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!