April 30, 2007
Today, for the second day in a row, DGW showed simultaneously in Boston and New York--AND we got standing ovations in both places!!
In Boston, we had one of our best-ever Q&A sessions. In the house were DGW assistant editor Jarrard Cole's cousins, and Portland hostess Mary Liedel's daughter (niece of Margie Spalding from Athens). While in Boston, we've also had a reunion with filmmakers Karen and Tim Morse (Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story), big-time DGW supporters we first met at the Cleveland International Film Festival in March.
IFF/Boston film festival directors Adam Roffman and Jason Redmond have been awesome hosts. This morning, they arranged for us to have a private tour of Fenway Park, where Darius got to roll out to home base! We'll post pictures later.
At our Tribeca screening, audiences were as enthusiastic as the ones in Boston. Irene Daria-Wiener , long-time friend of the Smalley's, was in the audience along with her husband, Carey, and sons Jaimie and Eric.
Tomorrow, those of us in Boston will travel to New York City and spend the rest of the week at Tribeca. We can't wait for Darius to see the Big Apple!
DGW...Know about it!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
DOUBLE WINS, DOUBLE SCREENINGS
April 29, 2007
Lots of exciting news to report...
DGW has won Audience Choice Awards at the Palm Beach International Film Festival AND the Atlanta Film Festival. Whoo-hoo! We're always thrilled to win awards because that means bigger audiences as we continue to travel to other festivals, and bigger audiences mean greater support for our cause.
Check out the great story Marc Pickard at 11Alive News in Atlanta did on DGW. It ran on April 20, just prior to our first screening in Altanta. You can read about it or watch it at:
http://www.11alive.com/life/article_life.aspx?storyid=95737
We also owe a huge thanks to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Bob Longino for promoting our film so heavily in Atlanta. He predicted we'd win in Atlanta, and we're so happy he was right!
Darius had a blast at the Clarke Central High School junior-senior prom on Friday night, and we have pictures!
Logan is promoting DGW nonstop at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, where he is staying at the Park Avenue apartment of the most gracious hosts ever, Earl and Janet Kramer (Tracy Seckler's parents). Meanwhile, Sam, Ben, Daniel, Tbarn and Darius are at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. DGW supporters and long-time friends of the crew Kason Rackley and Chris Williams drove the DGW van to Boston on Thursday so Big D would be able to get around Beantown in the comfort he's grown accustomed to, thanks to Dodge. Unfortunately, his pimped chair was acting up before he left to fly to Boston, so he's in his back-up electric chair. Thank you, Delta Airlines, for working so hard to make Darius' flight go so smoothly.
Today, at 2:30 PM, DGW was being shown simultaneously in Boston AND New York City.
Know about it!
Lots of exciting news to report...
DGW has won Audience Choice Awards at the Palm Beach International Film Festival AND the Atlanta Film Festival. Whoo-hoo! We're always thrilled to win awards because that means bigger audiences as we continue to travel to other festivals, and bigger audiences mean greater support for our cause.
Check out the great story Marc Pickard at 11Alive News in Atlanta did on DGW. It ran on April 20, just prior to our first screening in Altanta. You can read about it or watch it at:
http://www.11alive.com/life/article_life.aspx?storyid=95737
We also owe a huge thanks to Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Bob Longino for promoting our film so heavily in Atlanta. He predicted we'd win in Atlanta, and we're so happy he was right!
Darius had a blast at the Clarke Central High School junior-senior prom on Friday night, and we have pictures!
Logan is promoting DGW nonstop at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, where he is staying at the Park Avenue apartment of the most gracious hosts ever, Earl and Janet Kramer (Tracy Seckler's parents). Meanwhile, Sam, Ben, Daniel, Tbarn and Darius are at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. DGW supporters and long-time friends of the crew Kason Rackley and Chris Williams drove the DGW van to Boston on Thursday so Big D would be able to get around Beantown in the comfort he's grown accustomed to, thanks to Dodge. Unfortunately, his pimped chair was acting up before he left to fly to Boston, so he's in his back-up electric chair. Thank you, Delta Airlines, for working so hard to make Darius' flight go so smoothly.
Today, at 2:30 PM, DGW was being shown simultaneously in Boston AND New York City.
Know about it!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
WOWING THE CROWDS IN WEST PALM BEACH
April 25, 2007
Tonight, we had our one and only screening at the West Palm Beach Film Festival. The crowd was huge and incredibly warm and receptive to our film and asked great questions at the Q&A. Special friends in the audience included Benjy Seckler's brother, Jon Seckler and his wife Allison, as well as Allison's parents, Bernie and Shellie. Tracy Seckler flew in for the screening and hosted a coffee and dessert fundraiser following the film. She also put us up at a really nice hotel on the beach, where we've been having a blast. Some of us even went in the ocean.
We head home tomorrow for one day of rest before heading to the Independent Film Festival of Boston, followed by the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. Darius will be joining us on both legs of this trip and can't wait to fly again. Delta Airlines will be testing a new piece of equipment for this flight that is designed to make it easier to get Darius from his wheelchair to his airline seat. .
Logan left for Tribeca today and will host several screenings of DGW before the crew arrives in NYC on May 1.
We've heard rumors that the Atlanta Film Festival will be adding a third showing of DGW on Saturday night. There are no details at their website, but if we find out this is true, we will pass the information on to you.
DGW...Know about it!
Tonight, we had our one and only screening at the West Palm Beach Film Festival. The crowd was huge and incredibly warm and receptive to our film and asked great questions at the Q&A. Special friends in the audience included Benjy Seckler's brother, Jon Seckler and his wife Allison, as well as Allison's parents, Bernie and Shellie. Tracy Seckler flew in for the screening and hosted a coffee and dessert fundraiser following the film. She also put us up at a really nice hotel on the beach, where we've been having a blast. Some of us even went in the ocean.
We head home tomorrow for one day of rest before heading to the Independent Film Festival of Boston, followed by the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. Darius will be joining us on both legs of this trip and can't wait to fly again. Delta Airlines will be testing a new piece of equipment for this flight that is designed to make it easier to get Darius from his wheelchair to his airline seat. .
Logan left for Tribeca today and will host several screenings of DGW before the crew arrives in NYC on May 1.
We've heard rumors that the Atlanta Film Festival will be adding a third showing of DGW on Saturday night. There are no details at their website, but if we find out this is true, we will pass the information on to you.
DGW...Know about it!
Monday, April 23, 2007
DARIUS IN THE STUDIO
April 23, 2007
Yesterday, Darius spent the afternoon at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta. Athenian and DGW supporter Ben H. Allen arranged for the donated studio time, and our cameras were rolling to record this special day (future DVD extras???). From start to finish, Darius was in the zone. After knocking out a rap about his trip out west to some music composed and recorded by Nightline anchor and friend, Martin Bashir., we let Big D loose to record some of his own raps (he's been practicing for months). Ben Allen also surprised Darius with a song he'd written, which Darius will work on for a future recording session. HUGE thanks to Taryn Kaufman and Mack Woodward at Tree Sound Studios for making this awesome experience possible.
Today's screening at the Atlanta Film Festival was well attended (especially for a Monday afternoon), and the audience was extremely receptive and enthusiastic. Check out the great article in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/movies/stories/2007/04/22/0423filmfest.html
Tomorrow, Daniel, Ben, Sam, and Tbarn head south to the Palm Beach International Film Festival. If you know anyone in that part of Florida, send them to Wednesday night's screening. We missed the opening night party at this festival (due to our Atlanta screening), which was held at Mar-A-Lago (Trump's estate), but we sent Tracy Seckler's parents, Earl and Janet Kramer, in our place, and they had a blast!
DGW...Know about it!
Yesterday, Darius spent the afternoon at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta. Athenian and DGW supporter Ben H. Allen arranged for the donated studio time, and our cameras were rolling to record this special day (future DVD extras???). From start to finish, Darius was in the zone. After knocking out a rap about his trip out west to some music composed and recorded by Nightline anchor and friend, Martin Bashir., we let Big D loose to record some of his own raps (he's been practicing for months). Ben Allen also surprised Darius with a song he'd written, which Darius will work on for a future recording session. HUGE thanks to Taryn Kaufman and Mack Woodward at Tree Sound Studios for making this awesome experience possible.
Today's screening at the Atlanta Film Festival was well attended (especially for a Monday afternoon), and the audience was extremely receptive and enthusiastic. Check out the great article in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/movies/stories/2007/04/22/0423filmfest.html
Tomorrow, Daniel, Ben, Sam, and Tbarn head south to the Palm Beach International Film Festival. If you know anyone in that part of Florida, send them to Wednesday night's screening. We missed the opening night party at this festival (due to our Atlanta screening), which was held at Mar-A-Lago (Trump's estate), but we sent Tracy Seckler's parents, Earl and Janet Kramer, in our place, and they had a blast!
DGW...Know about it!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
DGW IN HOTLANTA!
April 21, 2007
Last night, we packed the Landmark Theatre in Midtown for the Atlanta premiere of Darius Goes West. There were lots of familiar faces in the crowd: crew members' relatives and friends and long-time Athens supporters (many seeing the film for the third, fourth and fifth times). Also in the house: David Martin (Delta) and his wife,Bonnie, Mark Johnson (Shepherd Center) and his wife Susan, Kristen Andersen (formerly with Children's Wish Foundation) and her entire family, including dad, Dave Andersen, who rolled out the red carpet for Darius and the crew in St. Louis when they went west. We'd also like to give a special shout out to Logan's childhood friend and former Concorde soccer teammate Justin Bell for going all out to publicize our screening at the Atlanta Film Festival and for bringing other former Concorde teammates (Justin Towns, Paul Schwak, and Chad Provow) to join the fun.
The movie started late (due to projection problems), the picture quality was disappointing, and our Q&A was cut short, but the crowd was awesome and gave us a long standing ovation.
After the screening, Lynn Massey (who has worked tirelessly for DGW and is the creative genius behind the subtitle of our film--The Roll of HIs Life) and her roommate Shannon Huff hosted an awesome party at their house in Virginia Highlands that lasted well into the wee hours.
Don't forget we have a second showing in Atlanta on Monday at 2:30 PM. Tell everyone you know!
Other news this week...
On Thursday, Eve Carson (newly elected student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill and older sister of crew member Andrew Carson) organized a screening of DGW at UNC-Chapel Hill. This showing attracted an enthusiastic crowd of about 80 college students. Eve plans to show the doc again next fall.
Tomorrow is a big day for the Big D. Thanks to Ben Allen (grammy award winning producer), Darius has snagged some studio time in Atlanta, where he will record a rap over some music Martin Bashir composed just for him. Darius also plans to record a few raps of his own, and we hope to be selling CDs of his work in the not-too-distant future (with profits going to Darius himself). Stay tuned!
DGW...Know about it!
Last night, we packed the Landmark Theatre in Midtown for the Atlanta premiere of Darius Goes West. There were lots of familiar faces in the crowd: crew members' relatives and friends and long-time Athens supporters (many seeing the film for the third, fourth and fifth times). Also in the house: David Martin (Delta) and his wife,Bonnie, Mark Johnson (Shepherd Center) and his wife Susan, Kristen Andersen (formerly with Children's Wish Foundation) and her entire family, including dad, Dave Andersen, who rolled out the red carpet for Darius and the crew in St. Louis when they went west. We'd also like to give a special shout out to Logan's childhood friend and former Concorde soccer teammate Justin Bell for going all out to publicize our screening at the Atlanta Film Festival and for bringing other former Concorde teammates (Justin Towns, Paul Schwak, and Chad Provow) to join the fun.
The movie started late (due to projection problems), the picture quality was disappointing, and our Q&A was cut short, but the crowd was awesome and gave us a long standing ovation.
After the screening, Lynn Massey (who has worked tirelessly for DGW and is the creative genius behind the subtitle of our film--The Roll of HIs Life) and her roommate Shannon Huff hosted an awesome party at their house in Virginia Highlands that lasted well into the wee hours.
Don't forget we have a second showing in Atlanta on Monday at 2:30 PM. Tell everyone you know!
Other news this week...
On Thursday, Eve Carson (newly elected student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill and older sister of crew member Andrew Carson) organized a screening of DGW at UNC-Chapel Hill. This showing attracted an enthusiastic crowd of about 80 college students. Eve plans to show the doc again next fall.
Tomorrow is a big day for the Big D. Thanks to Ben Allen (grammy award winning producer), Darius has snagged some studio time in Atlanta, where he will record a rap over some music Martin Bashir composed just for him. Darius also plans to record a few raps of his own, and we hope to be selling CDs of his work in the not-too-distant future (with profits going to Darius himself). Stay tuned!
DGW...Know about it!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
BACK TO THE BIG EASY
April 15, 2007
This weekend, many of us on the crew, plus guest and friend, Kason Rackley, took Darius back to New Orleans. We stayed at the same hotel (Creole Gardens) that we'd stayed at on the trip and ate at many of the same places (except Brennan's, which we couldn't afford). On Saturday night, Darius rolled down Bourbon Street once again. He liked it much better this time around (last time he was pretty nervous). With no cameras rolling, he didn't attract as much attention as he did on our trip. Unfortunately, right before we left Athens, D's pimped chair shorted out (it's working again now), so we had to take him in his other electric chair.
On Saturday, we had a screening at Tulane University at a small film festival hosted by the Law School. The audience was small but enthusiastic, and the film was shown twice. We had invited all the people in New Orleans who had been so good to us during our trip to come to this screening, but nobody showed up. That was a disappointment, because we wanted to say thank-you.
Other news: we've added new screenings. DGW has been accepted to MountainFilm Telluride in Colorado (May 25 - 28) and will be the featured Saturday night film at the St. Paul Solstice Film Festival in Minneapolis (June 21 - 24). From there, we'll be headed to Seattle for a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit being organized by Mindy Lefler and her mom, Janet Schneider, the same folks who helped organize the Portland benefit. If you have friends or family in any of these areas, tell them to come see the film and direct them to our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) for more details.
REALLY BIG NEWS: DGW will play at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Thursday, May 4 (during the Tribeca Film Festival). This private screening, hosted by Charley's Fund, will be emceed by Nightline anchor Martin Bashir. We're very excited about playing at Carnegie Hall and hope this event raises tons of money for DMD research. Tickets start at $100; If you know anyone who wants to be invited to this special, special event, please e-mail Tracy Seckler (tkseckler@yahoo.com) and put "DGW at Carnegie Hall" in the subject line.
Finally, we'll be at the Atlanta Film Festival on Friday, April 20 and Monday, April 23, so come...and bring everyone you know.
For a great new article featuring Darius, check out this link: www.pridemobility.com.
DGW...know about it!
This weekend, many of us on the crew, plus guest and friend, Kason Rackley, took Darius back to New Orleans. We stayed at the same hotel (Creole Gardens) that we'd stayed at on the trip and ate at many of the same places (except Brennan's, which we couldn't afford). On Saturday night, Darius rolled down Bourbon Street once again. He liked it much better this time around (last time he was pretty nervous). With no cameras rolling, he didn't attract as much attention as he did on our trip. Unfortunately, right before we left Athens, D's pimped chair shorted out (it's working again now), so we had to take him in his other electric chair.
On Saturday, we had a screening at Tulane University at a small film festival hosted by the Law School. The audience was small but enthusiastic, and the film was shown twice. We had invited all the people in New Orleans who had been so good to us during our trip to come to this screening, but nobody showed up. That was a disappointment, because we wanted to say thank-you.
Other news: we've added new screenings. DGW has been accepted to MountainFilm Telluride in Colorado (May 25 - 28) and will be the featured Saturday night film at the St. Paul Solstice Film Festival in Minneapolis (June 21 - 24). From there, we'll be headed to Seattle for a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit being organized by Mindy Lefler and her mom, Janet Schneider, the same folks who helped organize the Portland benefit. If you have friends or family in any of these areas, tell them to come see the film and direct them to our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com) for more details.
REALLY BIG NEWS: DGW will play at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Thursday, May 4 (during the Tribeca Film Festival). This private screening, hosted by Charley's Fund, will be emceed by Nightline anchor Martin Bashir. We're very excited about playing at Carnegie Hall and hope this event raises tons of money for DMD research. Tickets start at $100; If you know anyone who wants to be invited to this special, special event, please e-mail Tracy Seckler (tkseckler@yahoo.com) and put "DGW at Carnegie Hall" in the subject line.
Finally, we'll be at the Atlanta Film Festival on Friday, April 20 and Monday, April 23, so come...and bring everyone you know.
For a great new article featuring Darius, check out this link: www.pridemobility.com.
DGW...know about it!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
FUN IN THE SUN
April 8, 2007
We've had a blast at the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Pete, Florida, where DGW was both the opening and closing film (a first for us).
Logan, Daniel, Sam, Ben, and Andrew, as well as Darius's mom, sister, stepbrother, Sam's dad, and Logan's parents made the trip. For Darius and the crew, it was a maiden voyage in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. Joining us in St. Pete were David Martin (Delta), his wife Bonnie and his daughter Meredith. Also there were Benjy and Tracy Seckler with their three children, Sammy, Charley, and Masie. This was the first time any of us on the crew besides Logan and TBarn have had a chance to meet Charley.
We've been staying at the Renaissance Vinoy, where Athens DGW supporter Kathleen Laughlin convinced Janette Rivera at the Vinoy to donate an accessible room for Darius and give the rest of us an awesome rate. The best thing about staying here (besides the fact that it's really, really nice) is that the film festival is right here.
There was a huge and enthusiastic crowd for Friday night's show, where we got a standing ovation. A really nice filmmaker's reception followed the screening.
On Saturday, we didn't need as much sunscreen as we'd hoped, as it was windy and a bit chilly, but still sunny. When we heard what the temperatures were in Athens, we weren't complaining. Fortunately, the pool was heated, so the crew went swimming with Charley and his siblings.
Saturday evening, we were treated to an awesome dinner, compliments of Chick-Fil-A, which Bonnie Martin and David Neely (with the help of David's son, Drayton Neely) arranged for us. Then it was off to the Devil Rays' home opener baseball game, with complimentary tickets provided to Darius and the crew by film festival organizers Tony Armer and Derek Miner. The Devil Rays lost, but it was an exciting game--PLUS, there was a message welcoming Darius and his crew on the jumbotron!
After the game, we headed straight to a festival party, where Darius wowed the crowd (and the crew) when he took the microphone and did some amazing free rapping. A crowd of about 150 people cheered him on and gave him thunderous applause when he was finished. We've got to get him in the studio soon!
Saturday night's party lasted well into Sunday, so most of us slept in today, then headed to the pool because the weather was perfect. Tonight, we closed the film festival with a second screening of DGW and had a lot of special folks in the audience: Logan and Ben's grandparents (Ralph and Dot Smalley) and cousin (Mindy Schlesinger and and her husband, Neil), Jarrard Cole's grandparents (Martha and Phil Cole), and Sam's cousin, Hailey (and her boyfriend, Luke).
The festival's award ceremony followed a great Q&A session (lots of questions about MTV tonight). We are proud to report that DGW was honored with TWO awards: Audience Choice and Best Feature (juried).
DGW...Know about it!
We've had a blast at the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Pete, Florida, where DGW was both the opening and closing film (a first for us).
Logan, Daniel, Sam, Ben, and Andrew, as well as Darius's mom, sister, stepbrother, Sam's dad, and Logan's parents made the trip. For Darius and the crew, it was a maiden voyage in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. Joining us in St. Pete were David Martin (Delta), his wife Bonnie and his daughter Meredith. Also there were Benjy and Tracy Seckler with their three children, Sammy, Charley, and Masie. This was the first time any of us on the crew besides Logan and TBarn have had a chance to meet Charley.
We've been staying at the Renaissance Vinoy, where Athens DGW supporter Kathleen Laughlin convinced Janette Rivera at the Vinoy to donate an accessible room for Darius and give the rest of us an awesome rate. The best thing about staying here (besides the fact that it's really, really nice) is that the film festival is right here.
There was a huge and enthusiastic crowd for Friday night's show, where we got a standing ovation. A really nice filmmaker's reception followed the screening.
On Saturday, we didn't need as much sunscreen as we'd hoped, as it was windy and a bit chilly, but still sunny. When we heard what the temperatures were in Athens, we weren't complaining. Fortunately, the pool was heated, so the crew went swimming with Charley and his siblings.
Saturday evening, we were treated to an awesome dinner, compliments of Chick-Fil-A, which Bonnie Martin and David Neely (with the help of David's son, Drayton Neely) arranged for us. Then it was off to the Devil Rays' home opener baseball game, with complimentary tickets provided to Darius and the crew by film festival organizers Tony Armer and Derek Miner. The Devil Rays lost, but it was an exciting game--PLUS, there was a message welcoming Darius and his crew on the jumbotron!
After the game, we headed straight to a festival party, where Darius wowed the crowd (and the crew) when he took the microphone and did some amazing free rapping. A crowd of about 150 people cheered him on and gave him thunderous applause when he was finished. We've got to get him in the studio soon!
Saturday night's party lasted well into Sunday, so most of us slept in today, then headed to the pool because the weather was perfect. Tonight, we closed the film festival with a second screening of DGW and had a lot of special folks in the audience: Logan and Ben's grandparents (Ralph and Dot Smalley) and cousin (Mindy Schlesinger and and her husband, Neil), Jarrard Cole's grandparents (Martha and Phil Cole), and Sam's cousin, Hailey (and her boyfriend, Luke).
The festival's award ceremony followed a great Q&A session (lots of questions about MTV tonight). We are proud to report that DGW was honored with TWO awards: Audience Choice and Best Feature (juried).
DGW...Know about it!
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
HOME SWEET HOME
April 3, 2008
All of us who have been traveling since March 23 arrived home from Portland, Oregon last night. It was a pleasant surprise when Collin picked us up in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. This was the first time many of us had seen it, and it is so awesome! Yesterday, it got even more "pimped" out when ABC Printing added the phrases, "DGW...Know about it," "Delta knows about it," and "ABC Printing and Shirtworks know about it," along with our website address. We are so grateful for this donation! Kat and Jackie at Shirtworks took pictures of this handiwork as it was being completed (we'll post them soon). We are certain to attract lots of attention as we travel in and around Athens AND hit the road for film festivals nationwide.
In our last blog, we mentioned that Fred and Pat Granum were going to take us all out to dinner in Portland on our last night there. We now must add a P.S. that they took us out for an amazing dinner! Not only was the food great, but the Granums were so generous and so much fun. Our waitress had seen the movie and recognized all of us, so we also got great service.
If you're planning to see DGW at the Atlanta Film Festival, you need to go online (www.atlantafilmfestival.com) and purchase your tickets soon. If you're not planning to go, please tell your friends and relatives in Atlanta to attend. We want to pack the house, since showing in Atlanta is almost like "bringing it home." We are sure that Clif Downie (Full EFX Auto Techniques) and his wife, Lori, will be there, as will Kristen Andersen (our heroine from Children's Wish Foundation), her dad Dave Andersen (who rolled out the red carpet for us in St. Louis), plus several folks from Mobility Design. We think they all deserve a standing ovation for their kindness and generosity to DGW. Work with us to make that happen!
DGW...Know about it!
All of us who have been traveling since March 23 arrived home from Portland, Oregon last night. It was a pleasant surprise when Collin picked us up in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. This was the first time many of us had seen it, and it is so awesome! Yesterday, it got even more "pimped" out when ABC Printing added the phrases, "DGW...Know about it," "Delta knows about it," and "ABC Printing and Shirtworks know about it," along with our website address. We are so grateful for this donation! Kat and Jackie at Shirtworks took pictures of this handiwork as it was being completed (we'll post them soon). We are certain to attract lots of attention as we travel in and around Athens AND hit the road for film festivals nationwide.
In our last blog, we mentioned that Fred and Pat Granum were going to take us all out to dinner in Portland on our last night there. We now must add a P.S. that they took us out for an amazing dinner! Not only was the food great, but the Granums were so generous and so much fun. Our waitress had seen the movie and recognized all of us, so we also got great service.
If you're planning to see DGW at the Atlanta Film Festival, you need to go online (www.atlantafilmfestival.com) and purchase your tickets soon. If you're not planning to go, please tell your friends and relatives in Atlanta to attend. We want to pack the house, since showing in Atlanta is almost like "bringing it home." We are sure that Clif Downie (Full EFX Auto Techniques) and his wife, Lori, will be there, as will Kristen Andersen (our heroine from Children's Wish Foundation), her dad Dave Andersen (who rolled out the red carpet for us in St. Louis), plus several folks from Mobility Design. We think they all deserve a standing ovation for their kindness and generosity to DGW. Work with us to make that happen!
DGW...Know about it!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
TWO MORE AWARDS!
April 1, 2007
This is getting to be addicting! Last night, we learned that we had won "Best Documentary" (a juried award) at the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland. Today, we learned that we had won the "Audience Choice Award" at AFI/Dallas. All of this is wonderful news because every award furthers our cause!
Portland has been awesome, with two encore performances of DGW added and great audiences. Kathleen (sorry we're so bad with last names) and her friends from MDA have come to every single showing and have been great supporters. Since they're close to our age, they've also been fun to hang out with. Scott (featured in David Walker's great cover story in the Willamette Week) has also attended two showings. Scott is particularly inspirational, as he runs a program that awards college scholarships to people with disabilities. He is 27, has DMD, and is still going strong.
Other Portland people who have been very good to us include Mary and John Liedel, who took us all out for pizza last night. On our way to the restaurant, we actually crashed a house party when someone on their front porch recognized us from the film and invited us in! After dinner, we headed to the Crystal Ballroom for a Longbaugh-sponsored after-party. Tonight, Fred and Pat Granum are treating us all to dinner (a good thing, since most of us are out of money).
Tomorrow we head back to Athens, where Collin will pick us all up at the airport in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. Most of us haven't seen it yet, so we're excited about that. We're also looking forward to sleeping in our own beds...at least for a few nights. Friday morning, we head to the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.
DGW...Know about it!
This is getting to be addicting! Last night, we learned that we had won "Best Documentary" (a juried award) at the Longbaugh Film Festival in Portland. Today, we learned that we had won the "Audience Choice Award" at AFI/Dallas. All of this is wonderful news because every award furthers our cause!
Portland has been awesome, with two encore performances of DGW added and great audiences. Kathleen (sorry we're so bad with last names) and her friends from MDA have come to every single showing and have been great supporters. Since they're close to our age, they've also been fun to hang out with. Scott (featured in David Walker's great cover story in the Willamette Week) has also attended two showings. Scott is particularly inspirational, as he runs a program that awards college scholarships to people with disabilities. He is 27, has DMD, and is still going strong.
Other Portland people who have been very good to us include Mary and John Liedel, who took us all out for pizza last night. On our way to the restaurant, we actually crashed a house party when someone on their front porch recognized us from the film and invited us in! After dinner, we headed to the Crystal Ballroom for a Longbaugh-sponsored after-party. Tonight, Fred and Pat Granum are treating us all to dinner (a good thing, since most of us are out of money).
Tomorrow we head back to Athens, where Collin will pick us all up at the airport in the new DGW Dodge Sprinter. Most of us haven't seen it yet, so we're excited about that. We're also looking forward to sleeping in our own beds...at least for a few nights. Friday morning, we head to the Sunscreen Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida.
DGW...Know about it!
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