St. John’s Women’s Festival, Newfoundland

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 19:22:38 -0700

Wow! These women really know how to put together a festival. When I was first notified about this festival I thought there was just no way on earth I would be able to attend. A week later I got letter offering me a round trip ticket and 5 days in a bed and breakfast... hmmmm, let me think about it.

Bend Film Festival

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 18:49:46 -0700

Wow!!! Just got back from the Bend Festival in Oregon and it was just amazing! This was the first film festival that offered to pay for my flight and set me up with housing. This is only their 3rd year up and running and from the way things were organized, you would never know. They ran an extremely tight program and their line up of films were awesome! I was very happy when I found out that Dirty Mary was paired up with Sherry Baby... although two very different films, I thought they made a good screening pair!

The town of Bend is very quant, quiet and beautiful, but from the town talk, it seems like most of the folks are upset that everyone from LA seems to be buying up the land, jackn’ up their real-estate prices.

One of my favorite parts of my trip was the amazing woman Dyan that I was housed with throughout the festival. She was so funny and very hospitable. She had a beautiful two story house that she decorated herself... it was very cool. She had a stuffed rooster, her grandfathers swimming trunks framed on the wall, suitcases she used as night-stands, 2 dogs, and 2 cats... one of them she called “the bitch”. She gave me an extra set of keys a map and told me to call her if I needed anything.

If you are a filmmaker I HIGHLY suggest you submit to this festival. They will completely take care of you and I’m sure you will come to love the little town of Bend! Just don’t tell them you’re from LA looking for real-estate.

Dances With Films

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 16:00:16 -0700

Wow!!! Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent can’t say enough about these two! They are the program directors behind the Dances With Films Festival and I thought they did a wonderful job putting this festival together.. Their motto is “No Politics, No Stars, No Bullshit”. They are the festival of the “unknowns” . They also did a fantastic job of creating a very supportive filmmaking community throughout the festival.

I met a handful of people at this festival that I know i will work with in the future. I met the beautiful Swedish filmmaker Maria Tornberg who wrote, directed, and starred in the awesome short, “Never be Mine”.

I also met the filmmakers of the short film “Moose Cock”. They were a great group of guys, and now I keep bumping into them everywhere. You should check their short if you can. We thought the title to our two films might make a great double feature, so we are working on it....

Dirty Mary’s Second Film Festival - New York’s Nolita Film Festival

Wed, 7 Dec 2005 21:00:00 -0800

I decided just to stay in New York a little longer after the New York Home Fest, since we got into another festival right around the corner, ( and all my best friends live in New York) This festival was located in a cute little area on Bleeker Street. It was fun, and quant. Dirty Mary made it to the finals for “Best Short Film”. Then I decided it was time to get the frost bite off my ass and come back home to sunny LA!

Dirty Mary’s First Film Festival- New York Home Festival

Tue, 29 Nov 2005 10:39:59 -0800

This was Dirty Mary’s first festival, so I decided to make the trip to New York n’ represent.... and I was very glad I did. I met some really great people including Roy Frumkes, writer/producer/director who is editor-in-chief of Films in Review. He gave me the Jury Award for “Best Comedic Actress” and also invited me to speak to his class at the School for Visual Arts where he teaches. That was a great experience. I really enjoyed speaking with his students and encouraging them to just get out and do it.

Photo: Roy Frumkes and Daniele Ferraro