Successful Private Premiere!

/in /by

Just before the screening, a thunderstorm exploded.  The sudden heavy downpour and high winds flooded roads and created dangerous driving conditions, preventing some of our guests from attending.  Others took their seats dripping wet.  We started late, to allow as many to get to the theater as possible before the screening began.

Then about 70 minutes or so into the screening, the Blu-ray skipped.  Seconds later, it stopped completely.  I felt sick.  Rick ran up to the projection room where there was nobody in attendance.  Apparently, projectionists do double duty as concession stand staff.  The culprit, Rick believes, was a greasy fingerprint on the disc.  There were no scratches.

Ultimately, the film resumed without further glitches.  One MIGHT think all this resulted in a disastrous screening.  But the premiere, like life and all political struggles, presented challenges to overcome – but those challenges don’t necessarily predict defeat.

Despite the weather, we had a great turnout.  We had good food and stimulating conversation at our reception afterwards.  We got to meet some of the many people who generously contributed video and photos to the project.  We got to hear the reactions of some of the interviewees who appeared in the film (almost universally positive!)  And we connected with people who offered opportunities to promote our film.

So far we have in the works:

  • A review upcoming in the Isthmus
  • Two interviews on local radio
  • A screening of a clip from our film at Fighting Bob Fest
  • A screening of our film in Spring Green, Wisconsin
  • A screening in Argentina!

And much more.  Follow this page for details in the coming days and weeks.  OUR FIRST PUBLIC SCREENING WILL BE ON 8/25 AT THE SUNDANCE HERE IN MADISON.  We’ll provide a link where you can buy tickets in a few days.

Meantime, we again wish to thank all those who helped to bring this project to fruition – the Wisconsin Uprising Archive (a community archive of citizen-produced media), individuals who donated video and photos, our interviewees who contributed time and insights that strengthened our critical analysis, and our family and friends who supported and encouraged us during this 3 ½ year project.  We are deeply grateful for your generosity.

Finally, we wish to thank our amazing post-production team – Gretta Wing Miller and Aarick Beher of Downtown Dailies/Blue Studio.  Gretta’s hard work, impressive editorial skills, and creative inspiration together with Aarick’s finely-tuned ear and painstaking work as sound engineer made it possible for us to produce the film we imagined.  And it has been great fun working with them!

Here’s a little sneak peak of a section of the poster Gretta is working on…