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Revelation Perth International Film Festival

Things have been pretty quiet on the 72 musicians front lately, as I’ve been absolutely swamped with work on the software that powers this site (Topspin). But last night, as I was desperately tracking the film as it bounced around the globe via FedEx on its way to the 2010 Revelation Perth International Film Festival in Australia, I realized that its been exactly one year since I first put this site up and started giving away the soundtrack to the film (and hassling my coworkers with it).

Since then, the film screened at four great film festivals, had two great event screenings in Kansas City (should we do one more? recordBar? one in LA?) and has been downloaded by almost 1000 people. I even managed to make a couple of bucks, though the film is still solidly in the red. Next week when it screens in Australia might be the last time it plays on a big screen. That was a fast year. Damn.

But having its final screening at Revelation, and in a doc program loaded with badass music docs, is totally humbling. Let me be honest — I have no idea what our film is doing in this festival. Seriously. The program is loaded with films from Sundance, Toronto, Cannes… films made by Cory McAbee, Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson, Adrian Grenier, Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Freidman, E.E. Cassidy, Tom DeCillo... its amazing to have 72 musicians included in this incredible field. Thank you, Jack. It means a lot to me. Going out on top!

It’s also amazing to see Topspin represented across that festival field so thoroughly, too. Cory McAbee’s Stingray Sam, Jon Reiss’ Bomb It, Tom DeCillo’s When You’re Strange… all using the same Topspin software as 72 musicians. I really wish I could be there to talk about the software, and how it helps artists. If only Perth were just a little bit closer. Heh.

So all that brings me to this simple line: THANK YOU. Your support for the film, the software and me means an awful lot. It’s been a fun year.

Ok. That’s the news for now. More updates as I hear them from Australia.

Let’s hope that FedEx plane is on time.

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Man… I really wish we could’ve attended this one. Alaska is a beautiful place. And it seems like the film played well, too.

Dig this super kind blog post:

http://justlonny.blogspot.com/2010/02/anchorage-international-film-festival.html

Thanks for being such an amazing supporter of the film, Lonny. Let me know if you’re ever in LA or KC.

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A couple of days after the film screening at VideoFest in Dallas, my trustworthy 72 musicians Google Alert popped into my mailbox and linked to a review that totally BLASTS the film. Ouch.

Maybe its my trouble-making streak acting up, maybe its hubris, maybe its that I genuinely love the people and bands in my film… but I couldn’t help but respond. Maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut?

http://www.pegasusnews.com/events/2009/nov/07/166275/

Funny shit.

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Did you know that 72 musicians was eligible to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It’s true. All the films that play this festival become eligible, which is actually kinda hard to accomplish. Hilarious.

We didn’t get nominated, ‘case you were wondering.

http://www.hsdff.org/2009filmselection/72-musicians

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Well, that image just about sums it up, huh? (We’ve also updated the trailer.) I’m gonna tell you the whole story, but first a couple of caveats:

1. If you live in Kansas City or Lawrence, KS, you should still see a film or two at the Kansas International Film Festival. You can buy tickets HERE.

2. Film festivals are in a tough spot, and need to evolve to survive. Their selection process is their most valuable asset, and they should absolutely stick to their guns when it comes to how they program their festivals.

Now, that said, let me tell you the sad and hilarious story of why you won’t be able to see 72 musicians at the Kansas International Film Festival.

Here’s the short version: The film was never actually accepted. Turns out, it was rejected.

The long version begins in May, shortly after we finished the film. I was traveling for work, checked my voice mail, and heard a really cool and exciting message from Dr. Ben Meade, president of the festival. In the voicemail he said something to the effect of “Hey, I’m Ben Meade, I just watched your film and it knocked me off my couch and across my basement. We’re going to program it at the Kansas International Film Fest, and I want to talk to about some other festivals where I want to make sure you submit it, too.”

Needless to say, I was pretty stoked. We really wanted the film to play at KIFF, as it gave us the best chance to show the film to everyone in KC and Lawrence. Perfect. So I called Dr. Meade back, and we had a great conversation about where else I should submit the film, about KIFF, and about his own music doc called American Music: Off The Record. We also talked about my work at Topspin, building marketing and management software for artists. We left off that he’d contact me with more details closer to the festival.

I called Nick, the film’s editor, and we added the KIFF laurels to the film’s trailer. Sure, I probably should’ve waited for written confirmation of acceptance, but I *did* just hear directly from the president of the festival. And let’s be honest: KIFF isn’t a major festival. It’s a small festival that needs all the help it can get to put butts in seats. So knowing that I had powerful marketing tools and a pretty good size email list at my command, I set out to make sure I promoted KIFF whenever I talked about the film, and to make sure that we had a packed house come September. And it was working.

Whoops.

So fast forward to a week or so ago, when the emails from fans are rolling in and I’m getting ready to do some press but we still haven’t heard back from KIFF about screening dates, times, travel, etc… and then suddenly there was a list of films on the 2009 KIFF web site. And 72 musicians isn’t one of them.

I emailed Ben Meade, I called Ben Meade, I emailed the festival, and then I finally cold-called the Glenwood Arts Theatre and got Brian Mossman on the phone. Brian owns the Glenwood and is the vice president of KIFF festival operations. I felt kinda bad putting the question to him so bluntly, but I wasn’t sure what else to do.

“Hey Brian, thanks for taking my call. My name is Bob. I made a film called 72 musicians. I have kind of an awkward question. Ben Meade told me 72 musicians was playing your festival, and now I don’t see it listed as part of the program. Ummmm… is our film in the festival?”

Brian told me pretty clearly that the film wasn’t in the festival. Dr. Meade had really liked it, and pushed for it, but he was just one vote, and the rest of the board decided not to program the film.

Uh-oh.

“Ok, well… alright,” I stuttered. “So ummm… ok. This is even more awkward. Because I really don’t want to lobby you for inclusion. I don’t. I think you should program your festival your way. I do. But well… umm… What would you like me to tell the almost 2000 people on my email list? What should I do about all the people asking me where and when they can get tickets to your festival?”

“Let me talk to the board at tonight’s meeting and I’ll call you back.” said Brian.

Fair answer. We’ve got a mess on our hands, let’s take a day to sort it out. Cool by me. Then a funny thing happened. No one called me back. Or answered my emails.

So on Tuesday, on my way to work, I again cold-called the Glenwood and got Brian on the phone. Same story. Film still rejected.

“Maybe we can do some kind of joint fundraiser thing for the festival and the film after the festival is over,” Brian suggested. “But you should just tell people the film was rejected.”

Ok, well: there it is. The film was rejected. And I just sent an email to about 2000 people, saying the same thing, and telling them not to buy tickets to the KIFF if they’re hoping to see 72 musicians.

Bummer.

But, this gives us a great opportunity to revisit a question I was asked on KCUR Radio week before last. You can listen to the program here:

I was on The Walt Bodine Show, talking about the film and local music. Gina Kaufman asked me what could be better about the way KC and Lawrence music and arts function. I took the easy way out, calling out local media for not supporting local content. I stand by that point, but what I should’ve said is… BE PROFESSIONAL and BE SMART.

Yes, that means not calling filmmakers and telling them their film is in a festival when it’s not. For filmmakers, that means not assuming, and double-checking confirmations before starting the marketing process. But in general, it means understanding the modern media world and running your arts and culture programs appropriately. Answer emails. Return phone calls. Have a killer web presence. Understand that fan attention is scarce, and that you should never, ever take it for granted.

And it also means abandoning the process of waiting for approvals or acceptance from festivals, press, labels, etc. It means making your art your way, connecting with fans, and giving them a reason to support your work financially.

Moral of the story: Connect with fans directly.
I have people who want to see 72 musicians. Why was I letting the Kansas International Film Festival dictate whether or not they can see it?

Lesson learned.

Hey Kansas City… where are we screening the film? House? Bar? Theater?
My email is on the right rail.
Let’s do this.

-bob

ps — No, I haven’t given up on film festivals. We had a good experience and learned a lot at the Maine International Film Festival in July. But it’s time for better strategery and frank discussion on which events we allow to delay our own marketing and distribution plans.

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72 musicians is not a film about music.

It’s a film about musicians. It doesn’t have any of the standard identification or background info about the names of the bands. It doesn’t have their history, the labels they’re on, or even the names of the songs you’ll hear. For most people (and especially for people who like films about music), it might be kind of annoying. But the film has a bigger story to tell; and it is a story that gets better if the viewer is willing to decide for themselves what they think of the music — without influence from marketing or critical commentary.

“But what if someone sees the film and really likes some of the music?”

“Or what if someone is a big fan of one of these bands and wants to see them in the film? How will they find out about it?”

Well, that’s what the soundtrack is for.

So, here it is. Twelve songs. All recorded in one take, on the same stage, by the same equipment, by the same guy (Duane Trower). And while there is a lot more music to come in the film itself, I really believe this 12-song “album” is worthy of your attention on its own merits.

Here’s why:

There are very, very few bands (or artists of any medium, for that matter) that would allow themselves to be preserved for judgement in such a raw, naked state. ONE TAKE. No overdubs. In front of a paying audience. And with no control over the front of house mix, or the recorded mix that you’re listening to now. I don’t care who you are, that takes commitment to your artistic vision. And balls. This kind of exposure would fucking wilt most bands.

And yet what you hear immediately in these songs is a passion that’s been processed right out of most commercial recordings. Savor it.

That’s what dreams sound like.

On the top right corner of this page you can download the album. It’s free. Please share it. E-mail this post to your friends. Hit “Share” on the player above and send the music into your Facebook news feed. If you use Twitter, post it there, too. And I’m not just saying that to get people excited about the film. These bands and I are in this together. And they have fans all over the world that may not know these songs exist.

I spoke with Brandon from The Architects last night as he drove from Houston to Dallas on the Warped Tour. He sounded exhausted. I saw Al from The Life and Times in LA a couple weeks ago, and he sounded exhausted. But damn, were they happy. Help ‘em out. Spread the word. Pick the song you like best, and share the hell of it. Then go buy the original.

Here’s the album info, and some links to the original recordings:

1. Que Sera, Sera — The Life And Times — BUY at Amazon
2. Scatter Baby Spiders — Ad Astra Per Aspera — BUY at Amazon
3. Fuego — Olympic Size — Find the limited edition album You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone at Kansas City, MO and Lawrence, KS record stores (hurry!)
4. My Life After Death, Parts I & II — Roman Numerals — BUY at Amazon
5. Don’t Call It A Ghetto — The Architects — BUY at Amazon
6. We’re Just Temporary Ma’am — White Whale — BUY at Amazon
7. Ice Machine — The Stella Link — BUY at Amazon
8. The Handless Man — In The Pines — BUY at Amazon
9. Pills — Sal Retta — (If someone knows of an album, please share. -bob)
10. Lesser Fates — Namelessnumberheadman — BUY at Amazon
11. On Reflection — The Appleseed Cast — BUY at Amazon
12. What Happens On The Road Always Comes Home — Coalesce — BUY at Amazon

Megan Hamilton (Frogpond, Oxblood Records)

Could the film have been done sooner? I’m not sure. ‘Cuz to be honest, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. I’d never made a film before, Nick had never cut one, and neither of us realized how much help we would need from Tom, Duane, Bill or Jason. 

And it’s still not *totally* done. But it’s done enough to have been submitted to a ton of small and regional festivals. Done enough to have been accepted at two, maybe three of ‘em so far. And done enough for me to start using the software I’ve been helping build for the last year to get this thing ready for the world. We’re going to premiere at the Maine International Film Festival on July 12th, then hopefully head to KC for an underground sneak-peak fundraiser thing, and then screen at festivals during the fall, including the Kansas International Film Festival in September.

Most of my LA peeps don’t even know this film exists. Most of my KC peeps wonder what the fuck I’ve been doing all this time. The rest of you are probably saying “Oh, jeez, Bob. You made a movie? Really? Do we have to watch it?”

The answer is “No.” Unless you want to. Unless you love music. Unless you love musicians. Then you *have* to watch it. Because in my opinion, the musicians in the film deserve to be heard. Not because they’re geniuses, but because they aren’t. Because they’re honest and real, like you and me. Human. Flawed. And good.

I really hope we’ve made something that makes ‘em proud. Again, fingers crossed.

Thanks for reading this far.
More soon.