Cleveland International Film Festival

I’ll keep this short.  I want to start by saying how excited we are to be showing Out of Place in front of the home crowd.  Here are the dates and times:

All screenings at Tower City Cinemas

**Friday March 19 at 9:35 pm

**Sunday March 21 at 9:20 am

**Monday March 22 at 5:00 pm

You have to get your tickets plenty of time in advance, especially for the Friday showing.   We are expecting sell out crowds. General public tickets ($12) go on sale 11:00 am on MARCH 5th.

PLEASE NOTE:  If you get them in person at the Tower City Box Office you’ll avoid a $2 service charges on each ticket.  If you buy at least ten tickets the price goes down to $8 each.

To buy tickets online visit www.clevelandfilm.org.

If the show is sold out, you can still have a shot at getting in. You’ll  need to buy standby tickets, lineup an hour early and see if there is still space available come movie time. If you don’t get in your tickets will be refunded…then you’ll be forced to wait until we put the movie out on LaserDisc.

We’ll have the film soundtrack, shirts and posters for sale. They will be very cool, and as usual, a very small percentage of the proceeds will go to the Vince Labbe Foundation for Misguided Teens.

We welcome you, your family and friends to come out and experience Out of Place. We love having the opportunity to present our surfing culture at the Cleveland International Film Festival. For us the surfers and the pursuit of life on the water has been a tremendous source of inspiration. We hope you enjoy the movie.

Santa Barbara Report

Okay, so we got back from California a week ago. I was supposed to be blogging from Santa Barbara. Sorry. What can I say, we are slackers.  But to tell you the truth, the trip was one of those experiences that required a few days to really figure out.

First of all Santa Barbara is absolutely beautiful.  More than beautiful, it’s stunning. Plus everyone we met was absolutely great. It was a rush to be in a place where everyone has so much passion and dedication for their film festival.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget walking through the crowded streets and feeling a part of something special. That’s just the way it is there. I can totally see why the place is a magnet for the privileged and the elite, the artists and drifters.  And the Hollywood crowd resides.  There was Jeff Bridges, James Cameron, Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts among others.  It was a long way from Cleveland.

We were very lucky to have our good friend Kim there.  She had been doing marketing at the festival for years.  Thanks to her we got all kinds of inside information and were able to meet just about everyone in town.  And according to those people all of the excitement was surrounding one film, 180 South. This is  the Patagonia sponsored doc by the Malloy Brothers.  The fact that a surfing film was getting so much attention really peaks volumes about the character of Santa Barbara.

After 180 South premiered Kurt managed to sneak into the afterparty.  His covertness and stealth allowed the opportunity to talk up Out of Place with some of the biggest names in the surfing industry. Kurt got to hang with the Malloys, Jeff Johnson and even Yvon Chouinard from Patagonia.  Everyone seemed really interested in our film, which to be honest was a good feeling.

Finally it was time for us to screen.  We played to some good crowds and had some interesting Q & A after. Darrin spoke of Hypothermia and Tom was down right eloquent.  It was nice to see Wendy, one of the volunteers I met earlier that day. She only had time to see one film, and she chose to hang with us.  I also met an older woman who had screened in the festival 25 years before.  You could tell that was an accomplishment that even today filled her with love and nostalgia.

There were more than a couple people from Ohio too. I love how people from Cleveland have been finding their way to our film. It’s so nice to hear from those who still have their heart in the city.

We made some good contacts with the media, and we gave in depth interviews to the best in town. The Santa Barbara Teen Press.  It was so amazing hearing Todd getting all existential with a reporter who may have been twelve. At least he didn’t advocate illicit drug use for minors (Vince) or ramble like an idiot (me).

I have to really thank the sports category Director, Russ Spencer. This guy is incredible. Russ was premiering his own film,  Hana Surf Girls, so it was a great week for him. Remember that title. Believe me, that is one movie that people everywhere are just going to love.  Like everyone else, Russ was  so cool to us.  I’ll always remember him for his friendship and support.

There were many aspects of Santa Barbara that had me thinking about our premier at the New York Surf Film Festival.  Now you can’t imagine two totally different places. Yet both amazing in their own right.  Both experience were highlighted by being around friends, family and getting the chance to meet all kinds of  nice people.  As far as I’m concerned, both festivals were mind blowing in their own right. And speaking on New York, we had another fortunate meeting with the beautiful and talented Director of Women and the Waves, our friend Heather Hudson. She gave me a free dvd this time, so stay tuned for movie night at my house.

In all, we still have a lot to learn as artists if we want to make it in the film world.  But we are absolutely lucky to have the continued support of our good friends. I vividly remember the sound of Todd’s voice (You were supposed to be in Alabama!) waking me up on Friday. It was classic.  Getting to spend time with Tom, Darrin and Darrin’s sister DJ who provided some hilarious commentary to our failures…..watching my friends Matt and KevDog and my family playing Sorry in the living room….hearing the serious tone of Kurt’s voice as he talked about how hot Julia Roberts actually is in person….seeing Kim and Jalama and Roondog again….knowing that Vince and Todd got to surf some of the most scenic breaks in all of California….it all makes for an incredible experience that I’ll try and hold on to.

Anyway, I was glad to be able to spend a few days in the sun, searching out over the blue pacific.  Just trying to live in the present, but all the while wondering what the future holds.

Scott

p.s. See evidence of Kurt and his clandestine sneaking here!

http://blogs.surfingmagazine.com/news/when-nature-calls/

Incredible new artwork

We were approached by graphic artist Lizzy Lee wanting to use Out Of Place as the subject for a design assignment for a class she teaches at Cleveland Institute of Art . The results are great. I want to thank all the artists for their hard work and creativity. They were all great and a few really touch on the essence of the movie. Here is a sample of some of the posters.

We incorporated the blue and red poster into a postcard that is being printed in Santa Barbara as we speak.   Thanks Lizzy.  I definitely want to collaborate on the soundtrack and dvd design.  Not to mention we need an official movie poster….I have some ideas. We need it to be iconic. Think of the DayGlo Endless Summer.  Can we capture the spirit of our times, Cleveland, and surfing in a poster? Hell yes. Stay tuned for that…..In the meantime check out Lizz Lee’s design firm here (www.riniuvalee.com)

Official Selection: Santa Barbara

Outside there is melting ice out on Lake Erie. Just two weeks ago everyone in my neighborhood was shoveling snow and still reveling in Christmas. Today it’s the sounds of wind and rain. Maybe you live some place with better weather. From here you can travel north, south, east and west and you’ll eventually find it. On a personal note, I just realized the dried fruit mix I just ate had expired in 2007. I’ll keep you updated on what happens with that!

Anyhow, I must interrupt this malaise to bring on some really good news. You’ve read the heading so you know that we’re bringing the Lake Show to the welcoming shores of Santa Barbara. And I cannot think of a better town for our California premier. Gotta give some major props to former Cleveland surfer and current Santa Barbara resident Jalama Jim, his wife Kim and festival programmer Russ Spencer for all of their guidance on what is certain to be a great experience. We will keep you updated.

Oh yeah, check out this new article featuring Santa Barbara in Drift Magazine. There are some revealing insights on artistry and shaping, along with the beautiful iconic imagery which is characteristic of Drift.

http://driftsurfing.com/features/2009/concept_crafts/p1.html

More news on Santa Barbara to follow soon I promise…

An Interview with Marcos

Like a good number of surfers here in Cleveland, Marcos is from someplace else. He’s got some skills, one of those people with that in born familiarity with the water;  the ability to always be in the best part of the wave.  Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Marcos and get his perspective on his side of the surfing life.

SD: Hi Marcos. I just drove by Edgewater, the waves looked like J-Bay or Pipeline, but shrunk down to 4 inches. Okay, first question’s the toughest, What’s your full name?