant and comforting statement was validated by the heartfelt Q&A and reception, so a million "thank yous!!" to everyone who came to the screening & reception, and a sweeping "thank you!!" to the amazing staff and volunteers at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center who truly made it an unforgettable evening and experience.

iloveyou. iloveyou. iloveyou.

Welcome Suzi Yoonessi to the Tour!

After a great first screening of Dear Lemon Lima with its producer, Jonako Donley, we are happy to welcome Suzi Yoonessi to the tour. Suzi is the director of Dear Lemon Lima and will be travelling with the film along the Southern Circuit. And while we are sad to see Jonako go, we are very excited to have Suzi on the tour! Her first screening will be at 7:00 PM Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.

Suzi Yoonessi's first feature film, Dear Lemon Lima, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film received the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the San Francisco Asian Film Festival, among several other filmmaking awards. Dear Lemon Lima, was developed with the support of an ITVS Feature Development Grant, a FIND Kodak Grant and a Tribeca Film Institute post-production grant. Yoonessi also associate- produced the Cannes and Sundance award-winning Me And You And Everyone We Know, written and directed by Miranda July.

Dear Lemon Lima at Carson Newman College

I’m just flying back to LA after my brief trip to Jefferson City Tennessee (home of Carson Newman College and perhaps the friendliest folks I’ve met in a long while). My journey started with an hour-long drive from the Knoxville airport to The Minnis House, a charming bed and breakfast in New Market, where I stayed for the duration of my trip. My GPS failed me as I somehow managed to get lost finding the place. Thank god for the friendly kids at Subway who steered me back in the right direction.

After a restful nights sleep on a surprisingly comfy memory foam mattress (I want one now!) I ate a homemade breakfast, courtesy of Kim Stapelton (the owner and resident mom of Minnis House) and headed into town to meet Mark Borchert, a professor and my host at the college. I had the pleasure of speaking to Mark’s Intro to Film class where I showed a few clips from Dear Lemon Lima and discussed the joys and woes of independent film producing. The students were incredibly engaged and my nerves quickly settled as hands popped up to ask questions, relieving me from having to hear myself drone on for the better part of an hour.

I then met up with my sister’s boyfriend’s aunt (can ya follow that!), who drove in over an hour from Lenoir County to have a drink with me and come to the screening later that evening. Trying to find a cocktail was a journey in and of itself—Jefferson is apparently a dry county so alcohol can’t be purchased anywhere in the city. Needless to say we satiated our thirst, had a lovely fireside chat and headed back to the college for the screening. I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the kids from Mark’s class back to see the rest of the film. The film was well received and I held a brief Q&A session afterwards.

Once the auditorium had a cleared, I hung back with Mark and a few of his students who told me of their aspirations to become writers, directors and tech gurus. Jason, one of the senior film students, was heading to Los Angeles the following semester for a “semester abroad” type program wherein he would receive credit for his yet-to-be determined internship in LA. One thing I noticed while visiting Carson Newman was that every time Mark introduced me he always mentioned that I had “come in all the way from Los Angeles.” This, without fail, was followed by “oohs” and “aahs” as if LA was some far off magical place that wasn’t a 4 hour Delta flight away. And maybe it’s because I grew up in LA and have worked there for the past 5 years that I’ve become a bit jaded, but LA just hasn’t had that magical something for me for a long time. It’s where the girls are fake, the guys sleazy and everyone is trying to be someone they’re not. But in Jefferson, LA is where dreams come true and the possibilities are endless. As I saw Jason light up with excitement for his impending internship, I was reminded of what it felt like to be 19. When anything was possible and when all of your dreams would come true. I feel old and cheesy writing this--but as I head back to LA, where breakfast is a tall soy latte, alcohol flows-a-plenty and sitting in an hour of traffic to see a friend seems unfathomable, I realize that over the past year, I’ve gotten to travel all over the country and abroad with a movie that I love and got to produce. So, I think I'm a pretty lucky girl and maybe dreams really do come true in lalaland.

Meet Jeremy Seifert

The Hapeville Historical Society is presenting Jeremy Seifert at the Hapeville United Methodist Church on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010 at 6:00 PM. Please join us for a reception at the Hapeville Depot Museum before the screening. Jeremy directed Dive!

Jeremy Seifert was raised in Colorado and has spent time in Asia, Africa and Europe. He has a B.A. in English Literature from John Brown University and a M.A. in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary. Dive! is Jeremy’s first film. When he isn’t dumpster diving, Jeremy can be found in Pasadena with his wife, Nuf, and their two sons, Finn and Scout.

Meet Hamid Rahmanian

Hamid Rahmanian's first stop will be in Charleston, NC at the Halsey Institute on Sept. 10, 2010 at 8:00 PM. Hamid directed "The Glass House."

Hamid Rahmanian is originally from Tehran, Iran. He earned a M.F.A. in Computer Animation in 1997 from Pratt Institute and was nominated for a Student Academy Award for his animated film, The Seventh Day. He has worked for Disney and recently completed his first feature-length fiction film, Daybreak, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.