SquiggleBooth

There will be an hour of my films screened at this year’s All American Film Festival. My program will be part of a local filmmakers block that starts at 3pm on Saturday, March 8th at the Marvell Center, Durham. Dear Stranger, Indian Giver and (crowd favorite) Banana Bus will be among the films I will be screening. Of course, I will be there to answer questions and chit chat afterwards.

The All American Film Festival is a four day event that features some of the best local and national films including Slamdance Grand Jury Winner Abel Raises Cain. There will also be tons of local music. I expect to be jumping from one location to another to keep up with it all, should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there.

Update: Banana Bus wins Best North Carolina Film Award at the All American Film Festival. Woohoo! It was a fantastic festival, the audience were so smart and friendly, the films were incredible and the filmmakers who attended were a pleasure to meet. Can’t get better than that!

Along with giving and receiving gifts, driving to see family has become a holiday tradition. In these parts, as I drive by small towns, the silent glow of holiday lights bring out the warm fuzzies within me. The song is the theme music from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, composed by Jon Brion. A song that I can play in repeat forever. Seriously, can music get any prettier than this? Kelly and I have been dancing to this ever since I downloaded it, the video also tries to capture some of that. If you have never heard of the word Bokeh, check here. The upcoming new year will bring new videos, new people and, maybe, a new site. Happy Bokeh Holidays everyone!

As part of his retrospective, local filmmaker Todd Tinkam will screen my film Banana Bus on Saturday December 8th, 7pm at Carrboro’s Century Center Cinema. I have emailed everyone in the area that I could think of but if you haven’t received an email, it doesn’t mean you aren’t invited. Come, and bring people. It is going to be awesome on the big screen. Details:

The Carrboro Century Cinema will screen a collection of award-winning short films from TinkhamTown Productions, including the recently completed ALEXA, and the amazing family short, SADIE TURNS SEVEN, which has screened at more than 50 international film festivals this year, including the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival the 2007 Staten Island Film Festival, and the upcoming 2008 Short Film Festival of India. Admission is $4. Popcorn and soft drinks are free.

Layle McFatridge from MacMost has a flattering article about me and my relationship with the Mac. If you know me, you know how much I love my G5. It is just a tool but I love using it. The article also talks a little about my start as a filmmaker and videoblogger. Incredibly, Layle manages to make me sound coherent and also eloquent. Applause!

Ron Barba, one of our contributors, posted a recent recording of his comedy act on Youtube. I am so bloody proud, one of the best stand-ups I have ever seen.

There will be several videos from SquiggleBooth that will be screeened at the ConvergeSouth Film Festival this October. ConvergeSouth is the annual meet-up for bloggers from the South (the biggest of its kind), so if you are one, please make sure to come because it doesn’t get better than this. Last year, they had some great sessions with people like Robert Scoble and Elizabeth Edwards in attendance.

My videos should be playing on Saturday, October 20th between 8:15 and 9:30. All the details can be found here.

Squigglebooth is also got featured on MacMost. If you are Mac person, these podcasts are tailor-made for you.

It is kinda ironic that SquiggleBooth is receiving some of this attention especially since I have not posted a video in a month or so. However, in defense of this elongated vacation, I would like to state that the videos currently in production are more ambitious than our previous work and thus need a lot of tender love and care. Hope you understand.

If any of you live in North Carolina or close to, I invite you to the Ava Gardner Film Festival where there will be a retrospective of our work. The SquiggleBooth program will be held at Johnston County library in Smithfield, North Carolina. This program starts at 10am on Saturday, September 29th. There will be a Q&A after the screening.

Dear Stranger will be part of a shorts program that will be held at the Third Street theater in Smithfield. This program starts at 10:30am on Saturday, September 29th.

This is a short film I completed more than a year ago but has received little love in terms of marketing. After the film premiered at the Annapolis Film Festival last fall, promoting this film fell behind other projects that were in production. It belongs on the big screen but it certainly works on the small one, so here it is.

I had been running a blog that was dedicated to the film but I am no longer posting there. However, you can find all the important information that is relevant to the film on that site.

Here are the important players from the cast & crew:

• Rosie – Nikki Alikakos
• Gordon – Steven Lock
• Stranger – Michael Teh
• Voice-Over – Kelly Cook
• Rosie’s Friend – Maryse Karunaratne
• Still Photographer – Carl Gunhouse
• Music Composer – Hunter M. McDermott

Some of you have shown in interest in buying a DVD copy of this film, I am still hoping to do this but it will most likely be part of a larger DVD set. However, you can support this and other SquiggleBooth projects by donating to us. Click here for more information on our simple donating method.

My good friend, JaCynthia Shepherd, recalls her experiences on the Public School Bus system. It seems she received much of her education while riding to and from school. This video was originally supposed to be included in last month’s Videoblogging week.

The beautiful song is “She Was a Girl, She Was in Love” by Matt Baldwin. You can purchase it on iTunes. You can check out a slideshow of some of the photos here.

I am probably breaking some Videoblogging Week bylaw by posting a podcast that was not made this week. But the original Day 5 episode needed a little more tender love and care. The Fishtank Ferrari episode was one fragment of a bigger documentary project on tricked out cars. Sadly, the project was abandoned.

Credits:
Directed & Edited by Ajit Anthony Prem
Produced by Trevor Bayack
Shot by George Rivas

Sometimes, the best place to think is on the road. Music by Hisato Higuchi. Buy the album on iTunes. You can view or download the larger-sized photos or watch the slideshow.

I will be on a panel on videoblogging at the PodcampAtlanta (Un)Conference talking about SquiggleBooth. If any of you live in the area or can drive up, please do come and say hello.

The videoblogging panel will take place in Atlanta on Saturday, March 17 at 1:45pm in the Governor’s Hall room. I will stick around after the session, if anyone is interested.

Besides me, the other panelists are:
Kary Rogers – Inside Mr. KaryHead and Good Commitment
Erin Nealey – Mom’s Brag Vlog
Chris Daniel – nTune.tv and Chris Daniel’s Video Blog
Grayson Daughters – The Spacey Gracey Review

A pretty diverse group, it should be interesting. The discussion will be moderated by Ben Ramsey.

Directions and other info can be found here: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/PodcampAtlantaSessions
Please register here: http://podcamp.pbwiki.com/PodcampAtlantaRegistrants