SBIFF – Day 1
Well, we finally made it to Santa Barbara for the first day of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The action of getting here seemed to actually start at 9 in the morning with a visit to Joe Bark to pick up some shirts he was donating to our event on Saturday. Joe is always great to talk to and be with, he has an infectious energy about him.
After Joe, I headed to Ecousable to pick up more stuff for Saturday’s event, those guys are great. They really hooked us up and I look forward to more D3 events with them !
We finally hit the road after a flurry of printing posters, making more press kits, emails with Linda at INDIE-PR and a couple friendly husband and wife – shall we say “discussions” – which resulted in me being wrong 
I have to admit, I had no clue how major the night was that we were going into. If I was not before, I certainly am now awe struck at the fact that Destination 3 Degrees was selected to be shown at this festival. It is incredible. The filmmakers are all amazing, the people have been SUPER cool and friendly.
We had NO idea where to go once we got to the opening night gala; all of State Street was blocked off for the red carpet . We walked up sheepishly with our film maker badges and asked a volunteer where to go. So we want to the “passes” line and waited. Once there someone motioned us to get over to another staging area for the RED CARPET!
We were assigned a festival person who introduced us to the press and led us down the walkway. Unlike how it looks on TV, you don’t actually walk. You start and then stop. You kind of wait in line for your next media stop. Our first stop was the local news and, of course, I started to cry.
Next up we got to talk to one of the many teen networks covering the event. For me, that was probably the neatest part. We got interviewed by these kids who wanted to be journalists or film makers. It was really inspiring and I offered to come back to any of their classes and talk about making Destination 3. The parents and teachers with them were stoked, and honestly, I would loved to be interviewed by them all day.
There is a photographer station where literally, you stand, pose and people yell out your name to look at their camera. (they are fed your name by the person walking you down the carpet).
When I told people about what Jenny and Morgan did, their eyes would get huge. They realized the feat these two incredibly courageous women did and I always told them of the long crossing from Oahu to Kauai. I admit to tearing up in several interviews talking about that and how grateful I am for the faith and trust they put into me in trying to tell their story.
Once inside we watched the opening night film, Sarah’s Key – a very grim look at how the french rounded up jews in the WWII and treated them like dirt. It was gut wrenching to watch, but brilliantly scored and acted by Kristin Scott Thomas and all though a small part, I loved see Adain Quinn on screen. A brilliant actor.
We went to the very crowded after party. There, I almost ran smack dab into Kelly Slater, that was interesting.
A good first day at the festival. It is REALLY rewarding that there is a lot of buzz here about Destination 3 Degrees. The people in the press office see me and tell me that they love the film and most that I have talked to in the media have heard of it and are excited to see it.
Here are some pics from the red carpet
