Summit
Today's the day we've been waiting for! It's the 3-year anniversary of the start of principal photography of Summit and the day we finally get to share the finished film with the world! It's now for rent and purchase on Vimeo on Demand & VHX! Watch it now & then tell your friends. Help make our team's hard work worth it by getting this film in front of indie film and genre fans! Thank you!
Today was the final festival screening for Summit, and it was a nice ending to its run. I was there with my mom, like in Rhode Island, but two of my cousins were able to attend as well. The venue and overall vibe was a lot like Scare-A-Con, but less busy. This was actually the first time where I didn't sit through the film. I stepped out after the first few minutes because I had to upload it 2 days ago for its VOD release & I just could not sit through it again. But I was able to hear through the door periodically; and hanging outside the room led to other filmmakers coming over to chat with me, which was cool. I also met some wonderful female filmmakers through a panel I spoke in, which included horror icon Eileen Dietz. As for the actual screening, the screen was small, similar to Scare-A-Con, but the sound was better & the picture quality was more solid than at Manhattan. There were only maybe 5 to 8 strangers in the room but they seemed to really enjoy the film based on their comments & questions during the Q&A. Also, a few actors came up to me expressing interest in working with me after seeing it. The biggest and loveliest surprise was that my high school photo/video teacher, Mr Krywe, who I had not seen in almost 10 years, showed up to see the film. He had with him the "feature" screenplay I wrote when I was 16 and he asked me to sign it. It was truly wonderful seeing him again and hearing that he uses my drive & work ethic back in high school as an example for his current students. He was the first person to introduce me to the technical aspects of filmmaking & I'm really grateful to have had him as a teacher. He asked me to come speak to his class (which has now become much more decked out than when I was there) and I'm really looking forward to doing so. I can feel that a few unexpected opportunities may have come out of today.
We did not win any awards this time around; however, I'm proud to have been nominated as 1 of 5 films in 4 categories (including the most prestigious of Best Feature & Best Director) out of 30 features. And I'm just glad the audience seemed to enjoy the film.
Here are some photos from the day. (I'll add professional shots when the festival releases them.)
And here's a quick moment from the panel.
Summit will FINALLY be released for rent or purchase tomorrow on Vimeo on Demand & VHX! Please support both this film & us in making our next one by renting or buying it as soon as you can! Thank you!
-Christina
CORRECTION: I found out later that we won Best Sound. I appreciate the recognition, but it's an odd win. I would say sound is our most overt weakness due to environmental circumstances & lack of budget. It's actually quite cringeworthy at times, if I'm being honest. However, maybe they appreciated the choices in the sound design. In any case, I'm grateful to Colin Harrington, who did 100% of the hands on work by himself, both during production and in post.
Christina was interviewed by Newsday in promotion of SUMMIT's screening next weekend at the Macabre Faire Film Festival, where it is nominated for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Sound & Best Supporting Actor (Rob Ceriello). There are 5 films nominated in each category (out of 30 features and 146 films in total). Read the full article here. And see full list of nominees here.
Last Saturday, Summit screened the Rhode Island International Film Festival's Vortex Sci-fi, Fantasy & Horror Film Festival (the genre sidebar of their main festival), and I was invited to participate in a panel the day before. So, my mom & I decided to drive there early on Friday and make a weekend of it. It was a ton of fun! This was largely because I got to spend the weekend with my mom, which is pretty rare lately, but also because Rhode Island is beautiful (I had never been before) and the festival organizers were so warm and welcoming.
The panel (Behind the Camera Lens) on Friday was curated by RIFF programmer Shawn Quirk and moderated by Rhode Island Film & TV Office Executive Director Steven Feinberg. My fellow panelist was Rhode Island based genre filmmaker Tommy DeNucci, who just released his third feature, Almost Mercy. The panel was for a class of film students at Roger Williams University. I enjoyed speaking on the panel and getting to know Tommy & Steven. We talked a bit about our inspirations and approaches to filmmaking, but the panel had a main focus on filmmaking in the Ocean State. Steven Feinberg seemed to single handedly bring film industry to Rhode Island five years ago and it has been flourishing ever since. It seems like the state works with independent filmmakers to make low budget filmmaking possible while also following the rules and increasing production value. Locations and permits are a lot easier & cheaper to come by than in NY (or LA) if you go through the Film & TV office. It feels very much like they really care about film and filmmakers, not just about making a buck anywhere and everywhere; and I was definitely convinced to try to shoot my next feature in Rhode Island.
My mom couldn't resist recording the panel (at least each time I spoke), so here are some clips thanks to her:
Tommy DeNucci's film can be watched on Netflix. (I have not watched it yet.)
As for the Summit screening, well there was a smaller turnout than I or the festival expected. However, despite being small, the crowd was great. There were 17 people in the audience, plus the two of us, the projectionist and some festival staff. The space was nice, a local chapel theater, and the picture quality was excellent. The day before, I had heard festival director George T. Marshall mention swapping out a projector at one of the locations because he cares about how the films look. This is something I really appreciate, particularly after our Manhattan Film Festival experience. The sound was really great, as well (by that I mean the space and speakers; anyone who has seen the film or our budget knows/can assume the audio is a little rough around the edges at times.) I was really satisfied with the screening on a technical level.
I've seen the film so many times now that I have a hard time reading the room. I'm so immersed in my own boredom, that I half expect someone to stand up rolling their eyes & walk out. But, thankfully, that never happened. In fact, the audience was very engaged during the Q&A. They asked a lot of questions, mostly related to where I found the actors and how I worked with them, how we got our location (and where & when we shot), and the budget. My favorite question regarded the typical use of the killer's POV in slasher films and how that was lacking (or was it?) in Summit (cannot elaborate - spoilers). A lot of people asked for my card, more so than at other festivals, which was cool.
And on top of a successful screening, I was awarded Best Director!!! Out of 80 films (7 of which were features), I was given Best Director. I'm still so blown away and grateful! Having seen a few of the films at the festival, I have to say, I'm truly honored because Summit was in impressive company! (Full list of winners HERE.) A huge part of directing is recognizing talent in others, so I must thank my cast & crew because I won due to their talent and dedication. I cannot thank them enough.
After the screening & awards ceremony, we said our goodbyes and hit the road. I hope to be able to visit again next summer because with my win came an all-access pass to the main festival in August!
Click through photos from the weekend:
They should release their hi res photos from the festival soon.
Our next & final screening of Summit will be in January at the Macabre Faire Film Festival (more details soon), followed by the film's VOD release!
-Christina
The Road Less Traveled checked in with Christina about Summit & other projects. Give it a read.
