A society of filmmakers and film lovers dedicated to the exhibition, appreciation, and support of independent cinematic excellence, as well as the consumption of munchies and frosty libations while doing such.
The Annapolis Pretentious Film Society is proud to screen an Exclusive Sneak Preview Presented by its Director
Gregory Bayne's
"PERSON OF INTEREST"
One Show Only!
Director Gregory Bayne will be in town from Boise, Idaho
to introduce his film and participate in a post screening Q&A.
This special preview will be the FIRST screening of PERSON OF INTEREST as it begins its national "OFF THE GRID" Film Tour.
Starring J.Reuben Appelman as Iraqi War Vet Terrance Dyer
Synopsis:
Terrance Dyer is a veteran of the war in Iraq, a self-proclaimed American Patriot and seasoned combat fighter, now living underground in the streets of Seattle, and fighting an equally hair-trigger battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Led by an acute sense of paranoia, Terrance becomes convinced that the federal government is setting him up as the fall guy in a soon-to-be terrorist attack on American soil, yet his reactions to the paranoia unmistakably parallel that of a would-be terrorist.
After finding connection with a young journalist looking to tell his story, Terrance sinks rapidly into a heightened sense of morality and betrayal leading him inevitably toward violence.
At once controversial and definitive, vehemently proactive, and overwhelmingly relevant in a political climate charged with uncertainties, Person of Interest gives voice to a disenfranchised generation of soldiers, while bravely prodding at the seams of homegrown terrorism in the United States.
Where: The O'Callaghan Annapolis Hotel
174 West Street, Annapolis
When: Wednesday, July 28th
Time: 8:00 PM 410-263-7700
Tickets will be on sale at the door:
CASH ONLY!
$10. per person
$8. per ticket with purchase at the John Barry Bar and Restaurant (See Below) $8 admission for Veterans, Miltary and Senior Citizens
Special room rate for attendees who want to stay overnight at the O'Callaghan on the night of the show! Tickets included! (See Below)
How do you get your $8 ticket?
The O'Callaghan Hotel is also the home of the John Barry Bar and Restaurant. Between 4 and 7pm, the John Barry has $4 appetizers and drink specials for Happy Hour. Present your receipt at the door of the Galway Screening Room and receive a $2 ticket discount. The receipt must show a minimum purchase of $10. If you are coming for dinner, please call and make a reservation. If you are just coming to enjoy Happy Hour, you need not call ahead.
NEW! - There will be a cash bar with movie snacks available in the Galway screening room. Snacks and refreshments including beer and wine will be available during the movie.
Special Overnight Rate for attendees
If you would like to stay overnight at the O'Callaghan Annapolis Hotel, there is a special room rate of $109.00 that includes the price of two tickets. Call 410-263-7700 and ask for the "FILM RATE."This is a great deal for a nights stay in Annapolis in a fine hotel, located downtown and a short walk to the city dock.
Where do you park?
Less than one block from the O'Callaghan on Colonial Avenue is the Knighton Parking Garage (behind the Lemongrass Restaurant) which has affordable pricing. Parking IS NOT available at the hotel for this event.
This is a very exclusive special engagement for the Annapolis Pretentious Film Society. The doors will close promptly at the start of the screening. There will be no trailers, or shorts shown before the film. The total run time of PERSON OF INTEREST is 76 minutes. The director Q&A will begin immediately after the screening.
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!
We were screening THE WATERHOLE in a brand new venue, the prestigious O'Callaghan Annapolis Hotel in the heart of our brand new arts district. I love the place! Nathan came to town to support his film and we sat in the hotel's John Barry Bar around 5pm chatting alone, each with a pint of Guinness. We were alone and I was thinking it must have seemed a little scary to Nathan, but then the mighty APFS began to show.
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.
I say this was a watershed moment because until this point we really didn't know what we had in this film. We were proud of it and the positive response it had received thus far, but rejection has a way of beating you down. To be able to take it to an audience on the other side of the country, who knew nothing about it or the people who made it, and get an overwhelmingly positive response was to get a second wind. To renew our faith in the project and focus clearly on what we needed to do, which is to continue to try and get people to see it, because when they do they will like. Maybe not all of them, but more than we could have imagined. I am so grateful for all the questions and comments, for all the people coming up after the screening and saying how much they loved it or emailing me their thoughts and congratulations the next day, but I am most grateful to The Annapolis Pretentious Film Society for making it happen.
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.
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.
