LAFF, Take 3

As I’ve been promoting for what seems like months, LAFF finally went down this past Saturday. We had good vibes going in. Our lineup was strong, buoyed by an Oscar winner, and being our second year, we knew the setup of Penn Cinemas and how to work the projection equipment.

The day was overcast with some rain expected, which is always great for movies in the theater. We met up with Bryan shortly before 11 and Penn (theater owner) greeted us as we entered. There was a slight change in venues. Theater 10, where we showed films last year, was being used for a live link-in to the Met in NYC for the opera Le Comte. The films scheduled for that theater were moved to Theater 5.

As Penn led us to the tables, we were surprised to see this:


Penn rolled out a red carpet for us!! We took a couple of pictures with my family on the red carpet.

My wife and father-in-law on the red carpet.

My parents and daughter on the red carpet.

We had a good turnout. We’re still awaiting final numbers, but at one point both theaters (seating at least 100 people) were ¾ full.

Our sign led people to the theater.

God of Love, as expected, was a hit. That theater was standing room only during the screening. I was told Old Scratch got a great reaction. I kind of left after it was over. I got a nice surprise, seeing the movie with my college roommates, Chris Deatline and Jim Stritch. Jim lives about a mile from the theater and had to work, but was able to attend.

HxV, my son’s entry, was also well-received. He opened the fest and got laughs and a nice ovation. Brian even recognized him during the intro by putting his picture on the big screen. It’s sad he couldn’t see it, as he wasn’t there.

In addition to making films and playing sports, my son also plays cello. He was selected for a six-county concert, which was also held April 9. His concert was at 3. We were able to accommodate this by having him open the festival. His mom didn’t tell me that this concert was an all-day thing. He spent the morning learning the songs and then rehearsing. He got to see it on YouTube and was happy to have it turn out like it did.

I got to meet Martin Binder, director of Quick Shop, who lives in nearby Macungie. I also met Lauren Conoscenti, of Lititz, who directed Return to Red Jade. She works in post-production in NYC.

Lauren, with hat, and Martin, back left, pose with LAFF crew.

The LAFF-ter party was at Bryan’s again and we had a good time. Jon, who played Ned in Old Scratch, and Catherine Giarruso, of Massachusetts, who screened Cleaning House, attended.

All in all, the festival was a success. And we’ll be back next year, as Bryan told us Penn was talking to him about next year before we even got started.

In Old Scratch news, we’re going to tweak it some more in the next couple of weeks. I am already working on a festival strategy as far as submissions. I plan on submitting to as many local fests as I can and also some IMDB-eligible ones. And look for Old Scratch online at the end of the month.

As always, check out stunodpictures.com for a release schedule and festival information.