Back to Philly from Traverse City and Woods Hole. Traverse City was an amazing experience and I need to do another entry with stories and photos from our trip to both festivals. But first, I have to share that Lebanon, Pa. won the “Founder’s Prize for Best Fiction Film” at Traverse City Film Festival! It’s a huge honor and we are so grateful for the warm reception we received in Traverse City. The audiences just *got* the film, and it was humbling to see how deeply the film moved people. Thank you, Traverse City!!

http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/traverse-city-film-festival-movies/awards/

The official blog for the Traverse City Film Festival just interviewed me. The personnel at the fest have been wonderfully supportive of the film, and I’m grateful. Should be a great time!!

http://www.traversecityfilmfest.org/496/tcff-filmmaker-spotlight-ben-hickernell/

I am *beat*. It has been an amazing, exhausting week at SXSW and I think I’m just about out of steam. Reviews are starting to come out… we had one that overall was positive today over at Cinematical.

The screenings went well. Great audience reaction and both shows sold out. Now we see what comes from those two screenings… First up should be more reviews in the coming days…

In the meantime, enjoy an interview with me, Rachel, Josh and Samantha!

http://www.metelevision.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&Itemid=83

Starting to get some press!

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/sxsw-preview-lebanon-pa.php

Hello Interweb!

So after a marathon day, Cody and I finished the new sound mix. This may not sound like a big deal, but we did more than just tweak a few things. We went through every moment of the movie and made it better! This new mix has really made me more confident about our Premiere. We went from having a technically consistent and sound (heh) mix to one where we approached it as artists – focusing in on what was important to heighten the emotional ride of the audience. I really think it is a great improvement, and Cody should be proud of all the extra work we put into it. He’s actually probably still at the studio “bouncing” out different versions for DIVE… the full mix, just music & effects, etc…

Cody is awesome. Milkboy is awesome. And for you Matt Pond fans out there, this new mix highlights the music even more!

With this new mix, the film is really feeling finally “done” to me.

Up late editing the trailer so we can get it in before the SXSW deadline… It’s *so* different than editing the movie, obviously. Completely different pace… and priority. I’m building it on a Matt Pond song that is from an earlier album… to save the new stuff for when you see the movie itself. I think I’ve finally cracked the egg… it’s getting into decent shape now. *After* a full day’s work… But it’s still only very rough. Have to get it done this week.

The poster and production stills, however, are all but complete.