The Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, CA starts today! The first viewing of DNWA is at The Camera 12, 201 S. Second St., San Jose: March 4th @ 2pm and March 5th @ noon. To buy tickets, go to http://www.cinequest.org/2006/programguide/event_view.php?eid=151
Hope to see you there!
There was a housing summit today in Saint Augustine to discuss the deplorable conditions in some Saint Augustine neighborhoods. This meeting was organized after Senator Tony Hill viewed the film, Dare Not Walk Alone. He was appalled at the conditions of the houses shown in the documentary and wanted to address this situation by getting the city fathers together.
The meeting was held today, Feb 28. St Augustine Mayor, George Gardner stayed for a while and then stood up to leave. Before he left, however, he personally attacked Jeremy Dean for making Dare Not Walk Alone and said that Jeremy obviously only sees the "glass as half-empty." Mr. Gardner went on to say that Saint Augustine does not have a housing problem and then WALKED OUT of the meeting!. Everyone was totally stunned. (I would like to note here that Mr. Gardner's term expires in December, 2006. Thank goodness!)
After the Mayor walked out, the rest of the attendees boarded buses to view the worst areas of town and the areas needing the most help. Most people were visibly shaken and some even said they couldn't believe that they were still in America. The worst areas look more like Haiti than the well-groomed homes of the touristy areas of town.
I'm still waiting for word from the Mayor's office as to why he walked out and will advise you when I get a statement.
St Augustine residents did its local filmmaker proud by showing up in record numbers for this first local showing of DNWA. The seats for the 7:00PM show were filled by 6:30. In fact, so many people were being turned away for the first show, that the DNWA crew had to quickly scramble to put on an additional screening for 8:30PM. All in all, more than 1300 people attended.
The only thing missing were the media, especially the local media. This was very surprising when you consider that all the most disturbing events shown in the film took place less than two blocks away from the Flagler College Auditorium (where the film was shown). If anything, this could be a "Local Boy Does Good" type of story. Of course we didn't expect CNN to be there but it was surprising to find out that the TV stations and newspapers aren't interested in topical subjects. (And, yes, we did send out notices and invitations!)
I guess this proves the adage of television news: If it Bleeds, it Leads. We can only guess that DNWA doesn't have enough blood and guts and gore for the local media's interest.
Other good news, tho...
We have been accepted by the Independent Black Flim Festival in Atlanta, March 12-19. Their web site is:
http://www.indieblackfilm.com/IBFHome.html
More news as we get it. Thanks for all your support and we look forward to meeting you at the festivals!
---DNWA ---
There have been a number of local media persons who have been requesting interviews with director, Jeremy Dean. We're all very busy getting ready for various showings and workshops but, if you would like more information or an appointment for an interview, please contact one of the following persons:
Jeremy Dean (writer/director) jeremy_dean88 at hotmail.com
Stephen Cobb (executive producer) sc at cobb.com
Chey Cobb (executive producer) cheycobb at gmail.com
By the way, the Flagler College paper did a nice piece on Jeremy and DNWA. (Jeremy is an alumnus of the college.)
http://gargoyle.flagler.edu/?p=283
Thanks for all your notes of praise and encouragement! information on how to donate to the Dare Not Walk Alone foundation will be coming soon.
The Saint Augustine premier of DNWA will be on Sunday, February 12 at 7:00PM at the Flagler College Auditorium. Tickets are free and there is seating for 800 persons.
DNWA has been accepted to the San Jose Film Festival (California - http://www.cinequest.org/2006/programguide/) in March. This event is usually a sell-out, so be sure to get your tickets soon!
DNWA premiered in Jacksonville, Fl at the historic Ritz Theatre on Saturday, February 4th. State Senator Tony Hill introduced the film and the crowd of more than 400 people gave it a standing ovation. Many viewers were visibly moved by the story.
Director Jeremy Dean did a quick question and answer period after the film and was then interviewed by local media and various government representatives.
The next showing of the film will be in Saint Augustine on Sunday, February 12.
Welcome to the blog site for the documentary movie, Dare Not Walk Alone.
