Wrapping Up, Heading Home

We are still in Cannes. The Festival and the Marche are winding down. We are going to aim for one more screening this evening by attending the awards for the Un Certain Regard category. The awards ceremony will be followed by a screening of the winning film.

We are fortunate to have had some conversations with several Asian production company representatives and others in that market. The next step will be to do more script work and business planning so that we might be able to revisit a few of these companies and hopefully take the next step forward. We also need to knock on some doors in New York to see if we can generate some interest there.

At least the word is out that we have this project in hand and now is the right time for this film; two of the companies we spoke with, one from Taiwan and one from Japan had as many as twenty titles at the market and both of them only sold their singular and first lesbian themed films. I think that says a lot about the viability of the market for this sort of story. It may be taboo in Asia, but apparently taboo is cool and selling – at least in the western market. (They both sold to the North American market and in France.) That should be good news for us.

Homeward bound, Sarah

news from Cannes

News from Cannes
Wednesday May 23, 2007

Wow! There really isn’t anything quite like this festival. It is enormous and negotiating all the sections, people and opportunities is a feat. This year is the 60th Anniversary – all the more cause for additional celebration.

We are staying outside of Cannes in a hotel in the countryside. It is a pretty place near a very charming old village called Saint Paul. Tomorrow morning we plan to return there for a few hours and do some filming – why not make a short film on the fly while at the most prestigious film festival in the world?

We are beginning to meet with people and starting to find some connections – especially important to us are connections with people in the Taiwanese film industry.

Last night, however, we schmoozed at the Turkish Pavilion. Most notable among the few people I chatted with was a charming woman from Germany who is in Cannes for the first time, as are we, but she comes as the agent to one of the starring actresses in THE EDGE of HEAVEN, which is one of the feature films in competition. (And, may I note, a cross-cultural lesbian love story.) It makes its premiere this evening. How exciting. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get tickets to the main events, but with our super cool badges, we can get into second runs (if there are enough seats) and a number of other programs and screenings in the Market.

Things in our general favor: one of the feature films in Competition in the festival has a lesbian story-line. There are two Asian lesbian films in the Market. One is Japanese and the other is the Taiwanese lesbian film that we saw Monday night, SPIDER LILIES that got North American distribution yesterday (Congratulations Three Dots Entertainment and Wolfe).

I feel confident there is a market for CONTEMPLATING EMILY. It is a question of establishing interest in the project and developing the right relationships. There is no better place for us to be this week than right here at the Marché du Film as part of the Festival de Cannes, France.

Short Film Corner Cannes Film Festival and CineWomenNY Screening

Marilys and Sarah will be taking “Contemplating Emily” to the Short Film Corner 2007 as part of the Cannes Film Festival. This division is the marketing division for short films. It is the international crossroads for filmmakers and producers. The festival begins on May 16, 2007. We will be arriving on the 18th and will stay for 10 days. We are looking forward to meeting with others from the film community and pitching the feature film project.

Please wish us Bon Chance as we take another important step with our project.

Although we will be out of town on May 22, 2007, the show must go on. There is going to be a screening of “Contemplating Emily” via CineWomenNY. Please come if you can – especially if you haven’t seen the short. Contemplating Emily will be among a number of short films screened – the line up looks fantastic. All the films were selected because they share the following theme:

Poetic interpretations of how love and longing animate our relationships.

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2007 7:00PM TWO BOOTS PIONEER THEATER
155 E. 3rd Street, near corner of Avenue A
http://www.cinewomenny.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=38501


I wrote the following poem to share our exciting news about going to Cannes and to encourage our 500 plus fans to continue their unwavering support of this artistic endeavor. You too can become a patron of independent film and do so as a tax deduction by giving via our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas. Now would be the perfect time.

Best Always,
Sarah E. Shively

To market to market to push Contemplate
Home again home again welcomes our fate.

Perhaps we will sell or network or meet.
All will be steps in our challenging feat,
To turn our young pig into ham, pork or bacon
Takes all of our care, lovin’ and makin’.

In one week we leave for the French Riviera,
At Cannes they await us, Marilys and Sarah.

This is a big step, I’m sure you can guess,
Marché du Cannes is the best of the best
Where young auteurs with high aspirations
Gather together from all of the nations.

And there we will be as the East meets the West
To seek our good future in this glamorous fest.

Now is your time to lend us a hand,
With bon voyage we safely will land.
The future looks bright; let’s keep it that way
The Festival de Cannes is soon - this May.

By visiting our site, you can donate.
Click on the page Participate.

Via Fractured Atlas, our fiscal friend
Your dollars become Euros as we send
Our wee little piggy to market in France
Where jiggity jig we hope she will dance
And find a good fit to go from short to feature
Involved though it is, this is the procedure.

Thanks now and forever for all you still do
To help make our dreams and hopes come true
This is exciting for us and for you
I will keep you posted as I always do.

Sarah E Shively