Festival Updates!

Hey guys!

I've been meaning to update you all after "Dawn" had it's premiere at the Macon Film Festival, but I haven't had a chance to sit down and write it all up. And then more cool stuff happened. Like this:


And then before I could write you about how awesome that was... Bam!


So, yeah, I decided I should sit down and write this out before too much more happened, and I lost track of what to tell you. So here's an overdue update for you all...

The Charleston International Film Festival (held in Charleston, SC) runs from April 11th-15th. "Dawn" will be screened on the last day of the festival, April 15th at 1:00pm at the Cinebarre Theater in Mt. Pleasant. This is one of the festivals I was really hoping to be accepted to, because both Boogie Dabney (The Carpenter) and Daniel Jones (Skinner) are from Charleston. David Walton Smith, our Line Producer, lives in Charleston as well. And Frank Ponce, Producer, worked a stint at the Cinebarre when he lived there. So, yeah, I'm pretty stoked about playing in Charleston! In a way, "Dawn" has always felt like a Charleston production. If you want to go (and you should want to go), you can order your tickets here.

And then being accepted into the Greenville International Film Festival (located in, you got it, Greenville, SC) was one giant cherry on top. This will be GVIFF's inaugural year, and I love the thought of playing at the beginning of, what I'm sure will be, a successful festival program. Their dates are April 25th-28th, so my April is looking pretty booked; which I love! Screening times haven't been posted for "Dawn" yet, but I'll let you know when they are.

And then there's Macon. The Macon Film Festival was great. The people who run the festival are incredibly cool, and the locals are so fantastic that I really hated to leave. It was as if their happiness was determined upon the filmmakers' happiness... and believe me, they wanted to be happy. We were shown great films, and and even better times out on town. If you ever find yourself in Macon, do yourself a favor and go to The Rookery. Fantastic burgers (or so I hear, I had a fantastic Veggie Burger). And ask for Rhi. She's great!

Riley with the "Jimmy Carter." Yes that's peanut butter.

So "Dawn" didn't bring home any awards, but we had two very successful screenings! We had nice audiences for both screenings, and everyone that came up to me after the film told me how much they loved it. It was very rewarding to hear positive feedback from people who had no expectations going in, and had only heard about the film from the program or by word of mouth. Very cool experience, and because of this experience, I cannot wait till we screen "Dawn" again!

During the festival, I met some talented filmmakers, who also turned out to be pretty great people. The first group I met were down from Fort Worth, Texas. Their film was the talk of the town, and if you had one of their buttons, it was as if you were in the Cool Club. Riley, Beetle, and Naaman are Shut up and Prance, and they make funny films. Do yourself a favor and check out their website, watch the videos, and laugh. Be sure to check out the trailer to "The Legend of Pimp Jacket." It killed in Macon!

"Shut up and Prance"

The next group of guys I met brought with them a slick drama, filmed in LA, called "Cab 57." You should check out their site immediately, and look for it to be playing in a festival near. These guys are doing cool some cool things. Can't wait to see what they do next.

And on the other end of the spectrum... "A Sister's Call" is one emotional roller coaster ride of a documentary. This film was excellent! I don't won't to spoil one thing about the film. Click here, and order a DVD. You won't be disappointed.

OH, and how can I forget about JuBee and The Captain! These guys pretty much ran the town, and showed us all a great time down in Macon. Check out their band "JuBee and the Morning After" and watch their new video. Also, go vote for them here, so they can have a chance to play at this year's SXSW!

JuBee and The Captain from "JuBee and the Morning After"

Well, that about wraps it up. Tomorrow I'll be in the studio with Wesley Grant Fleming recording the commentary for the DVD of "Dawn." Maybe I'll get some video and put together another little vlog. Been a long time coming.

Hanging with the Shut up and Prance & "Cab 57" guys on my last night in Macon!

Thanks for the continued support! Couldn't do any of this without you all!

-- Joshua

Macon Film Festival Showtimes

Hey guys!

I wanted to pass along to you our showtimes for the Macon Film Festival this February. I'm not familiar with the Macon area, but all these venues should be downtown and easy to locate with your fancy smartphone (or Google if fancy smartphones are not a part of your daily life). Anyways, here are the times and locations:

• Friday 17th, 1:40 p.m. -- 567 Center for Renewal
• Saturday 18th, 12:20 p.m. -- Cox Capitol Theatre
  

If you are around the area, we would really love to have you come down and watch the film with us. If you're not.... Maybe plan a trip?

Also, here is the updated trailer. Well it's really the same trailer, but it has the color corrected images in place of the raw image you've been watching.

Enjoy!

Updates!!!

Once again...

It has been far too long since I have updated you all on "Dawn". But to be honest, there hasn't been too much to update you on. Until now.

First, let me start by saying that the screening in Savannah this past November went well. It was nice to see the film blown up on the big screen, and though there were a few technical problems near the end, I believe it was a very good screening. Thank you again to all of you that could make it out.

And for those of you who were unable to attend, maybe this will be good news for you! "Dawn" is now an Official Selection of the Macon Film Festival!




This is our first film festival, and we couldn't be more excited then to screen it here in Georgia. The Macon Film Festival has been running for seven years now, and word on the street is, it's a great festival to attend. So if you are around the area, or just want to make the trip over, come on downtown to watch "Dawn" on one of their two historic theaters. The festival runs February 16th - 19th.

Next, I wanted to let you know that we have not forgotten the rewards for our Kickstarter Backers. The major reason they have not been shipped off yet is, well, I didn't feel like the movie was ready to be screened. After watching the film on the big screen, I had a few more issues I wanted to work out. It took awhile, but as of now, these issues should be wrapped up by this weekend. Another reason they are not ready is Wesley Fleming, our Executive Producer, and I want to record a commentary track for the DVD. The recording session has had to wait due to SCAD being closed for the holidays. We are trying to get studio time next week, and I'll update you on that once we are in the recording studio. The posters have been ordered, and we are waiting for the proofs to come in so we can check the quality. Should get that in the morning.

As for the DVD, here's what we were thinking of including for you all:

Commentary track with Director and Executive Producer,
The original Kickstarter video,
A special message to our backers,
A collection of some of our Volgs,
Behind the Scenes Video

If any of you guys want to see anything special on the DVD, let us know. We'll see what we can do. And as a apology, I think I'll upload the Behind the Scenes video for you guys, so you can see it a bit early. Our editor, Kevin Ray, has done an excellent job putting it together. It's short, but I think you will get a sense of how special a shoot it was.

Anyways, that's where we are at. We thank you for your patience, and once more, We thank you for your support. Please, try and see this film in the theaters if you can. It's your film as much as it is ours.

-- Joshua Matthews