23 September 2005

The skies were blue, the water was warm and California braced itself for the first screening of Matt Daniels’ Inde flick. But going to another country to promote your film is no holiday (vacation) as director Matt Daniels explains:

“The festival was a great success. One of the biggest challenges was figuring out the best way to market the film on new territory. We have done a number of festivals in the UK now and we pretty much have the process down. The U.S. festivals seem the same on the surface but there are a number of subtle differences that pushed us hard to make the most of the experience. There were so many more networking opportunities compared to most U.K festivals. With Hollywood just up the road one in three people over here seem to have a link with the industry. You need a quick memory for names and faces to keep on top of who is who and who knows who and who might introduce you to who! It was great fun."

With three screenings of Powerless, a premiere red carpet event and a star studded award gala there was little time for lying around in the Californian sun. “We were driving backwards and forwards all over L.A. ”, said Martha Wilkins who plays Ruth in the film, “There was a real pressure on us to get things done in a limited time as we only had one week in the U.S… but L.A. is lush! I got to see Hollywood and walk up a red carpet so I’m not complaining!”

“We were really pleased with the feedback from the American audiences” explained Matt, “having only screened the film in the U.K. we were hoping we had a film that would cross the U.S. – U.K. culture gap. All the thumbs were up! Everyone we talked to had great things to say about the movie”.

Look out for Matt and Martha’s Video Diary of the festival coming up soon