Category: Film Festivals

Have you ever been traveling and arrived at a destination and immediately felt, “Wow. This feels like home.” Macon, Georgia delivered that ‘warm hug’  recognition to Ryan and I right of the bat. The Macon Film Festival is now cemented on our list of festivals we will always submit to, and always make a point of attending.

I’ll start from the beginning – our short film RSVP was accepted into the Macon Film Festival which took place this past week ( July 21-24) and we knew we wanted to head down to Georgia to attend because we’ve been wanting to get a feel for the Atlanta area, which has increasingly become active with film and television projects over the past 5 years. The prospect of being able to create somewhere and also live a comfortable life with a reasonable cost of living, seems almost like a mythical dream come true. Not to mention that Ryan and I are both originally from Florida, so being in a more accessible spot to the south east, that also has one of the largest international airports is also a major plus in our eyes.

We arrived a day early, and spent it in Atlanta’s Little Five Points Neighborhood. We were wooed pretty quickly. We had lunch at the Porter Beer Bar, and enjoyed a meal that was way more sophisticated, well prepared then one might expect from a place with “Beer Bar” in its title. We’re talking home-made curry infused pita with cauliflower falafel and the BEST garlic fries I’ve had in my life – Kimchi short rib philly cheesesteak, what!? Crazy. Delicious.  We walked around the neighb and loved the diversity, creative spirit, and warm hospitality. There were theatres featuring Breckt, and an original musical called Da Kink in My Hair – In just a few hours we understood how Atlanta is quickly becoming a city deserving of all of the attention it has been receiving.

We then made our way down to Macon, a 90 minute straight shot down from Atlanta.  We opted to rent an AirBnB in historic Macon in order to get more of a feel of the place, and we were glad we did. Right off the bat “intown” Macon blew us away in the architecture department -street after street of gorgeous, unique antebellum homes and blocks of turn of the century brick commercial buildings.  Basically a period film location scout’s  dream come true. On the block of the house we were staying in, there was even an adorable “free little library” that had a selection of books and magazines people could read and return. HOW CUTE!

The next day, the festival officially began with a Short Film Master Class hosted by The Sundance Film Festival. Mike ___ the head short film programmer at The Sundance Film Festival, gave us all a behind the scenes glimpse at what stands out to them when choosing film film to screen at Sundance. He made it clear the the most important things to them were story and compelling performances – did it make you think? Did it make you feel? Flash and star power do not play a part in the decisionmaking process for short films. But what does play a big part in the process is length. He told us that the average film is 12 minutes long, and that if a film is 20 minutes, it really has to be so good it is able to beat out two films that are ten minutes long, so you are definitely increasing your competition when submitting a longer short film.

One way or another the competition is incredible steep. Mike told us that they received over 8,000 entries this past year. He and his team watch all of the film over the course of the year, and narrow them down to a couple hundred that they like and could see potentially programing into the festival. He said that it is this small percentage of films actually receive an email from the team saying that they liked the film but that due to the large number of submission and the limited number of spots, they were unable to program it. Ryan and I got a little boost to know that we did receive one of those email when we submitted RSVP to Sundance. Top 3% is not too shabby for your first film. I’ll take it 😉

Mike also interviewed James Ponsoldt, who directed The Spectacular Now and The End of The Tour.  James shared insights he’d collected from his childhood in Athens, Georgia, as a student at Columbia University in a post-911 New York, and as a first time director navigating self-doubt and learning from his peers. Having a successful and talented director share that real, beneficial growth comes from the failures that ‘destroy’ us at the time, served as a valuable reminder for all of the aspiring filmmakers in the group.

After the workshop, both Mike and James joined the attendees for a catered reception, and have the ability to speak with these respected and accomplished men one on one was an incredible opportunity. Major props to Sundance and the Macon Film festival for making it happen and providing such value to its filmmakers and community.

The Macon Film Festival screened our short film RSVP twice, and both times I was moved by the diverse audience’s heartfelt feedback. This was the first festival which we screened twice at, and I think getting all of those people to attend the screening was in large part due to the fantastic job that the Macon Film Festival’s PR staff did. Headed up by Terrell Sandefur, MFF’s publicity team arranged interviews, and parties, and documentary photos that elevated the festival in the minds of the community so that every local person we ran into was  excited about the festival and interested in our film.

I will be honest though, the BEST part of that reception was meeting the festival’s photographer Maryann Bates. A long story made as short as possible: Maryann has a son named Ryan who looks almost identical to Beenest’s Ryan! Plus a whole avalanche of other uncanny connections and similarities revealed themselves! Maryann became a dear friend in only a matter of a few days, and if there was one thing that I could use to characterize the spirit of the Macon Film Festival, it would be that. That Macon has a remarkable way of making you feel like you are a long lost relative home for a reunion. This community of accomplished artists and creatives have created a tightly woven fabric in Macon, and if you are lucky and have an ounce of goodness in you, then they will welcome you in and allow you to experience first hand, the vibrant family which they have built in this charming pocket of Georgia.

As a special thanks we put together a little love note to Macon. Hopefully it will help other people discover this little town full of of heart, character and history.

While attending the Silver Springs Film Festival this past week, we had the pleasure of speaking to several film goers about how our film, R S V P, resonated with them.

When we set out to make R S V P we had the desire to attempt to bridge the gap that often exists between the Christian community and the LGBTQ community. The vast diversity that exists within each of these communities is what makes them so vibrant and dynamic, and it also makes it a bit daunting as a filmmaker to effectively speak to each of these communities in a mere 13 minutes of narrative! Coming to terms with the fact that your film is not going to resonate with every film-goer is the biggest gift you can give yourself as a filmmaker. Without a doubt, you will win some and you will lose some, and I am realizing more and more everyday, that if you aren’t losing some, chances are, no one is being effected! And the journey of storytelling is made worthwhile by just one individual having an experience that potentially shifts their perspective. This truth has really helped me release a lot of the fears I had as a first time filmmaker.

And then there are the moments when you are gifted with someone sharing their experience with you that coalesces all of the intentions you held when your set out to make your film. A moment like that, I recently realized at the Silver Springs International Film Festival, gives you chills to say the least! A little, or not so little, reminder to stay on your path.

My experience with this came when a young family shared their thoughts about R S V P with me: A 10 year old girl and her mother both saw our film at the screening at the Marion Theatre in Ocala, Florida and they said they were both very moved. This girl’s Mother told me that her daughter rushed home and insisted that her father see our film as well. She and her mother brought him back to the festival the next day to watch our short on SSIFF’s “Deep Dive”, which is a bank of computers with digital files of all of the films being screened at the festival, so people could watch films they may have missed in the theatre. He was moved as well. When the three of them came up to Ryan and I at the festival banquet dinner, they said, “ Thank you for making this film. We are Christian, Southern Baptist to be exact, and your film spoke to us – No matter what some people, or the (church) leadership may say, it is up to each of us, each individual Christian, to share the true love of God and affirm, value and love all of our brothers and sisters.”

Tears came to my eyes. My hands instinctively clasped my heart. This is why I made this movie. And to hear it come from a person’s mouth, made every bit of this journey thus far, worthwhile.  
I know some people are probably going to really not like my film for whatever reason. And that is ok. When I can look into the eyes of someone who is part of the LGBTQ community and we hug  and they say, “Thank you for making this film” and also receive a hug from a devout Christian and hear the same thing, that is when I know there is potential for a bridge to exist where there may not have been one before.

I write this in light of hearing the upsetting news that Governor Bryant of Mississippi signed a bill into law that is breaking hearts all across this nation, and particularly in Mississippi. The BeeNest team recently screened our short film R S V P at the Crossroads film festival in Jackson, Mississippi. R S V P is an allegory that expresses hope for the future of the church to become more affirming of the LGBTQ community. The people we met and encountered in Mississippi were overwhelmingly kind, generous, and gracious, which makes such a bill all the more saddening.

The 1523 Bill is a devastating piece of legislation that  leaves gaping holes open to be abused by those who harbour bigotry in their hearts, and what is the most disturbing and vile is that it allows those individuals and organizations to cloak their discrimination as “religious freedom”. Their hatred and mistreatment of others thereby can not be held subject to the due course of the law. History will not look kindly upon the lobbyists and states and political leaders who write, pass, and uphold such poor excuses of constitutional law.

The legal arguments for why this is a reprehensible piece of legislation fill a list as long as the line will be for the fair-minded businesses to leave such states. But given Bill 1523’s repeated referencing and protection offered to certain “sincerely held beliefs”, I felt it would be helpful to remind lawmakers, and anyone who may be inclined to abuse the loop-holes within this bill, of the Greatest Law, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” This – As a Christian –  Above All Else – Should be the most “Sincerely Held Belief.”

Romans 13:10

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

We are all in agreeance that Religious Freedom is a profound and indispensable asset to the Democracy of our United States of America. It has afforded us a safety and expression that allowed our country to foster a diverse and rich melting pot that supports moral exploration and spiritual enrichment. This freedom, however, does not equal carte blanche discrimination against other peoples when attributed to a religious belief. The separation of church and state is a two way street which allows for the protection of the church from governmental corruption or coercion, and equally so, a protection of the civil liberties and human rights upheld by our nation’s constitution.

The LGBTQ community, as a majority, does not wish or desire to force religious organizations that do not affirm their same-sex unions to perform their marriage sacraments.  The lobbyists who are writing these bills and planting unfounded fears of unaffirming Pastors and Priests being forced to do so, out of fear of being sued, is frankly ridiculous. A county clerk, on the other hand, needs to be capable of upholding the law, just as a doctor must be held to upholding their Hippocratic oath.

In regard to commerce related services, such as wedding cakes and so on, such bills may protect a bigoted baker from being sued for not making a cake for a same-sex couple, but my prediction is that they will not be so well  protected by the free market. I advice we petition to require such businesses, that choose not to offer services to certain people, to clearly label themselves as such – thereby allowing same sex couples to avoid the pain of being turned away by snide comments or bigoted remarks, and this also acts as a call to action for the community at large. The LGBTQ Community, Straight Allies and other Fair-Minded Businesses will be able to make an educated choice as to where their dollars are being spent, and in their support of ending discrimination, they will be able to consciously support businesses that do not practice discrimination.

When it comes to Landlords, Employers, Health Care providers, State and Federal employees, and a whole host of other service providers in states that pass these “religious freedom” bills – discrimination of any sort should be deemed inadmissible by our federal constitution. The only protection that should be afforded would be for a clergy member to not suffer legal recourse if they choose not to facilitate the marriage sacrament for a same sex couple. The end. The buck stops there.  A religious organization should still be upheld to recognize the legal validity of a state issued marriage license.

Thankfully, there are many clergy members who would gladly, and with the love of God, preside over the sacrament of marriage for same sex couples. And there are many more clergy members and faithful Christians who find the discrimination latent within such “religious freedom” bills to be a deplorable abuse and/or complete disregard of the teachings of Christ.

A truly faithful Christian baker who happens to not yet be capable of seeing the validity of a same-sex union would, when presented with the request to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, would defer to God and his infinite mystery and wisdom, and know that according to:

Galatians 5:14

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

This Baker would know that by sharing God’s love with this couple, that he/she has fulfilled his or her duty as a faithful follower of Christ. He or she would know that we are incapable of sharing God’s love if we harbor thoughts of judgement toward others, and/or if we project thoughts of judgment of others onto God.

This bill has been labeled with the term “Religious Freedom” yet, with a strong conviction, I observe it to be more accurately described as “ Religious Hijacking which makes Causalities of the True Teachings of Christ”.

1 John 4:7

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Pictured Above Left to Right: Bonnie Blue Edwards– Director of OUT IN ALABAMA, Ryan Jonze– Actor in RSVP and Co-Founder of BeeNest Films, Lance Marshall– Actor in RSVP and Co-Founder of Watergun Outlaw Productions, Shannon Beeby– Writer and Director of RSVP and Co-Founder of BeeNest Films, James Oxford– Co-Founder of Watergun Outlaw Productions,  Jenni Smith– Board of Directors of Crossroads Film Festival, Casey Parks– Director of THE BALLAD OF LITTLE PAM, Robbie Fischer– President of Crossroads Film Festival