Indy Fringe Film Festival

The Indy Fringe Film Festival has been going on for the past couple weeks. The third and final week is Labor Day weekend and I was lucky enough to be back in Indy to be a part of it.

My mom and I went downtown and to the Lockerbie Center area to put up Getting Lucky posters at local businesses, restaurants, and store fronts. It was nice to see so many generous people willing to support my film and the film festival. Not only was I putting up posters for the screening of Getting Lucky at the Indy Fringe Festival, but I also put up and handed out flyer's for my next film, No One Island. People were very responsive and were intrigued by the fact that I was a native Hoosier and had a film in the local film festival!

The screening was on Saturday. We entered a beautiful building downtown where the architecture appeared to be early Victorian constructed around the 1890's. On the ground floor was a hip coffee house with all kinds of art work displayed from artists from around the city.

I got a latte and within minutes my friend, Erin Patrick came in with her mom, her friend, and Erin's boyfriend. It was good to see them all and seeing Erin again was a treat--I haven't seen her in years.

Next, my friend from when I was 6 years old, Holly, came in with her sister Karen. Holly gave me a big hug and said to me "I knew you would be a big star by all the shows we use to put on for people at your house." Wow, she has a good memory! Again, it's good to see her and her sister and it was nice to reminisce and catch up.

I then got a call from one of my dearest friends, Judith,--- she was lost. I went outside and flagged her down and showed her where to park. She is one my closest friends and I was thrilled to have her be a part of seeing Getting Lucky on the big screen.

The film festival was about to start so we all filed into the screening room/area. It's always a bit nerve wracking when you screen your film. I knew I was surrounded by people that loved and supported me, but there were other people there that I didn't know --maybe because I'm my own worst critic---in any event, I was nervous and excited at the same time.

We got upstairs and there was a decent crowd--granted I had quite a posse come out and support me and my film, but for Labor Day weekend, when most people go away for the long holiday, I was glad to see a nice crowd come out and support the Indy Fridge Festival.

I was intrigued by this particular short film line up. There were six films and Getting Lucky was the only comedy in the line up. There were several dark, heavy, dramas and several with some graphic violence. When Getting Lucky came on the screen, people were laughing continuously. It probably was to my benefit, as Getting Lucky was the comedic relief from the other films. People seemed to thoroughly enjoying it.

Afterwards, my friends, mom, and I went down to the coffee house on the ground floor and chatted about the various films as well as talked about Getting Lucky. We literally shut the place down on a Saturday night!

As I was thanking my friends for coming to the screening and saying good-bye to them, I thought to myself, this was truly special--to see my film on the big screen with the love and support of family and friends. It truly meant a great deal to me, so I want to take a moment to thank all who came out to the Indy Fridge Film Festival to support the festival and my film, Getting Lucky.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I was literally exhausted the next day. I had been running non-stop for the past 4 days and my body was now saying, "enough". I went up to see my dad and spent some time with him. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather, sunny, and about 75 degrees. I went for a swim in the lake and simply relaxed. It was a nice lazy Sunday and I did just that.

I was a little sad leaving Indy on Monday. I had such an amazing week, but more importantly, I was not only able to share my film with my family and friends, but I also was able to spend some time with them, which is probably the greatest gift of all---time.

Indy

My home town--Indy.

Actually, Indy is Indianapolis, but everyone from there calls it Indy. I love the nickname--maybe because I'm Indie Filmmaker and the name has some relevance. But more importantly, it's a beautiful part of the country and a great place to grow up. Home of the 2007 Super Bowl Champions --- the Colts. (yes, I'm a big fan!) I cherish my hometown and the the great values it instilled in me. I enjoy coming back and seeing my family, friends, and the wonderful, gracious people of Indy.

There's something about screening a film that you have toiled over: where you have shed your blood, sweat, and tears, in making your vision into a reality--and bringing your film back to your hometown to share with your family and friends--that makes for a truly special, worthwhile event. I consider it a treat and an amazing gift to share my film and to have it screened in my hometown.

I had literally just wrapped my film, No One Island,(see more details about the film at: www.tigereyeprod.com) when I received the email that Getting Lucky was selected for the Indy Fringe Festival! I was already planning on going back to Indy to visit with my family and friends and now having Getting Lucky be a part of the Fringe Film Festival was an added bonus!

I started my PR campaign --I only had 2 weeks to get the word out that a local gal has made good in Hollywood and is now coming back to Indy to screen her film.

I was touched and even a bit surprised as to how many people were interested and even fascinated by my story . They were intrigued that my film was coming to Indy and being screened at the local festival. I got 2 great write ups--one in in the Indianapolis Star (thanks Susan!) and the other in InTake Magazine--written by Matt Gonzales, (thank you, Matt) where I got "Pick of the Week" for the screening of Getting Lucky!

The Indianapolis Star mentioned me and my film, which caused my website hits to triple in number! Friends that I hadn't seen since high school were contacting me, congratulating me, and told me they were planning on attending the screening.

I landed an interview on WISH-TV the CBS affiliate where I discussed the film and the festival on their noon program. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous, as I hadn't done a LIVE broadcast before. I did a radio interview in Scotland--but no one could actually see me --here I'm being SEEN and HEARD!

I was lead onto the set of the newscast and sat on the couch where they conduct their in-studio interviews. The producer, Janine Garner, was very sweet and gracious and said to me: "You're going to be fantastic!" She seemed very confident and stated this as if it were fact--at that point, I wasn't so sure. Thanks for bolstering me up, Janet!

To my relief, I realized I had nothing to worry about. One of the anchors, David Barras, and the weather guy were cracking jokes during commercial breaks, which made me laugh and put me at ease.

When it came time for the interview I wasn't really nervous -- and it was actually fun. During the interview, they showed photo stills from the film and listed my website as well --- Yay! Talk about great PR! And thanks David, for putting me at ease before the interview.

Afterwards, we took some photos on-set and then Andrea (the anchor woman who interviewed me) said: "Keep in touch, I'd like to do a follow-up story when you come back into town with your next film, No One Island." Sweet! Thank you Andrea!

After the interview, I had a barrage of phone calls from family and friends commenting on how great the interview went. Whew---thank goodness.

My mom came down to the station with me and afterwards she was beaming-- so sweet! We decided to celebrate and grab some lunch where we met up with our friend, Marty. She is such a great, funny, lovely person. She gave me the biggest hug and congratulated me.

What an incredible experience! It was wonderful to be in my hometown, receive such a warm reception, and connect with my fellow Hoosiers. Special thanks to Janine Garner and WISH-TV for being so gracious. I'm truly grateful for all the opportunities that this film has afforded me and I feel blessed to bring Getting Lucky to my hometown and share it with everyone that came to the screening--and to think... this is only the beginning!