Best Live Action Short Film

I received an email today from the BAMkids Film Festival:

"Dear Andy,

It is our pleasure to inform you that Butterflies has received the BAMmie (as rated by the children) for the Best Live Action Short Film at the 11th Annual BAMkids Film Festival."

BAMkids Film Festival

I was notified today that Butterflies has been accepted into the 11th Annual BAMKids International Film Festival. They requested me to submit the film, after it showed at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (which means they waved the submission fee-- and that calls for a big high-five. Come on, high-five me. I'm waiting.)

Meeting Rogue Wave

It's been a while since I updated the blog.
I received a great email today from a woman in Michigan who saw Butterflies, and it made me remember that I had not posted a picture of the time I met Rogue Wave (they did the song "Eyes," which I used in the film.)
May 26, 2008. Rogue Wave were touring with Death Cab for Cutie, and I was able to meet them after the show and give them a copy of Butterflies. In my opinion their song complimented the emotion of the film perfectly.
It was great to meet them. Very cool guys.

Redemptive Storyteller Award

I have been notified that Butterflies was selected to receive a Redemptive Storyteller Award for 2008 from the Redemptive Film Festival. Awesome! The festival is Oct 31st in Virginia.

Acceptance and Rejection

I had submitted Butterflies to twenty different film festivals. A pretty good mix of children's film festivals and "regular" big festivals. Slowly I have been getting emails back, either accepting or rejecting the film.
This evening I got a rejection email from AFI Fest. They had over 3000 entries and only 140 slots to fill.
These festivals are so competitive and different, that it's hard to even guess when you really have a chance at a given festival.
But even though that is the case, and you just never know what kind of mood the selection committees are in, it just doesn't change the fact that getting accepted is exciting and getting rejected is a little disappointing.

New Orleans

You can see the New Orleans screening time and info for Butterflies here: https://noff2008.withoutabox.com/festivals/event_item.php?id=18809

Fear

I received a phone call today from a friend in Idaho. He told me that he showed Butterflies to his family, and they loved it. He said they also showed it to his niece who has been feeling nervous about school. I hope it may have helped a little. Sometimes, even if you can't seem to conquer a fear, it's nice just to identify with someone else.

When I was a kid I used to get so nervous and sick to my stomach about school. The worst was in 6th grade gym class. There was a period when we did swimming, and for some reason it was absolutely terrible for me. I'm sure I could get all analytical here, but all that matters is that I hated, feared, and dreaded it. I would go to bed at night worrying myself sick about the fact that I had to go to gym class the next day. And then I would spend the hour in Math class practically nauseous over the fact that I had to go swimming next. And then it would be over, and I would finish the day and go to bed worrying again.

Even though I look back and understand what a small thing it was, it doesn't matter--comparatively speaking there is nothing in my life right now that makes me as scared and worried as some things did back then.