1. The Lone Star International Film Festival is held in Fort Worth, Texas. I can’t tell you how excited I am to screen in the state after using it as my fictional setting. We’d come close with the Dallas Video Fest, but there was some confusion, as you can read about here. The cool thing is: it’s the Lone Star organizers who had recommended us to the Dallas fest, and now have invited us to screen in Fort Worth.

2. The Zero Film Festival is designed to support “authentically” independent movies. If you’re wondering “authentic” means in this context, it’s really no puzzle: the key is that all films are self-financed by the filmmakers. Based in Brooklyn, but they’re putting together tours of the fest’s films to other cities.

3. NewFilmmakers NY doesn’t have a typical “fest” structure—rather, they put on ongoing film programs at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan. TEXAS 1960 was chosen for the winter series and will screen in February.

We were recommended for inclusion to the fest organizers on short notice… Unfortunately, it turned out we were selected as part of their “Texas Show” showcase on the final night of the fest, which is reserved for Texan filmmakers. Though it pained me to do it, I had to come clean that we weren’t from Texas. Our cast includes folks from Lousiana, New Mexico, Georgia, even Hawaii… I’m from Missouri… but no Texans.

Of course the film was de facto disqualified, but the organizers were very gracious about the mix-up… they even told us their jurors took an extra bit of time looking for a way to include the film, which was great for us to hear.

But anyway, you heard it here first, and now, if you will, you can un-hear it. Congratulations to our little crew anyway, especially the actors! If a Texas-based festival liked the film enough to include it on short notice, that’s quite a kudos to their performances with regard to dialect and accent. Jessie Birschbach, one of our actresses, took the time to prepare and share a digital package including MP3s of West Texas dialect which we sent around to all the cast before shooting, and I think her work paid off.

Starring Milly Sanders, Shawn Petersen, Dixie Perkinson, and Jessie Birschbach.

From a synopsis: In West Texas circa 1960, two men stumble into the hills after a robbery gone wrong. Witnesses recount details of the crime, but the more the Sheriff hears, the less he really gets.

While checking it out, I got to see for the first time her performance in the short film Maxxximum Disclosure, which is hilarious and weird.

Filmed and edited by Matt Thiesen and starring Milly Sanders & Hank Pink.

Maxxximum Disclosure from MattFilm on Vimeo.

And there’s a photo of me working with Milly that Elana snapped.