I just recently submitted TEMPER to its first few festivals, which feels pretty momentous! Of course I have no idea how it will be received, so I’m trying to keep my expectations pretty low. Film fests are weird… I’ve had a few experiences with them in the past. I both love and hate the experience of being in a room while something I made is playing for a group. And then theres the seemingly obligatory Q&A at the end where you awkwardly stand there with the other filmmakers and introduce yourself and field questions. Not my favorite- either on stage or in the crowd!
I’ve found myself wondering something like, ‘What do I want for this short?’ now that its done. I never really had a specific plan for what to do with it, the enjoyable thing for me was the making of the thing. After thinking about it and chatting with fellow filmmaker friends a bit I realize my ideal viewing experience for it is a big screen with a nice loud sound system, and festivals are about the only way for it to be broadly presented that way. I’ll eventually put it up online too, but imagining people watching it on their phone or even laptop feels lukewarm and a little sad.
I’m hoping to have a release party of sorts here in Portland early this year sometime and rent out a theater for an hour or two to watch TEMPER on the big screen and hang out. I might have to be selective on who gets invited for space reasons, but subscribe to my newsletter if you want to stay in the loop on that.