In honor of its hometown premiere, the filmmakers of Prom Date (ie. me and director Poull Brien) put together what can plausibly be argued as the most overly elaborate event for a short film ever. We called it The Best Prom Ever!

A couple celebrates the special night on the Prom Date photo stage.

The announcement of the Prom King - Magnolia's own Ben Stambler!

Notorius party crasher, celebrity chaperone and Prom Date applicant Shaggy steals a peek.

Winner of the best dressed prize is too drunk to wave at his fans without assistance.

She missed the rain down in Africa.

Hippie's had proms too.

What's a prom without balloons and streamers?

These ladies got caught in the Prom Date spirit.

People rolled out in style trying to win the best dressed award.

Unfortunately she didn't actually win Prom Queen.

Yes, totally prom date indeed.

1. A short documentary about an 18 year old girl searching for her prom date on the internet.
2. A short documentary about what the barbie doll shows about Jewish culture and identity.
3. A short documentary about a woman's fight with breast cancer.
4. A short documentary about an US Soldier's experience in Iraq.
5. A short documentary about the Israel/Palestine conflict.
6. A short documentary about child soldiers and refugee camps in Uganda.

From: xxxx@xxx.com
To: PromdateNYC@yahoo.com
Subject: Hi NY lady

I am Theodore. It's unfortunate this email may sound weird to you but I have to let you know about it. I was in Bronx NY for only a short visit. I came there to visit my Uncle but I am now in the London. I am also prepared to meet you and have a face to face talk with you. Because of this, I will travel to the states again just to meet you. About my family, I have some family in the states, some in uk and the rest in Ghana. My Mum and Dad are all in Ghana and I may consider myself to be a Ghanaian. My cousin and Uncles are those living outside. I wish I could meet you, but I am now in London UK. I will have to travel to Ghana to complete my tour. I will be in the state again before this winter. I don't want to loose you that why I have written to you despite the distance between now. I will like to meet you live on yahoo chat room tonite between 8:00pm to 11:00pm. Trust me I will come back for you soon.

Theodore

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PROM DATE
Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 PM Loews 68th Street
Monday, May 1 at 3:15 PM Loews 68th Street
Friday, May 5 at 8:30 PM Loews 34th Street
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 PM Lowes 34th Street
www.tribecafilmfestival.org

From: xxxxx@xxx.com
To: PromdateNYC@yahoo.com
Subject: Tis a Wonderful Day

yep,
im twenty four. i paint a bit play a bit a music,
study a few lines of the physics, fairly deep, and
terribly bright, sorta cute, same height as you and
kinda muscular. im eternaly broke, and endlessly
grand... seeking a wee
bit of romance, lots of love and much laughter . i dig
the human, the noble, the real, the fantastic, and the
brilliant. d. h. Lawrence collected poems, running
with scissors (by augusten somthing-or-other), and
reading don quixote of la mancha. and im jewish.
I dont do things the same way twice. I dont do things
the same way twice. lol. So if your pretty wonderful
and wonderfuly pretty... drop something on me.
Laughing,
Eli
AIM sn:

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PROM DATE
Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 PM Loews 68th Street
Monday, May 1 at 3:15 PM Loews 68th Street
Friday, May 5 at 8:30 PM Loews 34th Street
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 PM Lowes 34th Street
www.tribecafilmfestival.org

From: xxxxx@xxx.com
To: Promdatenyc@yahoo.com
subject: 18 year old girl seeks date for prom

Please understand that as a married man I can not send photos because I must be discrete. I am a wealthy white man 50,I own apt bldgs in NYC and I am iso a beautiful younger woman that knows how to c@ck tease. I want to beg for what you got and I know that I have to work to get it. I will pamper and $poil you nd treat you like a princess. Lets met for a drink at the Four Seasons in NYC, if either is uncomfortable then we part no hard feelings. But if their is chemistry then I like to see you once a week and we finalize our arrangement Please send photos and phone and the best time to call and we can set this up ASAP. Please understand that we will always have safe sex and no drama and no strings. No one ever has to know about this we will be very discrete. Email me and lets talk about it first ok. I hope to hear from you soon.
Vincent

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PROM DATE
Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 PM Loews 68th Street
Monday, May 1 at 3:15 PM Loews 68th Street
Friday, May 5 at 8:30 PM Loews 34th Street
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 PM Lowes 34th Street
www.tribecafilmfestival.org

From: xxxxx@xxx.com
To: PromdateNYC
Subject: Sounds like fun...I'm normal...but really fun

Well let me introduce myself.

I'm M. I'm a 21 year old college student from AZ. I'm a journalism major studying to be a tv news reporter. I'm very outgoing, alot of fun and not looking to be in front of the camera...I've had all that here at school anchoring a newscast.

The reason why I'm even responding to this ad is because I'm really spontaneous. I love living life, and well think this would be a blast.

I'll be in NYC on the 18th of May. I'll be interning at FOX News Channel in Midtown Manhattan. I'll be interning on the O'Reily Factor, the number 1 network news show on cable. I think that'd be an interesting addition to the documentary.

My qualifications... well I'm really fun, really outgoing, and an okay dancer! =) I love having fun. Oh and I'm genuinely funny...not just saying that...I can make a girl and any crowd laugh, even though that's not a focus of mine.
Lets talk...

I think we'd have the best time of our lives!

You can check out my website if you have any other questions. There are plenty of pictures on there.

Talk to ya soon,

M
in AZ

p.s. Give me a little more info about you...location, interest, hobbies...call if you'd like xxx.xxx.xxxx. I'll be living on 10X st. and Central Park West. Talk to ya soon.

----------------------------
9 Days to PROM DATE
Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 PM Loews 68th Street
Monday, May 1 at 3:15 PM Loews 68th Street
Friday, May 5 at 8:30 PM Loews 34th Street
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 PM Lowes 34th Street
www.tribecafilmfestival.org

From: xxxxx@xxx.com
To: PromdateNYC
Subject: I'd love to go to prom with you...

Hi Princess,

Are you for real? I'd love to go to prom with you, but I don't know if I'm qualified, though. First of all, I've never been to a prom. I'm not from this country. My parents are from China but I was born and raised in Indonesia. I did my high school in Indonesia and there was no such a thing as prom over there. Anything I know about prom is from movies or friends. Every time I see it on a movie or hear a story about it, I just wish I had had one myself. It seems like one of those events in your life whose memory you will remember forever.

Another thing is that I'm not sure how you would feel about going to prom, which is so special, with someone outside your race. Would it matter?

Other than that, I think I'm fine for this "mission". I love dancing and I can dance pretty well (you're talking about a free style dancing like what people do in a house party or a club, not a formal dancing like Ballroom, Swing, or Salsa, right?) Plus, I'm friendly and outgoing and love to party. I'll be your great date and you'll be my princess! :)

I'm attaching my pic. I don't know if this is a great pic or not but hey it's me. I hope you like it. I'm 5'10", 155. I'm 34 year old but look much younger, thanks to my Asian genes and the MSG in my Chinese food. I went to college at Boston U and grad school at NYU. Been to this country since I was 18, exactly your age right now.

Anyway, I hope you like me. If you decide to choose someone else, that's fine with me, too. I wish you the best of luck and a grrrrreat time!! (Now you got me thinking of my high school years!! I wish I were 18 now!! :)

What's your name, by the way? You're beautiful!

~c

----------------------------
PROM DATE
Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 PM Loews 68th Street
Monday, May 1 at 3:15 PM Loews 68th Street
Friday, May 5 at 8:30 PM Loews 34th Street
Sunday, May 7 at 1:00 PM Lowes 34th Street
www.tribecafilmfestival.org

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for the NY premier of the short that had all of SXSW buzzing. PROM DATE arrives at the Tribeca Festival in less than two weeks!

Come see the film and find out:

What a Jersey construction worker does in his spare time!
Why you shouldn't collect hollywood memorbilla!
If he get "so laid for that!"

Loews 68th Street
Wednesday, April 26, 7:30 pm
Monday, May 1, 3:15 pm

Loews 34th Street
Friday, May 5, 8:30 pm
Sunday, May 7, 1:00 pm

Enter for a chance to Win a Date to Best Prom Ever!

I sadly bid adieu to Austin yesterday and returned to NY. A hearty thanks to all the great staffers at SXSW who made the festival such a wonderful experience, not only for our world premiere but as a an amazing place to see movies (one shout out to Dance Party, USA a solid, true indie if I've ever seen one).

And since this isn't my blackberry, here are a few pictures from the closing night party:

Party headliner Sleater-Kinney rocks out for the crowd.

While partygoers rock for other reasons.

Prom Date director Poull Brien celebrates his strong bladder.

Picturehouse's Elizabeth Brambilla and IndieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez listen intently to the bartender (they hadn't seen the bathroom line yet).

Me with I-POP's unparalleled Brian Brooks.

PROM DATE had its second screening today, and the last i'll be in austin to see. Again, it played better than expected with the audience getting into the short sooner than last time (I chalk that up to people being more awake at two than eleven). This entire experience has been a run through for future festivals, especially for what is going to be a big new york premiere eventually. Being way over budget, we didn't chip out on postcards or posters or any form of marketing, but still managed to pull in two major distributors to our screening. Hopefully the bidding war will begin tomorrow.... Winner gets not only the film but a date with Courtney, its subject.

Well, the cherry's been popped and PROM DATE had its world premiere today. And the audienced laughed, and laughed a lot, and I don't think that we could ask for anything more. Maybe a dirtier q and a, but then that's up to the questioners. Dual Austin films later, I'm sitting at the peacock in east Austin watching some shameless flirting going on... And I happen to know it will go nowhere, which is more than one of the participants is aware of.

My first post from my new favorite (well, second favorite city... In the USA at least). Sitting at the tfpf party at sxsw with indieWIRE stalwarts, and preparing to head to the IFC brothers of the head event, a surefire hit of a shindig. Prom date premieres tomorrow morning, a fact that hasn't really hit me yet. It'll be my first q and a about a project I worked on, and frankly I'm pretty sure I am going to put my foot in my mouth. Maybe i'll have learned something from watching the two lefty Docs today- Maxed out and Al Franken God spoke- but then i'll probably ending questions about the sex habits of eighteen year olds with anti bush rants.

Friday afternoon I jet off to Austin for SXSW and the premiere of PROM DATE, which will be having its world premiere on Sunday, morning (11 AM, at the Alamo Drafthouse S. Lamar for any or all people who will be in Austin, and happen to mistakenly find themselves reading this blog - probably thinking this is either the sxsw blog or matt dentler's blog; both of which offer much more exciting tales, ramblings and thoughts than I could ever come up with here). I've mentioned the film a few times before, but this is a blog and what's the point of a blog if not to beat a dead horse (not that I'd ever hurt horse, lovely animals really), so I thought I might share with you how this short doc came into existence. Last spring, the director Poull Brien met Courtney (last name stricken from the record), current high school senior, at what the city dubs a twenty-one and over club. When confronted with her true 18 year old age, he was, to say the least, shocked (and perhaps dismayed at the state of clubs in NY for letting high school students to drink vodka with 40 year old men when they should be chugging natty ice out of a keg while their friends parents have risked going vacation for the weekend, but then I don't know). Even more shocking, it turned out she was on the prowl for a prom date. One thing led to another (Q & A, hint, hint) and soon he convinced her to not only look on the Internet, but also to let him film her search. My involvement came when Poull, realizing that the prom was barely two weeks away, needed to get a crew together ASAP (the conversation occurred at an event for SxSW alumni James and Jeff Israel who were holding a benefit for their new short masterpiece FACE VALUE). He approached me. I told him I had no experience putting together a crew, am very busy with my job, but I do have a boom pole and a boatload of impractical ideas. He said perfect, let's go (I'm paraphrasing here).

I think I'll stop the story there; nominally because I want to save the rest for the Q & A, but actually because I know you are bored by it and just don't care (perhaps because had to leave the good bits out).

SXSW is only a little more than a week away, and with it comes the premiere of PROM DATE (directed by Poull Brien, produced by yours truly). Everyone remembers their senior prom. Corsages, limos, tuxedos and gowns. Some girls bring their friends, others their boyfriends. Only Courtney enlists a party promoter to find her a date over the internet. Despite the objections of her parents and the worries of her classmates, she thought she'd have her pick from a sea of models. What she got was a band of misfits. With less then ten days to prom will she find her prince charming? The short is screening Sunday 3/11 at 11 AM, Tuesday 3/14 at 2:15 PM and Friday 3/17 at 11 AM all at the Alamo S. Lamar. Check out the trailer here.

SXSW announced its short lineup this week, and that means i can announce that PROM DATE, the short documentary I produced last summer, will be having its world premiere at SXSW. It's the story of an upper-eastside girl who decides to get her prom date over the internet. Come one, Come all!