AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Today is Thanksgiving, which marks the start of my favorite time of year. Next week is my birthday, then Christmas, then New Years all in a row. It's an exciting time...and a great excuse to avoid editing hours and hours of documentary footage! To kick things off last night I headed to the Corner Wine Bar in Broad Ripple with friends (I'm pictured below with Casandra who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee where she's pursuing a singing career).



Relationships mean more to me than accomplishments these days. It's far too easy to get caught up in your own shit and take people for granted, but I do appreciate everyone who has supported me and my dream. Your encouragement does not go unnoticed. So "thank you" to all and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

THE PULPIT MEETS THE UNDERGROUND -PART 2

As a filmmaker I don't think I could have asked for a better experience than the one I had last night at The Pulpit Meets The Underground. It was certainly the most in-depth and insightful post-screening discussion I've been a part of thus far in my burgeoning "career." The audience was incredible; encouraging and generous with their feedback. It's amazing to see how deeply cinema touches some people. It's a powerful medium. Before the screenings, Max (pictured with me above, along with Becky Archibald and Jane Rulon) read a poem which compared entering a moviehouse to going to church called A Supplicant At The Altar Of Film that really set the stage for the evening and provided some interesting food for thought. I'll try to get a copy and post it here for others to read. But, thanks again to everyone involved; especially Alan Archibald who emceed the evening.

THE PULPIT MEETS THE UNDERGROUND -PART 1

Lately, in addition to moving, I've been preparing myself for my program with the 10th annual Spirit & Place Festival this Friday from 7-9PM at North United Methodist Church. It's called The Pulpit Meets The Underground: Transformational Moments in Mainstream and Independent Film. The festival's official description of this little shindig is as follows:

View film clips of transformational moments and symbols, then discuss their meaning. Discussion will explore how images & dialogue speak to the movement themes of understanding life as a journey and of blurring boundaries between the sacred and the profane. Rev. Max Case of Café Cinema at St. Luke’s UMC and Chad Richards of Glitch / Indianapolis Underground Film Festival will lead participants into the inner workings of the films and their deeper messages. Clips will be drawn from Richards’ locally produced Coming to My Senses and mainstream works like Cast Away and Shawshank Redemption.

It'll be interesting for this lapsed-Catholic to have a discussion with a Methodist minister. I was unsure when first approached with the concept, but Max is an amazing fellow and to hear him discuss cinema is inspiring. This Tuesday he is also leading a discussion with Hotel Rwanda protaganist Paul Ruseabagina that I'm looking forward to as well. The "Rev" loves film on a level I'd never considered before really. I can only pray that I don't come off like a complete idiot (which is never hard for me to do.)

CATCHING UP WITH AN OLD FRIEND

Had the opportunity last night to catch up with my old friend Shannon Blowers. She moved to Los Angeles about 2 years ago to pursue an acting career, but we became close back in the day when The Film Commune was producing Indie Scene TV for RTV6 and she was the host. There was a lot of drama behind-the-scenes, but we always looked out for each other. She was like the hyper little sister I never had. Of course, pursuing the dream is never easy, but she's done well for herself in the short time she's been in L.A. She's been assisting several different casting directors and recently wrapped shooting a pilot for MTV called Juvies, in which she played (ironically enough) a runaway from Indiana. She's ambitious and driven and I wish her the best.