For the next week I will be almost entirely offline. I'll be at an undisclosed island in the Caribbean that only has a population of about 400 in a house on the beach that's basically in the middle of nowhere.
The occasion is two-fold; it's Amy's birthday and our seven year anniversary next week. We've known each other the same amount of years we've been married.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - I really won the lottery with that special lady. I love her.
A little over a month ago I got an email from the distributor of The Maid (http://www.themaidmovie.com/) asking if I minded posting something about their upcoming screening at The Modern, Jan. 28-30th.
Not only do I not mind but I also have to commend them on the outreach effort. Enlisting the help of local filmmakers to get the word out is a pretty ingenious idea to add to the play book and just another fine example of how web networking makes us a big filmmaking community.
I'll have to remember this when St. Nick starts rolling out.
After much internal deliberation (and procrastination) about the best way to get Merrily, Merrily out into the world I've decided to release it myself through Vimeo.
I really loved making this film. I loved taking it to festivals and discussing it with audience members. At almost every festival someone stopped me on the street or at a party and wanted to dig deeper into the film. One time it happened while crossing the street. I had to suggest moving to the sidewalk.
I hope you all enjoy it. If you see fit please pass it on.
Merrily, Merrily from James M. Johnston on Vimeo.
Merrily, Merrily (2008)
HD
17 min.
Official Selection of Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival, Austin Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Tallahassee Film Festival, Naperville Independent Film Festival
Synopsis:
After a serious revelation from her father Merrilee's reality begins to fracture and she realizes that her family life is more unstable than she had always believed. Not your typical teen angst film, "Merrily, Merrily" explores the lines of perception, self-awareness and being a character in your own life.
(Tech: Shot on Panasonic HVX-200a. Edited with Final Cut 5 on a MacBook Pro.)
Think to a time in the future. A future one hopes is far from now. Imagine yourself old and withered. Your time has come. You lie on your deathbed and inhale deeply, holding it inside. You close your eyes and see clearly the life behind you. Now embrace that moment. Imagine it. Think of all your triumphs and the ones you loved. Your body wants you to release the breath but first you must think of the things you wish you would have done. All the things you could have done more of. The people you should have spent more time with. The things that really mattered.
These are the things you should be doing now.
Exhale.
After I saw The New Year Parade at SXSW I wrote this:
"If you want to see a film that truly embodies the grit and gusto of independent filmmaking then you have to watch The New Year Parade. The storyline might seem familiar but I promise you won't see a film that handles it's melancholy subject the way this one does. I love the softly turning mechanisms of The New Year Parade and how it balances it's subtle storytelling with completely engaging insights into a little known Philadelphia subculture."
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