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Don

So I missed blogging about day four because I was simply too tired and I fell asleep after a late night of films and parties. So I will combine day four and five into one. Yesterday we saw the films Pound Cake, Line in the Sand, American Gothic, and 2:22. Pound Cake would have to be my favorite of the day. It was original, it took place in the 80's, it demonstrates good storytelling of complex family relationships, the majority of the performances were fantastic, the overall entertainment value was superb, and I didn't find myself checking my cell phone for the time or texts. I have to admit, I really enjoyed 2:22 and the precinct scenes in Line in the Sand . The award ceremony was a little dysfunctional, lights going on and off, wrong clips getting played, trophies being mixed up and lost, but then everyone just played it fast and loose. Despite the set backs and wrong cues everyone seemed to rolling with the punches quite well.

We started day three with a workshop featuring oscar winning actor Alan Arkin, Oscar nominated actor James Cromwell, and award winning actor Giancarlo Esposito. Again, it was great to listen to these veterans of the film world talk about making their way through good times and bad. Following the workshop my movie had it's world premiere. This was an interesting experience. First, Jon Bowman, one of the directors and founder of the film festival, was kind enough to show up and introduce my film to the audience. I know he is a busy guy but I am happy he wanted to do so. Before my movie showed there was a short film, Serving the Soul , about psycho-surgery in the 1930's - 60's. It focused on the use of lobotomies especially in the case of Rosemary Kennedy. I'm really pretty pissed that this film was programed with mine. Not because the film is bad, it is actually quite interesting.

Today was interesting. As it is one o'clock in the morning and I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow, I am going to try to be brief. We started the day having lunch with some friends here in Santa Fe (Jessie and Matt) who seem to be pretty excited about coming on Sunday and hope to bring some of their friends to the show as well. Thanks for your support guys, you are awesome. After that I went to a workshop on film composing where I listened to Michael Stearn (Baraka) and Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) speak about their art and working within the film industry. It was great to listen to their stories and experiences as they have made their careers in this industry. These guys have made a life out of collaborating with other artists, which is exactly what I'm looking to do. They are truly at the top of their fields, and while I'm not a composer a lot of what they say crosses over to all areas of filmmaking.

Well, the 2008 Santa Fe Film Festival has officially begun. We spent the day getting ourselves organized and orientated with the city. I have to admit that the desert is beautiful this time of year... and cold. I want to give a quick shout out to the local stores around Santa Fe that have been helping us promote, Timeship Racing Skate School and indoor skate park, Beyond the Waves Mountain Surf Shop, and Hastings Entertainment. Thanks for helping us get the word out around town, the buzz seems to be spreading. We even managed to get a a good write up in the Santa Fe Reporter. Hopefully we can keep building momentum as we get closer to the screenings. Tonight we saw our first film, the gala presentation of Steven Soderbergh's Che': The Argentine with Benicio Del Toro. Tomorrow night we will watch part two, Che: The Guerilla . This film is an impressive start to what is sure to be a great festival.

Santa Fe Film Schedule

Click here to find out when and where Dropping In will be playing while in Santa Fe. And if you are planning on going, create an account on the site and plan your whole festival experience.

That's right! Dropping In: The True Story of Don Wimmer has been chosen as an official selection for this year's Santa Fe Film Festival (Dec 3- Dec 7, 2008). For those fans in the New Mexico area, or for those of you interested in going, our premiere will be December 5th, at 4:45 PM and the venue is Warehouse 21 (1614 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, New Mexico). For anyone who can't make it but is interested in finding out more, our film's director will be blogging here, live from the festival, to update fans worldwide. We appreciate everyone's love and support for the film so far, and we hope to keep finding more fans as we head down this new road. Look for links about the festival and information about the Dropping In premiere on the links page. Wish us luck - and in the immortal words of skate legend Don Wimmer, "Now we're talkin'. Now we're skatin'!"