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by Brandi Smith
Confessions of an aspiring filmmaker post : 2001 Acapulco Black Film Festival
- I'm having recurring nightmares involving taxi-driving
stalkers.
- No, I did not have any poolside meetings with any HBO
execs.
- This probably had something to do with the fact that they
were staying at a different hotel and I had no idea who they were
since they weren't wearing any name tags or anything.
- I'm mad about the fact that some people never made it to the
theatre to see any of the films.
- I can't be too angry because I sacrificed a few films for
the good of my tan.
- I spent so much money on the trip that the least I was going
to do was get a damn tan.
- About the films...LUMUMBA should win an Oscar for something
so tell me how it didn't win the award for Best International Film?
I mean Larenz is cute but c'mon black people.
- I ran into Raoul Peck, the director of LUMUMBA,
at the airport in Newark and he had two words for the folks at
ABFF. Copy Editor.
- How many more times must we see how to make crack in the
movies?
- And how did BLUE HILL AVENUE win the Best US Film when
everybody knows they saw that film ten years ago. Remember? It was
called NEW JACK CITY. And Allen Payne had the nerve to be in that
one too. Gee Money remember?
- Why am I planning on renting a theatre in Cannes and
screening my film (when I have one) like the producer of LOCKDOWN?
Maybe I can woo the foreign buyers that American studios say rarely
have any interest in black films.
- Kerry Washington played the shit out of that booster in
LIFT. (she made bad look so damn good.)
- Why do I want to be like Suzanne de Passe when I grow
up?
- Ok...Robert Townsend is funny and all and great on the fly
but what's wrong with having a script? you know?
- No one who wants to make movies can make any excuses anymore
with the advent of digital technology. (And if you can't see this,
you'd better be walking with one of those dogs they let on the
bus.)
- If there's a next time, I'm staying at Las Brisas so that I
can have some power meetings and my own pool.
- NO I DON'T WANT NO DAMN TAXI! (....sorry.....flashback)
- You need to do more than one film to call yourself a
filmmaker or else you just made one film.
- I told people I was a filmmaker even though I've only made
one short film.
- I'm not mad at the few women who were poolside in thongs. (I
mean...that wouldn't be me but I just hope after I've dropped a few
little ones that I'll be able to bounce back like ole girl who was
down on the beach with her daughter.)
- The funny thing about KICKIN CHICKEN is that that shit is
true. We would probably lose our minds if we had to give up chicken
for good.
- I'm mad that more celebs weren't staying at the Hyatt but
then again, why would they be there?
- I applaud all of the filmmakers who were there DOING their
thing. Clearly, that's huge!
- The bottom line is that I would rather make the films I want
to see than criticize other folks for not doing it.
- But damn, if I would have known how hard it is to get
distribution without a crack/guns/criminal/jail sort of angle, I'd
be working in fashion or finance or something.
- Then again there's still time for that since I've only made
one short film....
- Thank God for cash advances from my credit card, without
which, I wouldn't have been anywhere near Acapulco.
- Thank God for my fellow aspiring filmmakers who trooped down
to Acapulco with me. They helped me to put things in perspective
'cause none of us were dining with any execs.
- Lastly, I thank God for films like LIFT and LUMUMBA because
they set the bar for the sort of films I aspire to create. Well
done!
The writer, Brandi Smith, is an aspiring filmmaker. She recently
wrote, directed and produced her first digital short entitled
MARGARITA JONES.
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