FILMFEST BY THE NUMBERS

Howard P. Cabalfin

Sorry for falling off the keyboard and leaving you entry-less the last two days. I just couldn't keep pace with the writing after juggling the fest and the day job. But I did write something that night so without further ado...
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Tonight was the big night. Tonight WAS a BIG night.
I'd been promoting the film like crazy the past two weeks. And there was a good amount of buzz going around. When I gave out the postcards, people whom I'd never met were telling me "I heard about you." I was being associated as "the Barrelman guy" instead of by name. And the standee continued to get compliments. People knew and loved my idea. All I had to do was deliver the goods.

I was having second thoughts that my film wasn't funny enough. I felt I didn't have enough gags. I attended the program at 7:30, the films from Visual Communications Digital Academy. Daniel Hsia's anti-dairy documentary, I HATE CHEESE, had the audience rolling. And Kristina Wong's film about a guy racing a bus for funds set a humorous tone that carried over into our program.

Program 41 was given the title, FINAL EXAM. However, it should have been entitled something like KRAZY & KINETIC. The first two films of the program set it off with lots of great fight choreography and rapid-fire narrative. Then, the Seven-Oh-Five crew brought the old school flavor with STD (SPACE TIME DESTROYERS). That film had madcap special effects and was simply bust-a-gut-crying FUNNY. You've got to check out the films (http://www.SEVENOHFIVE.com). They've got way too much time and too much talent. Imagine if they had a budget. Hollywood: You've been warned.

With the screening of their film, I was anxious again. But I thought "Oh well, nothing i can do now."

The opening title for Bman started to roll and I gripped the seat. I relaxed a little as relief came in the form of the nearly 200 people cheering during the opening title. Then everything went blurry. Not the film but my recall of the experience. All I remember was everyone laughing and cheering at the right spots. And with the hooping and hollering at the end credits, I felt that I had indeed delivered the goods.

A second serving of that feeling of accomplishment came upon my introduction at the post-screening Question & Answer. Another outburst of cheers and applause. I could not buy that with a billion bucks. Before the questions came, I had to acknowledge my team who showed up - Brad Gordon (sound and music), Tammy Bumann (music, specifically that ripping drum track), and Dennis Yen (the voice of Bernard, the head Specter, & the Boss Man). Patrick (lead conceptual artist) showed up but left before I could share the accolades.

During the Q&A, a Caucasian gentleman asked "What was your inspiration?" James Herr, one of the MC's of the evening, said what was on many people's minds. "You're not Filipino, are you?" I found the man's question endearing. Here's a guy with no connection with the culture of the barrelman but was curious to ask about it. Plus he had the courage to ask without any idea that he might risk looking like an outsider. I smiled and answered "It's basically a popular wooden souvenir item from the Philippines and Hawaii, of a man inside a barrel. When you lift the barrel... (I stiffened then raised my right arm in front of me)... You get the point." Kennedy, one of the festival staff, handed me a real barrelman, and I did a quick show and tell. Thanks Kennedy.

After the Q&A, I got to see the hard core fans who not only stayed up for a 9:30 screening but the long Q&A too. A coworker from my old job came with her fiancee. She gave me a gift of a barrelman I've never seen before. It was made of black wood with white notches and was proportionately taller than the usual ones. Thanks Kristina. Then I gotta give a shout out to my relative Neil who despite being a dad with a full time job, trekked more than 90 minutes from Rancho Marguerita. And last but not least, I gotta thank my girlfriend Lulu for not studying for law school finals to attend the show. I hope she doesn't flunk on account of me. Before we left, I got to meet and talk with those wacky Seven-Oh-Five boys: Chito, Roman, and Tracy. They said they liked my film. Ah, praise from Ceasar, er, Ceasars. I told them I want to be part of their next film. Hopefully, they'll remember.

Well, thanks to all of you for not asking to be removed from my email list and thanks even more for reading my adventures. I've got one or two more festival emails left. So if you don't want to hear about it, just reply back with "Stop the punishment" in the subject header. If you do, stay tuned. I'll try to finish it up tomorrow.

Howard