Reaching out

We will be at the Rafael Theater in San Rafael California in two weeks for the World Premiere. World Premiere sounds a bit grandiose, but it will be a milestone in any case, and a treat to see the film on the big screen. Of course there are all sorts of new things to learn in this process.

For one, I have a very awkward system for notifying people, and I need to find a way to make it more fluid. If I just want to notify Facebook people who live near where the film is being viewed, I have to go through my entire "friend" list and remember who lives where, or go to their page to find out. That may change as Facebook is coming up with a new format, but I think it will still require me becoming more organized. It is even worse with people who I contact through emails. Any suggestions about simple ways to sort my email lists are welcome!

Then there is publicity material. I went through one round of this as we submitted to festivals, but print media is different. We spent hours this week looking for better quality photos that would print well in a newspaper. Reuben Raffael came to our aide once more with a wonderful poster, but then I realized I had given him the wrong dimensions for the theater's big poster, so Tom and I put to use all the mentoring both Reuben and our son Jesse had provided and (in many times the amount of time it would have taken either of them) we re-sized it! We are biting into our publicity budget, and not at all sure how much of anything we should purchase at this point, so are probably underestimating some things and overestimating others!

We have now conducted four formal phone interviews. They have not gotten easier yet! After each one we have a reflection time on what we said and what we might have said, but in the heat of the moment I tend to get very worked up and wordy about the false promise of assessing growth through standardized testing. Passion is supposed to be good--not so much proselytizing.

I got some important practice standing in front of audiences at the Lark Theater for the Q&A after screenings of Race To Nowhere, but I am still nervous about the Q&A at the Rafael. One reassuring thing is that I imagine it will be led by one of two people I have been working with through the California Film Institute, and they are both very sympathetic people to talk to. Can't make up my mind if it will be easier or harder having many friends in the audience.

I know it is a good thing that nothing is standing still while we prepare for this, but it surely is a balancing act that is unlikely to slow down for a while. I'm glad we took time off for the holidays! Guess I better go back to mailing invitations, and maybe rework the poster into a postcard? What have I forgotten??

To reserve tickets for the Rafael screening, January 27 at 7pm go to http://www.cafilm.org/rfc/films/1505.html