Screening Time for LA Shorts Fest

Christine McBride keeping the rain off Nathan and James. Luckily the storm didn't last long.


Just got the word today from the LA Shorts Fest. Dry Rain will be screening with a group of films, much like in Seattle, on August 20th at 9:45pm. Typically in these short film festivals, they group a number of films together to get to about an hour and a half or so. It is always interesting to see the other films and who you are up against. Hopefully the 9:45pm time slot will allow lots of people to see it and especially the jury.

So who's going to L.A.? We gotta meet up before hand. I know there are lots of people we know in L.A. We hope to see you all out there.

L.A. Shorts Fest!

I just got the email today. Dry Rain is an official selection to the 2008 L.A. Shorts Fest. The festival runs August 15th through the 21st in Hollywood. L.A. Shorts Fest is one of the premier short film festivals in the world. In past years 30 participating films have earned Academy Award nominations, with 9 filmmakers actually taking home the Oscar.

We don't have exact screening times and location just yet, but we should know within the next couple of weeks. We'll keep you posted on this festival and the many others we've submitted to!

Recording Session Photos

I just came across these. I took some photos during our recording session at The House of Sound back in March. Chris White assembled a great group of musicians to put the score together. Here's the photos: Chris White and Jamie Maker work on a sketch of one of the tracks for Dry Rain. Maggie, my black lab, recovers from a long day on the floor.

Jamie working the pedal steal.

Aaron Saye is the percussionist behind the tracks in Dry Rain. He put an amazing spin on it and really added some great energy to the mix. Aaron's skills as a drummer/percussionist are amazing.

Chris White, the man himself, at the keyboard working his magic.

Jared Dunn jumped into the booth for an improptu stint with us on the acoustic guitar. Jared just came by to talk with Chris about recording an album. We put him in the booth and he rocked. Nice job Jared.

One Reel Festival

Dry Rain was just recently invited to screen at the One Reel Festival here in Seattle during Bumbershoot 2008. The music and arts festival runs from August 30th through September 1st at the Seattle Center.

The One Reel Festival will be the second chance to see Dry Rain in Seattle. Dry Rain first premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival back on May 31st. You'll get a chance to see Dry Rain in HD rather than our preferred 35mm format print, but the HD version looks stellar.

Exact times and dates of the screenings at the One Reel Festival will be posted soon. Keep an eye out here on the Dry Rain Blog or check out the Bumbershoot website.

A look back at SIFF

May 31st was our first public screening of Dry Rain. It was great to be able to sit with a big crowd and hear, feel and see people's reactions to the story. It was a surprise at some moments when people laughed and it was poignant when people sighed or felt uneasy. It is hard to predict those reactions, but I was please by the vibe I was getting from the crowd.

After the screening, we had a Q&A with some of the other filmmakers joining up front. I think that's always pretty cool to be able to hear people's interests and curiosities about a film. The down side was that there wasn't much questioning going on. At one point, I asked questions of the other filmmakers! So the next time you go to a screening and the Director, Producer, Writer or Cast is up in front of everyone, ask a questions! There's always something to learn from the people that have gone through the process of making a film. Just my two cents worth.

One of my more memorable Q&A's with a director was with Oliver Stone. He screened THE DOORS at our school when I was in college. It was intriguing to hear about the heartaches of making that film. He was engaging and funny and insightful. People asked a lot of questions and he obliged with great thoughts on his process.

One of the Q&A's I wish I had seen was when Cinematographer Christopher Doyle (The Quiet American, Rabbit Proof Fence, Hero, Paranoid Park). He's an amazing cinematographer and a very enthusiastic presenter. He speaks his mind and often has hilarious tales of filmmaking. He's passionate about his craft and you feel that when you hear him speak. Of course, I've only witnessed it on Youtube, but I also hear he's great in person!

SIFF didn't recognize DRY RAIN for any acheivements other than placing us in the film. No Jury prizes or anything like that. We did gain some interesting acknowledgement from some other festivals. We've been invited to submit to a couple. More on that as the details unfold.

For those of you that made it out to the screening, thanks for coming! We'll have another at Bumbershoot. Stay tuned for more info on that.

Thanks!!

Props from the Stranger

(Nathan Gamble on the set of Dry Rain in Helmville, Montana waiting out some weather.)

Just opened this week's Seattle Stranger. We got our first newspaper reviews! The Stranger's Annie Wagner paid us a double edged compliment. I guess that goes with the territory. Thanks Annie!

Here's the blurb: "...One of the better locally produced shorts in the festival, Matthew J. Clark's Dry Rain is in...it's about a noncustodial parent (James Le Gros) spiriting his unusually bright kid (Tacoma native Nathan Gamble) across the Canadian Border for a "vacation." The acting is great, and the little prodigy isn't even annoying"

Like I said, we'll take all the props we can get!

The Film runs at SIFF on May 31st at 4 p.m. in the SIFF Cinema in Seattle Center. Dry Rain runs in a program of other shorts. So you'll get to see it stacked up against films from South Africa, Scotland, Australia, the UK and other U.S. Films.

Annie went on to say that the program, All in the Family, is the darker family-themed shorts package (if you want kid-friendly fare, see The Family Picture Show). I for one can't wait to see some of the other films. Should be cool.

See you there.

SIFF Official Selection

Dry Rain is an official selection to the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival! We're really excited about being in our home town fest. The screening will be Saturday, May 31 4:00 pm, SIFF Cinema. Go to the SIFF Website and buy your tickets now!