1. IT TAKES TIME! As I have done many times I again apologize to anyone and everyone eager to see this film 'happen' more than it already has. Unfortunately it's not an easy task when it's your first film and I don't have a lot of friends and connections in the industry! Film festival after film festival is really the only option for me and that can take a very long time and is more out of my hands than I care to admit!
Also, I've learned that many people ask to see the film and to let me know what they think about it - and guess what? I never hear from them! Still they manage to ditch it on ImdB and make sure it gets an extremely low rating in there! It's a real pity! Is it perfect? Absolutely not! And it was never meant to be! But I do wish that people would communicate a little better instead of choosing that form of 'review' which I will then never learn why was so bad and what they actually thought of it!
I really wanted criticism - but got none! Around 100 people have seen the film and I have actually not received feedback from a single one of them. I don't know if that's the 'industry' - if that's people afraid to tell me what they really think or if that's just sad! But part of my own learning process with this project was definitely feedback and so far I haven't been lucky enough to get it from a festival. It's now been completed for a year and in many ways that's a long time - but I've also learned that in many ways it's not! I know we're not done with its journey yet and though it obviously has taken time and will take even longer I know that we will get to a point where it will get some more publicity and finally be seen by people who will judge it as what it is: My first film with a great cast and a great story and lots of 'mistakes' and imperfections! Which is what a first film should be all about I think!
Very nice, Chris. Candid and complete, your thoughts are very much appreciated. Many a film has taken its sweet time to gestate; some are even released several years after their debut. Not to worry, it's the perseverance to see this find its way and eventual home(s) that matters most. I'd be more concerned if you simply threw in the towel and moved on, as has happened to me with a feature I starred in and will forever care a great deal. Fortunately, I (not the director and not the producer) found it a home on a very prestigious film institute's film collection of worthy but unseen films. There's always a solution, when one cares enough to find it. This is a film with an obvious European tenor in its moody ethereality, so perhaps those festivals are a more obvious choice for us. But I've no doubt you will continue your pursuit to give WILLA its due, and I thank you. Updates are helpful. Don't be afraid to write even when there isn't necessarily 'news' to share; that's appreciated too. :-)
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