A Sunset Over Georgia Ends My Tour...

FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2009

I drive a few hours southeast from Orangeburg, SC to Brunswick, Georgia, for the final Southern Circuit Tour screening of All About Us.  As I enter downtown Brunswick I notice a very happening and fun vibe here.  I later learn that today is "First Friday" when the quaint shops, art galleries, local bookstores, restaurants and other businesses come together and have a festive block party/open house every first Friday of each month.  Downtown Brunswick reminds me of another quaint area near Los Angeles' Hancock Park called Larchmont and its downtown.  

I head to the Ritz Theater and they too participate in First Friday by exhibiting beautiful art work from local elementary school children.  The lobby is full of students, parents and art admirers enjoying the art and a table full of refreshments equally.  

It is now showtime...the big tour finale.  I introduce All About Us to a wonderful audience, the film begins and then I immediately head outside to enjoy the festivities.  Art gallery stop, bookstore stop...I eventually make my way to the lovely docks where the Liberty Ship Memorial is housed a few blocks away from downtown.  I stand on the waterfront over looking the calm waters, inhale the fresh air and enjoy a beautiful, golden sunset while a variety of birds play in the distance.  This is such a poignant end to what has been 12 days that will never be forgotten.  I have not watched a sunset dip below the waters in about a year and I remind myself that it can never be that long again.  

Tomorrow, when the sun reappears here in the southeast, I will be in Jacksonville, Florida, preparing to board my flight home to Charlotte.  The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is officially a wrap for All About Us.  -Michael Swanson

South Carolina State University & Laid Back Seats!

THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2009

Tonight marks the second to the last screening on this fabulous Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers.  South Carolina State University is an historic Black college that I am excited to visit.  I arrive on campus and head straight to the I.P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium.  I am immediately welcomed by the staff and instantly feel right at home.  True Southern hospitality up in the Stanback.  I am greeted by everyone and eventually meet a very nice former New Yorker who happens to be the museum's curator and my Circuit Tour hostess, Ellen Zisholtz. 

The first thing we do before the screening begins is walk into the phenomenal exhibit of everything James Brown.  Ellen gives my a guided tour of the exhibit and tells me so many fascinating stories behind the items that only a curator who selected each item from the Brown estate could know and share.  I was truly impressed by how well Ellen, Darryl Murphy and other dedicated folk on her team assembled this remarkable James Brown exhibit.  The exhibit (which includes hand-written music/lyrics to some of his chart-topping songs, his furniture, wardrobe, hundreds and hundreds of personal items, awards, photographs, artwork, jewelry and even his hair-rollers) is at the museum until September 1, 2009.  So if you are close to Orangeburg, SC, you should really stop by the Stanback Museum and see his "stuff."

The All About Us screening was packed with students, faculty and adults from the town.  As other filmmakers have mentioned in their previous blogs this is the tour stop where your film is projected inside of a planetarium!  This was the first and possibly last time All About Us will be screened on a domed ceiling.  As we sat in permanently reclined seats and watched the film, I had this feeling on the inside about 30 minutes in that they REALLY, REALLY like the movie!  

After the screening the audience and I had a very long Q&A which has now become more of the norm on the tour.  I was told after the screening that the students had never asked that many questions to any of the other filmmakers (due respect, of course, if other tour  filmmakers are reading this).  But the students connected with the material and perhaps with me.  In fact, I asked how many had seen my first movie, All About You, and lots of hands went right up all over the planetarium.  That was cool.  Like the last evening at Clemson, I felt like I was interacting with my Johnson C. Smith University students again here at S.C. State.  We had an awesome exchange and a memorable event overall.  

I look forward to returning to the museum with my family this summer to show them James Brown's rollers.  -Michael Swanson

Clemson University and a 1963 Flashback

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2009

Tonight is our Clemson University screening of All About Us.  This university has always been on my radar for one reason or another for various reasons.  I know the first Black student to be admitted to Clemson University in 1963 (sadly, South Carolina was the last state to hold out to racial integration).  As I walked around the Clemson campus I tried to imagine what it could have possibly been like for him all those years ago as the first and only Black student on this campus.

That student, who went on to earn an architecture degree with Honors from Clemson, was Harvey Bernard Gantt.  Years later Harvey Gantt also became the first Black mayor of Charlotte, NC and had two very close U.S. Senate bids against the North Carolina incumbent Senator, Jesse Helms.  Today, Mr. Gantt is still one of the most successful architects in Charlotte, we attend the same church and he enjoyed All About Us at our red-carpet premiere in Charlotte.  So now here I am on his old stomping ground.  I believe there's a building named after him somewhere on campus.

The auditorium was packed with students!  By far the largest audience I have had on the tour.  The screening went very well and the students were enthusiastic and asked thoughtful questions.  I am an adjunct professor at Johnson C. Smith University this semester and I found myself right at home as if I were giving one of my informative and exciting college lectures to my own students.  

My visit to Clemson University was not bad.  Thank you for paving the way Harvey Gantt.  -Michael Swanson    

Hospitality: Hope Style!

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009

The rain did not deter a very sizable crowd from coming to watch All About Us.  I must give a lot of credit and thanks to the kind parents of my Charlotte friend, Helen Kimbrough, for putting the word out around town about our screening.  

Helen's parents, Rev. Dr. & Mrs. Winfred Hope, are a very distinguished and simply wonderful couple of Athens, GA and Rev. Hope is also the long-time pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church West.  Rev. & Mrs. Hope invited me to stay in their home during my visit to town and what a delight it was to spend so much quality time with them.  In addition to all the insightful conversation, rich laughter and special visit to the "Prop Room," Mrs. Betty Hope found time to cook and prepare me some of my most memorable meals of 2009.  I love to eat great home-cooked meals and I was truly spoiled (and stuffed) during my stay at their peaceful home.  I thought I was at a restaurant for a moment because Betty Hope had TWO cakes from which to choose for my dessert!  By that point I felt completely "at home" at their home and I had a slice of each!  Who needs to choose between two cakes while on tour?

The next morning after a slamming Hope-style, Hope-cooked breakfast I attended a noon-time Bible study taught by Rev. Hope, received a personal tour of their church which was undergoing a major renovation and Mrs. Hope gave me a driving tour of the massive University of Georgia campus and downtown Athens.  

When I hang out and talk with wonderful Christian couples like The Hopes I always leave with renewed encouragement and focussed purpose.  The Hopes have already traveled the road on which I'm just now getting up to speed (enjoying marriage, raising children, navigating life, serving Christ) and I left the Watkinsville-Bogart-Athens area with more wisdom and insight than I had when I rolled into these southern parts of Oconee County.  For that, I say much love and much thanks to Winfred & Betty Hope.  -Michael Swanson        

Lexington & Ashland, Kentucky

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2009

The Downtown Lexington Library was an ideal spot for the Lexington screening. We had a great turnout and I was happy that so many of my cousins from nearby Louisville drove in for the screening.  This is my second time visiting Lexington.  My first visit was to produce and direct a documentary film called Derby in Black about the history of Black jockeys and their enormous contributions to the Kentucky Derby.

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

I was not familiar with the small town of Ashland, Kentucky before and really did not know what to expect during this stop on the tour.  To my surprise and delight, however, the town was very quaint and we had a nice audience turnout for the All About Us screening.  The audience really enjoyed our film and asked tons of great questions during my Q&A.  I also gave a television interview to the local news program that aired later that evening.  Next (unofficial) stop is Charlotte, NC for a quick "rest-day" stop home to see my love Christine and our four delicious children.  There is no place like home and getting to sleep in your own bed isn't too bad either. -Michael Swanson

Paducah, Kentucky! Who Knew?

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

Never even heard of Paducah before All About Us was selected for the Southern Circuit Tour.  I didn't know what to expect but my Google searches indicated that the town was rejuvenated by artists from across the United States who were offered run down buildings by the city for only $1.00.  The only caveat was that these artists had to move there, renovate the dilapidated buildings and turn them into artist studios or restore them into the beautiful homes they once were decades before.  Well, this enticing offer got more than a few artists' attention.  If you ask them to build it...they will come (for a buck!).

Yesterday's visionary master plan has paid off tremendously today.  Paducah is a very charming, quaint and impressive city full of beautiful buildings, an arthouse movie theater, great restaurants, art galleries galore, an impressive downtown, the popular coffee shop and most importantly a very large and eclectic group of artists who now call this close-knit community on the banks of the Ohio River their home.

I met my especially kind hosts, Sue and Harvey Sadow, at their home before we headed to dinner where I would meet a sampling of their awesome friends (and Paducah "movers and shakers").  After dinner, we headed to the town's arthouse movie theater and the place was packed!  The post-screening Q&A was very informative and entertaining, if I must say so myself.  After the All About Us screening Sue, Harvey and I chatted with and enjoyed full-bodied glasses of red wine with the world-renown quilt maker (no, really world renown!) Caryl Bryer Fallert http://www.bryerpatch.com at her lovely home (artist mansion), where I stayed for the night.  

I discovered during my visit that Paducah is the quilt capitol of the United States and is #2 in North America!  In fact, Paducah boosts the top-notch National Quilt Museum http://www.quiltmuseum.org that I visited before leaving town.  The museum's executive director, May Louise Zumwait, attended our screening and was kind enough to offer me an informative private tour of the museum's inspiring exhibits.  Ruby Dee's All About Us character is a quilter and I received numerous comments about our movie's quilt connection.  Wise quilter "Ms. Ella" was a great character to have in a movie round these parts.  Today I have a greater appreciation and even more respect for quilters.  

Paducah is a community I will visit again...the next time with my wife, Christine, and our four children.  Paducah, Kentucky...who knew.  -Michael Swanson

The Lake Charles Faithful

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009

As I drove into Lake Charles, Louisiana today it really did feel like a ghost town.  Shops, restaurants and even Subway were already closed when I rolled into Downtown.  The streets were empty and repeat Louisiana thunderstorms from the night before threatened to appear again.  

I walked into the Arts and Humanities Auditorium and met the very friendly and funny Scott, my projectionist for the evening.  I asked him if they usually get good audience turnout and he said it really depends on the weather and if other events were happening in the city at the same time.  Well, based on the empty streets I just saw I knew there couldn't possibly be another event in this town this night.  So I wondered if the threatening storms would deter folk from coming out to watch All About Us.

To my surprise, about 10 minutes before our start time people began to file into the auditorium.  Elegant, middle-aged Black women decked out in their Sunday best poured in.  High school students and their teachers began to fill up the seats.  Then married couples and mothers and daughters strolled in.  Aspiring writers and actors also showed up.  I began to realize that this screening, despite the now very loud thunder and driving rain outside, might be our best attended screening on the Circuit Tour yet.  I was really happy to see such a truly diverse audience.  The "Lake Charles Faithful" thoroughly enjoyed our movie and asked great questions.  They also probably purchased the most All About You and All About Us DVDs and soundtracks than any other audience this week.  

Since I had to fly out of Lafayette, LA pretty early the following morning, I decided to make the 1 hour drive in the pouring rain that night instead of staying overnight in Lake Charles (I'd do anything to sleep in an extra hour).  The Lake Charles Faithful really made this screening experience fun and memorable. -Michael Swanson

Baton Rouge Tree Branches!

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2009

This is my first time visiting Baton Rouge, Louisiana!  I've driven through the city before via Interstate 10 but was happy to stay and get to know the state's capitol.  I stayed with the wonderful parents of my Charlotte friend, Samara Foxx, and the in-laws of Samara's husband, future Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.  The Ryders were extremely hospitable and gracious and distinguished and kind and as they happily repeated during my stay: "RETIRED!"  The Ryders and I talked for hours and hours about everything you could imagine before that night's screening and upon returning home after the screening we talked and talked for hours more again.  I love talking to wise, experienced parents and long-time married couples because I learn so much from them (I've only been married 15 years so I still have a lot to learn!).  They took me to dinner, I enjoyed very authentic Louisiana cuisine and then prepared for my second screening on the tour.

Our All About Us screening was very well attended and the Manship Theatre was very impressive.  The buzz around town was about top-notch vocalist Patti Austin performing at the Manship the following evening.  I must admit we have screened our movies for maybe over 200 different audiences around the country over the past 10 years and this audience gave me one of the most memorable post-screening discussions that I've had in years.  Their numerous, numerous questions for me after the screening were so pointed and fantastic.  Their engaging questions gave me the unique opportunity to respond with very long and detailed answers.  I was thrilled!  I love making movies and discussing the process and all of a sudden I felt like I was teaching this in-depth graduate filmmaking and film business course all rolled into one for this eager and curious audience.  I loved it!  I loved that they got so much great information out of me and they pulled such detailed advice and insight from me.  Our Q&A probably lasted about 45 minutes and the ONLY reason we had to wrap it up was because we had this Whole Foods reception waiting for us in the lobby.  That didn't stop me though.  I announced before handing over the mic that I would keep it rolling in the lobby.  Very great audience!  Manship Theater movie projector system was not very great though.  Too bad for such a wonderful and otherwise state-of-the-art venue. 

When the Ryders' and I returned home we chatted for hours more, this time while nursing full-bodied glasses of red wine and enjoying delicious "wine cake" (Samara, your parents rock!).  THEN, all of a sudden we hear roaring winds outside!  Then we hear tree branches falling and things being turned over.  Then the house lights flicker a bit.  Then they flicker more.  Then they go completely off...for about 4 long seconds and come back on again.  Now, I have never been in a hurricane or tornado before but the Ryders knew exactly what this outside mayhem, loud thunder, lightening and that indoor spooky light thing could all mean.  Baton Rouge and the Ryders experienced first-hand the recent devastating hurricanes while the rest of us watched in horror on CNN.  So the Ryders were concerned with very good reason.  I was a bit less concerned because this was all new to me and perhaps the wine made me simply too optimistic: "This is probably just your typical Chicago style thunderstorm," I reasoned to myself.  Eventually the violent winds passed our neighborhood and about 2 AM we decided to call it a night...and wake up in the morning to see what damage was done outside.

Tomorrow the Ryders will give me a driving tour of Southern University and LSU, we'll have lunch at another favorite restaurant of theirs and I will then drive west to Lake Charles, LA for my next screening tomorrow evening.  I will never forget my first visit to Baton Rouge.  -Michael Swanson  

Let The Tour Begin!

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2009

I departed Charlotte this morning and flew to Montgomery, Alabama for my first of ten exciting Southern Circuit Tour screenings of our romantic drama, All About Us.

As I drove across the state to Auburn I saw a sign in Tuskegee, Alabama for the Tuskegee Airmen Historical Site and Museum.  I immediately decided to make a stop and pay a visit since I've heard so much about these distinguished Black pilots over the years.  In fact, I had the opportunity to meet one of the Airmen a few years back...he was in his late 80s at the time.  I watched an informative short documentary film at the museum about their history and significance and was very inspired by their accomplishments and service to our country.  Please check out this link to learn a bit more about these American heroes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen

I arrived at Auburn University, grabbed a delicious dinner and headed to the beautiful Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art for our screening.  I met and chatted with my hostess Mrs. Scott Bishop before the screening (I told her she has the COOLEST name) and although the audience turnout was not "standing room only" I was really pleased with those 10 awesome people who did attend.  We had a wonderful and intimate post-screening discussion.  It was officially a wrap.  The first screening was down and very well-received.  I discovered later that night that the Auburn University women's basketball team played an NCAA tournament game on campus at the same time of our screening!  The Auburn ladies lost in the final 6 seconds to Baylor by only two points.  I felt sad for the team but a little relieved that perhaps the smaller turnout was due to the likely fact that everyone within a 100-mile radius of Auburn was either attending the women's game or watching it on TV.  Off to Baton Rouge!  -Michael Swanson 

Southern Circuit Welcomes Michael Swanson and "All About Us"

Southern Arts Federation welcomes Michael Swanson with his feature independent film, "All About Us," to the 2008-2009 Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers beginning Tuesday, March 24, at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University in Auburn, AL, and concluding on Friday, April 3, at the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Council in Brunswick, GA. Along the way, the film will also screen in Baton Rouge, LA; Lake Charles, LA; Paducah, KY; Lexington, KY; Ashland, KY; Watkinsville, GA; Clemson, SC; and Orangeburg, SC.

More about Michael Swanson, "All About Us" and the tour schedule

Web site for "All About Us"

Audio interview with Michael Swanson

Southern Circuit MySpace Page