I got word in September that Stygian was an official selection in the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival as a part of their New Mexico True Shorts program.
When I first got the news, I was hit by a tidal wave of mixed feelings. Yeah, I was happy that Stygian made it into a festival - thrilled even - but the film from start to finish to now was such an emotional roller coaster that I wasn't sure what I was feeling.
I slept on it for a few nights and then I knew how I felt about it. I felt like I needed to go and see it. So I did. Tapped my social media/marketing manager to be my travel buddy, booked our tickets and bought a new pair of sunglasses to face the Santa Fe sun.
We flew out on the 14th so we'd be there for all the festivities. After a long day, though, we just grabbed our passes, some take out grub and then crashed to rest up for the next day. Despite the empty tanks from a full day of travel, we had good feelings about the days ahead.
We hit the Identity shorts section early in the day on the 15th to see what other films were in the festival. I was nervous going in, I wasn't sure how Stygian was going to stand next to some of these, but I've been told I'm my own worst critic. There were a couple of films in this program that really struck me. One in particular, about a Cuban boxer, was one that everyone seemed to think highly of. I left feeling pretty good about Stygian and even better when I saw I had an email that the first showing of the New Mexico True Shorts had sold out hours before it was due to be on.
The second showing wouldn't fit on the marquee board, either, but it was at 8PM. Scout's honor.
Because of the sell out, we wound up missing the actual festival premiere of Stygian. Which was good because my production designer from Stygian, Hendrick, was able to join us for the second showing of the film. The film had an odd juxtaposition, sandwiched between a music video about cell phones and another called "Waffles and Blow" (wildly entertaining and likely self-explanatory in content), so as far as emotional impact went, we hit the crowd right in their gut. So much so that a few covered their eyes in the final scene (won't say why - spoiler alert!).
We were a little early. Waiting for the show to begin...
I left the screening feeling proud of myself and the film for the first time, and especially glad that I decided to attend in the first place. The rest of the festival went well. We explored Santa Fe a little, did some hiking, and did a little bit of random (meeting Pen Densham in a froyo shop, chatting and leaving with a copy of his screenwriting book, which looks awesome by the way) and not-so-random (Filmmaker's Brunch) networking.
The day we were headed out, I had a chance to get my thoughts together and have a good chat with my folks about the festival experience as a whole.
After the festival, I have a much better sense of myself as a filmmaker. It was great to see and hear how many people enjoyed Stygian, and it really solidified my good feelings about going to New Mexico and attending the festival. And getting to see the audience's reaction was a good reality check, too. It was really gratifying to see the emotional hits.
To see Stygian up on the big screen and for it to stand up so well with the other films that it was shown with made the trip worth it. Sure, there were films that were better than Stygian, and in a different time of my life, I might have seen that and been envious. Now, though, I see them and it's inspiring. The right set of dominoes can fall, I just gotta keep plugging away. It felt good to see it up there and say, "You know what, this is a real thing and you know what, I can fucking do this."
There are still problems with Stygian and things that bothered me, but I can look at it with an objective eye now and actually find some things that I like. You can see the story and it's pretty clear what's up. Hendrick made a good point, too, in that Stygian is a very succinct film. The fat was trimmed and it doesn't feel bloated. A lot of short films have that problem, but thanks to some good advice, Stygian doesn't.
The festival was a good distraction from real life. Things have been a little hectic what with a move to LA (among a myriad other personal things) and I've been a wee bit depressed creatively and personally. Now, though, I feel like I can revamp and reboot. It's time to shift the focus to some other projects, which I'm feeling really good about, and start work on my first feature. Santa Fe was the breath of fresh air and kick in the ass that I needed. This may have been the first red carpet I walked on, but I'll be damned if it's the last.
Myself and my sidekicks: Production Designer Hendrick Onderdonk and Social Media/Marketing Manager Megan Cooper. Photo credit: Santa Fe Independent Film Festival Photographers and Facebook Page
We did get a few good snaps, so if you're interested, the photo gallery is here.