September 21, 1998

The panel at one of the film market seminars I attended today included Thomas Ethan Harris, the head programmer of the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, who I once heard liked my film. So I stood in line and approached him after the panel; he seems like a nice guy and a real film lover, and it turns out that he really likes HONEYMOON, and took five minutes to praise it in detail.  I was absurdly gratified, though I couldn't help wondering why his festival had turned the film down anyway.  When I asked if it was worth my while to submit it again this year, he urged me to do so, saying that there was at least one other HONEYMOON fan on the festival committee--thus confirming that the decision isn't his alone.

Harris also recommended two other films at the film market, and introduced me to the director of one of them.  I guess there are a few art films here after all, though it's not apparent at first glance.  Today I even met some people who were working on an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's WHITE NIGHTS.

I'm starting to give up on the idea of hanging out at the Angelika and trying to meet people--it's enervating, and I'm not meeting anyone anyway.  The market seminars, on the other hand, are a pretty good education on the indie film business, and I've been attending a lot of them and asking questions.

The IFFM gives filmmakers a list of all the company representatives who attended their screenings.  My list was a little bigger than I'd expected, and included a lot of the heavy-hitter indie companies--Miramax, Fine Line, October, Fox Searchlight.  A number of smaller distributors were on the list as well, which seems more my speed.  No distributor contacted me after the screening--it's usual for filmmakers to follow up with these companies after the market is over.

I picked up my print from the Angelika today and FedExed it to the Blue Sky film festival.  I'll save the shipping expense on the other end by carrying the print home with me on the plane back from Vegas.

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