The Premiere!
The Virgins World Premiere happened last Thursday at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary, NC. The film looked fantastic on the big screen though the best part was probably the Q&A session after the film where actress Kristi Ray, production assistant Marianne Meador, and myself field questions from the audience. The questions showed real engagement with the material, which is what every filmmaker
Actress Kristi Ray and Production Assistant Marianne Meador. (photo by Greg O'Rear)
wants and loves, and I managed to answer some tough theme-related questions in a predominantly coherent manner. Afterward I got to meet some people and sell a couple of DVDs – overall the night was a success. Thank you to everyone who came out!
Also on that night, an interesting phenomenon happened. Supporters who bought the DVD during the fundraising pre-sale received their DVDs a couple weeks ahead of the premiere, giving them the chance to see the film before anyone else (the least I could do for those people who had faith enough in my efforts to pre-purchase the DVD). A lot of them did not watch the film however, waiting for the premiere because either A.) they were able to come to the premiere and thus wanted to see the film on the big screen first or B.) they could not attend the premiere but wanted to share in that excitement by planning little tiny premieres of their own, inviting people to screenings in their homes. These sort of grassroots screenings, these satellite premieres, seem similar to the intent of the creators of OpenIndie, who are establishing a system for organizing these types of screenings all over the country for the films they represent, effectively skipping some of the headaches of a typical theatrical distribution and getting the film to the audience in an ever-more direct way. Thanks to those who put on satellite premieres in Atlanta, D.C., and Massachusetts!
Future screenings are in the works! Check back for more news.
A mini red carpet rolled out for the Cape Cod satellite premiere (photo by Jan Urquhart)
That is awesome! Glad to hear the premier went well and that there has been lots of support!