(Note: the following has been posted on the electricnight.com home page for the last 2 weeks. After some thought, I have decided that the blog is the better place for this. I will be reloading the electricnight.com site with an uncommented version of the winners' list tomorrow evening.)
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This is the (long-awaited) formal announcement page for the winners of the 2006 Blue November MicroFilmFest. It has taken me an extraordinary amount of time to get around to posting this; everyone has been exceedingly patient with me and I very much appreciate that.
The reason it has taken so long to do even this small act is simple: I didn't want to touch anything regarding the festival, didn't want to do anything with it, didn't even want to think about it. Truth is, I don't
feel much like writing this right now, but I feel that I must, if for no other reason than to move on to other things.
I have been in love with Blue November for the last several years. I was there at every one, and it seemed to get better each time. Somehow, on those nights, the science and the art of filmmaking would commingle and produce some truly wonderful things. But I made one momentous mistake: I thought that, just by being a part of things, just by virtue of being there, that I would be able to channel the lightning the way Captain did. Essentially, I was foolish enough to think that something that so uniquely reflected Captain's vision could be a reflection of mine as well.
I set up the venues, got the advertising, coordinated the acts... all the physical things that are needed for a festival were there... but somehow, the magic was not. Worse yet, important bridges were burned (or at least strained) by various things that happened during and after the event. And as far as attendance goes, at times I felt like I was twisting people's arms to get them to come out. This is not a position I want to be in, and yet it all comes back to my own actions. I didn't fully realize how much was at stake until it was really too late to do anything except strap in, hang on, and pray.
Captain and I had a very deep conversation about this over the Christmas holiday. We both came to the same conclusion: he should have the Blue November name, and he should run the festival, in his own way.
Blue November is not mine, and I discovered through my own experience that it never really was. It was a weird kind of liberation; on the one hand I hated letting go of Blue November, but on the other I would be free to pursue other things, and maybe do my very own festival - from scratch this time - at some later date.
And so, in closing: no, there will not be a Blue November 2007. Not in Tulsa, at least. The original Blue November has moved to Seattle, which is perhaps a better home for it anyway. And no, Captain and I have not had any sort of a falling-out. This was a very mutual decision for us both and we are still good friends. Yes, it's my sincere hope that those who attended in 2006 enjoyed the event, and though I paint a
rather bleak picture here, keep in mind that what you're reading is my own internal monologue - from an audience perspective, Blue November was still very much worth attending, if only to catch what I felt was an especially robust program of fresh art and performance (there was no "filler;" if nothing else, I was extremely happy with this year's selections). And finally, yes, I enjoyed seeing all of you this year, and hope to see you again down the road... in some other month besides November.
I appreciate whoever's reading this for putting up with my rambling. It's a very passionate subject for me, and I likely won't talk much about it after this.
Thanks, and God bless.
--Bret Mix
(Note: I finally figured out how to EDIT a post, not just, uh, post a post. My apologies to Courtney Fathom Sell, who was incorrectly listed as Courtney Fathom Wells until tonight. Thanks for your patience, Courtney, and I wish you continued success.)
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---
This is the (long-awaited) formal announcement page for the winners of the 2006 Blue November MicroFilmFest. It has taken me an extraordinary amount of time to get around to posting this; everyone has been exceedingly patient with me and I very much appreciate that.
The reason it has taken so long to do even this small act is simple: I didn't want to touch anything regarding the festival, didn't want to do anything with it, didn't even want to think about it. Truth is, I don't
feel much like writing this right now, but I feel that I must, if for no other reason than to move on to other things.
I have been in love with Blue November for the last several years. I was there at every one, and it seemed to get better each time. Somehow, on those nights, the science and the art of filmmaking would commingle and produce some truly wonderful things. But I made one momentous mistake: I thought that, just by being a part of things, just by virtue of being there, that I would be able to channel the lightning the way Captain did. Essentially, I was foolish enough to think that something that so uniquely reflected Captain's vision could be a reflection of mine as well.
I set up the venues, got the advertising, coordinated the acts... all the physical things that are needed for a festival were there... but somehow, the magic was not. Worse yet, important bridges were burned (or at least strained) by various things that happened during and after the event. And as far as attendance goes, at times I felt like I was twisting people's arms to get them to come out. This is not a position I want to be in, and yet it all comes back to my own actions. I didn't fully realize how much was at stake until it was really too late to do anything except strap in, hang on, and pray.
Captain and I had a very deep conversation about this over the Christmas holiday. We both came to the same conclusion: he should have the Blue November name, and he should run the festival, in his own way.
Blue November is not mine, and I discovered through my own experience that it never really was. It was a weird kind of liberation; on the one hand I hated letting go of Blue November, but on the other I would be free to pursue other things, and maybe do my very own festival - from scratch this time - at some later date.
And so, in closing: no, there will not be a Blue November 2007. Not in Tulsa, at least. The original Blue November has moved to Seattle, which is perhaps a better home for it anyway. And no, Captain and I have not had any sort of a falling-out. This was a very mutual decision for us both and we are still good friends. Yes, it's my sincere hope that those who attended in 2006 enjoyed the event, and though I paint a
rather bleak picture here, keep in mind that what you're reading is my own internal monologue - from an audience perspective, Blue November was still very much worth attending, if only to catch what I felt was an especially robust program of fresh art and performance (there was no "filler;" if nothing else, I was extremely happy with this year's selections). And finally, yes, I enjoyed seeing all of you this year, and hope to see you again down the road... in some other month besides November.
I appreciate whoever's reading this for putting up with my rambling. It's a very passionate subject for me, and I likely won't talk much about it after this.
Thanks, and God bless.
--Bret Mix
AND NOW, THE WINNERS:
Best Performance:
Brian Ross and Matthew Christian
for Life's Little Gaps
(Director: Scott Hillhouse)
Best Production:
Purgatory House
(Director: Cindy Baer)
Best Picture:
No Place Like Home
(Director: Courtney Fathom Sell)
Auteur of the Year:
Edward Martin III
for various projects
Best Performance:
Brian Ross and Matthew Christian
for Life's Little Gaps
(Director: Scott Hillhouse)
Best Production:
Purgatory House
(Director: Cindy Baer)
Best Picture:
No Place Like Home
(Director: Courtney Fathom Sell)
Auteur of the Year:
Edward Martin III
for various projects
(Note: I finally figured out how to EDIT a post, not just, uh, post a post. My apologies to Courtney Fathom Sell, who was incorrectly listed as Courtney Fathom Wells until tonight. Thanks for your patience, Courtney, and I wish you continued success.)
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