Buena Gente

Hi Everyone

Hope all of you are doing well. I appreciate you taking the time to check out the Buena Gente blog. Quite a few things have occurred since the last entry. Let's jump right into it.

The last time I wrote you guys I mentioned we weren't able to make the early deadline for the NY Latino Film Festival. So we continued working towards the next deadline. In early March we had a test screening, which resulted in mostly positive feedback. We got a lot of good pointers from the questionnaires that helped us sharpen the film while we were working with the rough edit. At the time of the screening we still had some audio & music to lay down in order to complete the film. Doing a test screening was a little scary, exciting & intriguing all at the same time. Scary because I knew it was still a work in progress and I hoped people would enjoy what they would see at that time. Obviously anytime you create a piece of art, expressing something important to you, it's exhilarating to share it. Finally, I was curious to get people's response to the film. The audience was made up of family, friends, people we communicated with online (myspace, facebook, etc.) and some supporters. We didn't have to advertise too much because many people wanted to attend the screening and the place filled up quickly. Test screenings are necessary to get valuable information from people who are not involved in the project.

We had a great composer named Oliver James who helped us tremendously with the sound design & music for the film. A number of talented artists provided their time and assistance to the score. Several actors helped us with needed voiceovers. We put in a lot of long hours to finalize everything on the film. Over the last 3 months in post production, I was up late (past 3, 4am) so many times. Two months editing the film then a little over a month working on the sound and score. Once I was in the process, I wanted to keep going to really fine tune the film.

Luckily, the deadline for the NY Latino Film Festival was extended until April 10th. When our film was submitted on that day there was a small sense of accomplishment. But now it's onto the next phase. While the festival people review all the submissions, our press kit has to be completed, the poster has to be created & we have to continue promoting the film. Hopefully, by late May we should receive word regarding our entry into the competition. The festival takes place in late July. In addition to that I have started working on the next script.

It's important to believe in & protect what you are doing. I can tell you that I didn't do a lot of things in the conventional way. I tried to make the best of the circumstances and go from there. Sometimes you may run into people who will try to fool, persuade or even bully you into what they want. You have to remain focused on what you want to achieve. I feel a great sense of responsibility to help make this a success for all our contributors. If someone doesn't understand or doesn't care to, that's there problem. Get rid of them. As artists, actually first & foremost as people, we must surround ourselves with people who care about us & what we are doing. That's a lesson that has been reinforced to me during this time.

Our film is an independent production made on a very small budget. Now if you compare it to a studio picture then the differences will seem immense, as far as, cast, production value, etc. But when you see it, please view it for what it is. A first time feature made with limited time & resources, but an abundance of desire, energy & teamwork. I'm confident if viewers take that approach, they will enjoy Buena Gente very much. Thank you

New trailer coming soon. Buena Gente - this Summer