Themestream rating 4 stars
Laughing Boy and the Melbourne Independent
Filmmakers Festival
by Brazil
J. Grisaffi
November 4, 2000
L to R: Brazil J. Grisaffi, Sheila Sawyer and
Terry Cronin.
My independent film LAUGHING BOY was accepted to the Melbourne Independent Filmmakers
Festival 2000 in Florida which took place on September 9th. The festival was a small
one-day event, but it was also our best festival experience yet and a day I will never
forget.
The Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival (MIFF) scored points with me right away when
I learned there was no entry fee. After checking out their website,
www.3boysproductions.com, I also learned that all the proceeds they raise from the
festival go to charity, Unconditional Love, Inc., a non-for-profit HIV patient care
center. I do not know of any other film festivals that donate all their profits to
charity. Other festivals should take note of this. More points scored.
We arrived in Florida the night before the festival, Friday, Sept. 8. We stopped at a gas
station to pick up the Florida Today newspaper to see if there was any press for MIFF. We
were pleased to see a full page article about the festival, the article even referred to
LAUGHING BOY as a "top contender." Even better, LAUGHING BOY was the only film
from the festival with a photograph printed. Very cool. I had mailed a publicity photo to
Florida Today a couple of weeks prior to the festival and I was thrilled to see they used
it.
The second Friday of every month the city of Melbourne throws a street party downtown, and
MIFF had a booth set up right in the middle of it all. The men and women of MIFF were out
there aggressively promoting their festival, something I have not seen from other
festivals either. More points scored. We met Terry Cronin and the rest of the 3 boys, and
they as well as the rest of their staff were very friendly. Their enthusiasm for what they
were trying to accomplish was refreshing.
Tickets to the daytime screenings were five dollars. Not five dollars per movie, but five
dollars for the entire daytime program! More points scored. The day seemed to start with
around 40 audience members. By the time LAUGHING BOY screened, around 3:30, the audience
had doubled.
This was by far our best audience to date. There were just over 80 people in the audience
and they really got into the movie. They laughed at everything they were supposed to, and
even some things that hadn't gotten a reaction from past audiences. People even GASPED as
Cody's car almost hits Roland's BMW! "Shut up" was still the biggest laugh in
the movie. A "tsk-tsk" could also be heard after the McJesus Drive-Thru
cartoon...but that's okay!
Afterwards, LAUGHING BOY got more raves than ever before. People complimented the entire
cast, stating "they were clearly trained actors" and also something like
"the cast isn't supposed to be that good in a low-budget movie." People wanted
to by the video right there on the spot. Other things heard were "you really know
your craft" and "it shows that it came from the heart." I got the Dennis
Quaid, Norm McDonald and Steve martin comparisons again, but this time JACK NICHOLSON as
well.
There was a party held Saturday evening at the theater as well as a 2-hour presentation of
short films and trailers, some that had already been shown that afternoon. Admission to
the party was $30, but remember it all goes to charity. There was free beer and food as
well. I was pleased to see there was at least 150 people in attendance, possibly even 200.
The Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival 2000 was an enormously successful event. The
only thing I found awkward was the Q&A session in the middle of the day. I was invited
to be on the panel, and I think I had some good information to share, but nobody had seen
LAUGHING BOY yet, so they obviously couldn't ask me anything specific about my movie.
I highly recommend people to submit their work to MIFF next year. 3 Boys productions puts
on this event because they truly enjoy it, and it shows. Hats off to you guys!
