I watched THE WATERHOLE one late afternoon while working my way through a small stack of movies that have been sent to me for screening consideration. As the credits rolled, I was a bit flummoxed. Here was an independent film that was floating around the edges of the festivals basically being nodded to here and there, but never truly acknowledged.
No one I knew had really seen it and there were few reviews -- but I was in touch via TWITTER with the film's writer/producer, Nathan Cole. He is very active in the tight Indie Film community that has developed online. He mentioned that he spoke to APFS alumnus Gary King (New York Lately) during a Exclusive Sneak Preview of his latest film, What's Up Lovely at L.A.'s Downtown Independent. Of course Gary gave us big props and Nathan passed the buzz on to me. It was at that point I asked Nathan to send me a copy of THE WATERHOLE. In the meantime, I got the good word on the film from Nic Baisley of FILM SNOBBERY, who had seen THE WATERHOLE and gave it a thumbs up. (I highly recommend FILM SNOBBERY as a "go to" Indie Film website)
But after seeing it myself, I couldn't believe the overall quality of the film. I immediately booked it to see what our audience would think. It was a bit difficult to promote, because there wasn't much in the way of press kit, and although there were familiar actors, none were headliners. ( I think this will change.) But what I love about our dear audience, for some reason, they trust me and boy did they turn out! The place was packed!
I'll let you hear it from Nathan's point of view which he expressed in an email he sent today...
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I am tempted to call the screening of THE WATERHOLE for The Annapolis Pretentious Film Society a watershed moment for our film. When I walked into the lobby of the O'Callaghan Hotel I really had no idea what to expect. We had been invited to screen here by a Pericles, who had a great reputation in the independent film community and which was kind of an honor in and of itself, but I wasn't sure if people in this quaint little Maryland town would have any interest in our low-budget film about a bar in Reno, Nevada. When you screen a film you have no idea who will show up. To be honest, I would have been happy if just my friends from Washington were able to make it to make it. This concern was not the child of pre-screening jitters, but from experience. We had only had four screenings prior and although they were all wonderful in their own way, the bulk of the audience was made up of friends and family that had been politely threatened to attend or else. I prepared myself for the worse.
Needless to say I was anxious as I exited the elevator on the fourth floor to the conference room where the film would be shown. And what did I see? A line. A line leading into this makeshift screening room that was already filling up quickly. I was overjoyed, people actually came to see this little independent film that had been rejected to all the major festivals, had no stars and didn't have any narrative gimmick. That moment of relief was quickly replace by the new anxiety of would they like it? This is a film about twenty-somethings drinking and making bad decisions. With a few exceptions, this audience was always considered to be college kids. That was not who I saw in the theater.
As is my new tradition, I stood at the back of the theater intending to watch the first few minutes before sneaking out and waiting nervously at the nearest bar. (I was so tired from the trip out that I even considered going back to my hotel room to take a cat nap.) Then something happened. The audience started laughing. In the right places. So I stuck around a little longer. And a little longer still and before I realized it the movie was over. Soon I was nervously rocking back and forth in front of the screen answering questions from the audience and the most amazing thing became clear: they liked the movie. They really wanted to know about the characters, the person who created them and the process that brought them to the screen.
It was filmmaker heaven.
It was filmmaker heaven.
The single most surprising and touching moment came when an older woman wanted to shake my hand at the bar later that night. She was the last person in the world I would have thought would have liked a film like ours. I have never been so happy in my life being wrong. It was the perfect end to a perfect night and I can not thank the Annapolis Pretentious Film Society enough for all their hard work, dedication and most of all for giving us the chance.
-Nathan Cole (writer/producer)
---------------------------------------------------To be honest, it was easy to give THE WATERHOLE a chance. It is a GOOD movie.THE WATERHOLE is a perfect example of great filmmaking that is ignored out there. Our audience was stunned! As I was trying to break down equipment, person after person thanked me for making this happen and I just pointed them in the direction of Nathan. It's the audience that is the foundation of the Annapolis Pretentious Film Society, but it is the magic of the filmmakers that provides all of the fun! Putting the two together is a titanic rush for me. I love it!
Speaking of filmmakers and titanic rushes, I just happened to pair THE WATERHOLE with it's perfect partner in the form of a short by our own Katie J Sieracki of Annapolis who wrote and directed, DUMPED -- which she made as a film student at the prestigious Tisch School for the Arts at New York University. DUMPED was a HUGE hit with the audience who agreed it was a great companion piece. Katie is currently completing her Senior project at NYU and we can't wait! (Above: Traci Hovel and Stephen Dexter in DUMPED) GREAT JOB KATIE!
Below is the entire Q&A in three parts from THE WATERHOLE screening. It is just a loose uncut example of the excitement Indie Film has generated in our city.
The Waterhole Q&A - Part 1 of 3 - July 9, O'Callaghan Hotel, Annapolis, Maryland
The Waterhole Q&A - Part 2 of 3 - July 9, O'Callaghan Hotel, Annapolis, Maryland
The Waterhole Q&A - Part 3 of 3 - July 9, O'Callaghan Hotel, Annapolis, Maryland
In closing, I want to mention that Jeff Grace and Blaise Miller were on Los Angeles' Film Courage Show hosted by David Branin and Karen Worden. Of course they were hilarious, but I was very proud that they gave the Annapolis Pretentious Film Society a big shout out to underscore how pleased they were with their May 20th screening at Rams Head On Stage! The July 11th podcast can be heard HERE.
Also, Idaho filmmaker, Gregory Bayne will be in town on Wednesday, July 28th with an exclusive Sneak Preview of his amazing independent feature, PERSON OF INTEREST. We will be posting this movie SOON! PERSON OF INTEREST is NOT to be missed.
Cheers,
Pericles
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