Earlier this week marked the passing of not only the-day-formerly-known-as-Secretary's Day ("Administrative Professionals Day"), but according to our local newspaper, something called "World Penguin Day." Whether or not this special designation on the calendar existed before last summer I have no idea, but living in Florida and working in the art house business immediately brings to mind a couple of thoughts. For some bizarre reason I flashed back to my college days in the mid-1970's, when I helped put myself through school by working in the kitchen at a huge buffet restaurant that (of course) featured an Early Bird Special. The blue hairs in town would form a line out to the parking lot waiting for the doors to open, and as they filed in, one was always reminded of the saying, "birds of a feather flock together."

The more obvious thought upon learning of a World Penguin Day is where's the next MARCH OF THE PENGUINS gonna come from? And I don't mean the upcoming spoof by Bob Saget either, though the idea is intriguing and potentially hilarious. I mean a totally unexpected, out of left field, so good it's got to cross over art house smash. Could it be A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION? A SCANNER DARKLY? LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE? THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP? Or perhaps even AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, "the Al Gore lecture movie" with one of the scariest trailers you'll ever see. With no G-rated nature doc on the immediate horizon, only time will tell--hopefully there's a summer blockbuster or two for the indie screens as well.

--Matthew

I arrived in LA yesterday morning for the National Arts Marketing Project Conference. Exhausted after one of the final Song airlines flights, I had to laugh as the crew thanked us for flying with them, considering we had our choice of bankrupt airlines and tried to sell us pillows based on the premise that they would be worth twice as much on eBay in a week!

I was scared as hell to drive on the LA freeways, but I did and arrived safely at the hotel around 10:30 West Coast time...it was well after noon to me. Autumn had arrived the day before so thankfully I was able to check into the room and unpack. The Millenium Biltmore (one of the early homes of the Oscars) is a beautiful, if old, hotel. After unpacking, we jumped in my tiny rental car and drove to a backlot tour of Warner Brothers Studios. Cheesy, but we are from Orlando and wanted to see some touristy things. It was fun, but no shows or films were shooting so we had to settle for seeing Joel Silver and his entourage walking the lot. Later on Hollywood Blvd. I pointed out his star to Autumn. The highlight for me was getting to see Stars Hollow, home of the Gilmore Girls...but it kind of shattered the illusion for me.

Continuing on our touristy day in LA, we went to Hollywood Blvd. and happened on the red carpet for the Daytime Emmys. We saw Ellen, Alex Trebek, Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rena, Elmo and Oscar the Grouch. No Oprah. Darn. Then, we did the ultimate LA tourist thing. A tour of the stars homes. Yeah, yeah, I know. Tacky, but I loved it. Mostly because I love architecture, but that little element of who lives there was intriguing too. I kept wondering who lived NEXT to the stars... Autumn saw Sly Stallone walking from his car into his house. I missed it. We also saw the paparazzi parked outside of Tom Cruise's house dying to be the first to get a shot of his new daughter. Ewww.

Exhausted and jet lagged, we were asleep by 10...although in my defense it was 1 am to me and I had been up since 4 am! The conference began today and so far is well worth the trip. More about that later...

Anthony Kaufman's Industry Beat column in the Spring 2006 FILMMAKER Magazine shed quite a bit of light on the distribution status of Gregg Araki's highly accomplished and disturbing sexual abuse drama, MYSTERIOUS SKIN. In considerable detaiI, it examines the unusual circumstance of a film dropping its distributor--as opposed to the more common other way around. I knew something was up weeks ago, when I unknowingly set out on a treasure hunt to book a 35mm print of the film for a matinee screening at Enzian on July 9. Having never opened commercially in Orlando, Chris Alexander-Manley and GayOrlando.com had requested I book it for their quarterly Gay & Lesbian Film Series, a program now in its 13th year at the theater. A phone call to the film's theatrical distributor, Tartan Films, resulted in a confused deflection to contact TLA Releasing about it. A subsequent call to TLA and I was told they couldn't help me, I would need to talk to the film's producers at Antidote Films. From there I was directed to Strand Releasing (probably the company that should have released it in the first place), and I'm happy to say that the Orlando theatrical premiere in 35mm of this powerhouse of a movie will be taking place as scheduled. So hold off on renting that DVD and come see Gregg Araki's best film to date the way it was meant to be seen.

--Matthew

Preparations are under way for "Beyond Bollywood: the 12th Annual South Asian Film Festival," produced in conjunction with the local Asian Cultural Association, to take place at Enzian June 10 - 12. This three-day celebration of Indian culture, heritage, and film artistry features five screenings of four films making their Central Florida premieres, along with an occasional filmmaker or two. But as the previewing process unfolds, it's become apparent that while there's some fine documentaries and terrific dramas out there, where the hell is the lighthearted fare? Over the years the SAFF has been able to program films such as COSMOPOLITAN, WHERE'S THE PARTY YAAR?, BOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD, EVERYBODY SAYS I'M FINE, AMERICAN CHAI, HYDERABAD BLUES, MONSOON WEDDING, BOLLYWOOD CALLING, and ABCD. But this year there doesn't seem to be an indie Indian comedy in sight.

Anybody out there with a tip or a suggestion to help track down a film fitting the above description would be greatly appreciated. I can always be reached at mcurtis@enzian.org or # 407-644-5625x103. Thanks for the helping hand.

--Matthew

He may not be every indie filmmaker's best friend--especially those at IFC like Caveh, whose terrific I AM A SEX ADDICT has been shut out of playing Landmark Theaters due to a business dispute between feuding corporations--but no one can say Mark Cuban isn't the coolest owner in professional team sports. Talk radio is abuzz today with news that the outspoken and passionate owner of the Dallas Mavericks, the team with the second best record in the NBA's Western Conference, had a little surprise for all 19,000 people in attendance at the team's regular season home finale, as well as another 1000 watching at home. In partnership with American Airlines, Cuban gave every single ticket holder a voucher for a free roundtrip airfare, with a total value of upwards of 3 million dollars. How awesome is that? Maybe he wants the hometown fans to use the tickets to follow the Mavs in the playoffs. Don't know if it'll help in a possible showdown with the Spurs, but you gotta give the man his props!

--Matthew

"If there's one person who can be called responsible for determining the character of greater Orlando's entire independent-film scene, it's Matthew Curtis..." WOW! Congrats to Matthew on finally getting his due in this town! We are so proud of our boy! The Orlando Weekly published their list of The Power Worthy this week in response to the Orlando Sentinel's annual "list of the 25 most powerful people in Central Florida that is, frankly, depressing as hell. It's as chockablock with developers, politicians and high-level business execs as you'd guess such a list might be in a town constantly criticized for lacking any real cultural spark. Are we really so hidebound that the average "player" on such a list is a 57-year-old white guy?" We may be, but this list proves that there are still a few hard-working rebels among us. Thank number 10...
Shan

Three excellent short films from last year's 2005 Florida Film Festival earned major kudos (and even some cash) at last week's Gen Art Film Festival in New York City. Jay Duplass' THE INTERVENTION, another uncomfortably funny and brilliant work from the creators of SCRABBLE and THE PUFFY CHAIR, had its North American Premiere at the FFF last March . By winning the Acura Grand Jury Short Film Award at Gen Art, the film earned itself a $5000 cash prize. The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Winter Park native Hannah Beth King for WET, her evocative and memorable tale of adolescence and morality in mid-80's Florida that had its World Premiere at FFF. Not only is Hannah from here, but WET was actually filmed at a house and neighborhood not far from the festival office affectionately known as "the bunker." Last but certainly not least, the Gen Art inaugural Stargazer Award, honoring "breakout talent for excellence in acting," was given to Katherine Cunningham-Eves for her role opposite Charlie Robinson in Scott Tuft's THE PASSAGE OF MRS. CALABASH. This fascinating deconstruction of an overnight train journey, two strangers, and a chicken, was a standout with a unique storyline and terrific performances.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers. It's always nice to see your programming choices succeed with other audiences and juries since every festival has its own identity and vibe.

-- Matthew

Finally coming up for air after being submerged in Florida Film Festival mania and wrap-up for the last three weeks, certain highlights and special moments keep popping into my head. The hordes of educators in the audience for the Special Jury Award-winning faux documentary about high school teachers by Mike Akel, CHALK, cracking up from the very first scene. A local priest in attendance at the screening of Joe Cultrera's HAND OF GOD, a scathing indictment of the Catholic church in Salem, Massachusetts, where the filmmaker's brother was sexually abused decades ago. While he could not stay for the Q & A, the priest did send Joe an incredibly thoughful letter via e-mail, and Joe in turn agreed to go to Sunday mass before heading back home. In its first screening since Sundance, the wonderfully entertaining crossword puzzle doc, WORDPLAY, had a glorious East Coast Premiere at Enzian, complete with Director Patrick Creadon, Producer Christine O'Malley, and two of its subjects, puzzle constructor Merl Reagle and tournamant finalist Trip Payne (Floridians both), all participating in a spirited and amusing post-film Q & A. And you know how some filmmakers will take a snapshot of the audience during their intro remarks for posterity? Well Steven Kaplan, producer of the Midnight Movie and recent THINKFilm acquisition, FUCK, added a little twist to his request, which the late night audience was more than happy to comply with--a packed house sent their best wishes to director Steve Anderson (who was unable to attend) by shooting him the bird! A Kodak moment if there ever was one.