Last night’s Durham University screening – precisely two years after the start of principal photography – went well. It was unfortunate that the left and right speakers at the venue had been wired up the wrong way around, resulting in some confusing stereo effects as things whizzed across frame and the sound travelled in the opposite direction. In spite of that, all present – about thirty or so – seemd to have a good time. And if they hadn’t, what with it being a chemistry lecture theatre, I could have stealthily turned on the gas taps and no-one would have lived to tell the tale. Thanks to Mel Rodriguez at the film society for setting it up. I wait with bated breath to hear how it goes down in the other Durham – Durham, North Carolina, tomorrow night.

The Durham screening has been confirmed – 7pm next Thursday night, the 20th. See the screenings page for more info. It looks like Soul Searcher will also play at the Brighton Comic Expo next month – I’m just waiting to hear the details.

I’ve ordered a new computer, meaning I can finally get on with Going to Hell and wrap up the DVD extras.

Coming soon – Shadowland: The Dark Side of the Earth website…

On Monday night I gave a lecture at the SAE Institute in Islington. Jabbering on about Soul Searcher has now become a well-rehearsed routine, though being ninety minutes this was by far my longest jabbering session yet. I broke it up with screenings of clips and extras from the in-progress DVD. The turn-out was good – standing room only, somewhere between 40 and 50 people – and the response was positive.

Over the last couple of days I’ve been considering attending the Escapism Film Festival, but the cost of the flight is going to be the problem. So I called the British Council and spoke to Geraldine Higgins, to whom I sent Soul Searcher shortly after it was completed. She said she hadn’t been able to watch the whole thing yet. I asked if they could provide financial assistance towards a filmmaker attending a festival his work was screening at. But no, she said they only support short films in this way and that I should call the UK Film Council or Film London instead.

So I called the UK Film Council and asked the same question: “Do you have any funding opportunities to help filmmakers attend festivals where their work is screening?” “No,” the guy replied, “we only support feature film production.” Ah. “You need to speak to the British Council about that,” he went on. “They just told me to call you,” I returned. “Sorry, we can’t help you mate,” was the final verdict.

Next I called Film London and asked the question for a third time. The receptionist thought the answer was yes, and put me through to another guy. As I was explaining the situation to him, he interrupted: “Can I just stop you there? We only deal with short films, not features.” Fortunately he did not suggest I call the Film Council or the British Council, or I might just have murdered him by telepathy.

In a timely change of fortune, Soul Searcher has made the official selection for Escapism, a relatively new film festival taking place in North Carolina, USA. The screening – which will be the film’s US premiere – is just three weeks away. Thanks to Jim and everyone at the Carolina Theatre for selecting the movie. See the screening page for more info.

There’s a new section on this site called Development, which is a compilation of e-mails James and I sent each other during 2002 while we were writing the script. I was putting it together for the DVD, but decided that due to its wordiness it would work better on the web. It’s an interesting look at the writing process of two nutters.

This journal’s getting like Return of the King. Will it ever end? My arse is getting sore.

As the lack of updates suggests, little has happened lately with Soul Searcher. In the US, Aimee is still waiting to hear from some of the big companies before she moves down to the next tier. I have no doubt it will eventually sell over there but it’s going to take a long time. Over here however, the number of distributors yet to pass on the movie is dwindling. “It’s not the film,” one distributor said. “It’s the marketplace. It’s over-saturated.” Things are similarly discouraging on the festival front. Soul Searcher hasn’t been selected for any of the festivals I entered in the spring, not even the genre ones like Fright Fest.

Other than recording commentaries, work on the DVD has not progressed for quite a while due to my computer’s lameness. I plan to get a new one very soon and start editing the documentary again – from scratch, unfortunately, due to a hard drive failure. The Curse is not dead.

Jim Groom’s film Room 36 opened at the Odeon on Panton Street at the weekend. A hilarious black comedy with another great Scott Benzie score – I thoroughly recommend it. Jim was talking about self-releasing it theatrically when I saw him in Cannes but now he’s actually done it. The Curse of Soul Searcher seems mild compared with the hell he went through. It’s taken him eleven years to complete the film. Here’s hoping it continues to do well at the box office.

The journal for Shadowland has been running for a couple of weeks now, but the time is not yet right for it to be unleashed on the world. Stay tuned.

Yesterday I went to a Shooting People screening of Diary of a Bad Lad – remember Mike and John from my Cannes diary? They of the Journal Cross-over. Anyway, their film was excellent. The most convincing fake documentary I’ve ever seen. A good script and fantastic performances. Mike said not to worry that Soul Searcher hasn’t been picked up – he’s met loads of people who’ve made films in the same kind of budget range and can’t seem to get a distribution deal for love nor money.

Mmmm, depth perception. Soul Searcher has not been selected for the Raindance Film Festival. It’s also been rejected by Toronto and Telluride in the last week or two.

Arrrr! Greetings, landlubbers! I be wearing an eye patch due to an operation I had on my eyelids this afternoon, hence my piratical turn of phrase (and probable multitude of typos).

Shiver me timbers if good old George down in Marin County ain’t granted me free clearance to use the Star Wars toys in the scenes in Joe’s flat.

Cows be wily animals. Never trust a cow.

Okay, so I just found out that the major Hollywood studio mentioned in June 21st’s entry has passed on Soul Searcher. Hardly surprising. They still love my work though, so there might be an inroad for my next project. The saga continuums.

Three years ago: just got back from New York and trying to decide whether to go ahead with the film on a microbudget since James had dropped out. Two years ago: looking for a costume maker. One year ago: recording sound effects and dodging druids on Dinedoor Hill. Today: just got back from two weeks of shooting nights on a horror film, having finished the first draft screenplay of The Dark Side of the Earth in my spare time – the doorway to a whole new world of pain – and wondering if Soul Searcher is ever going to get sold. Check out the press page for details of a couple more articles that have gone up on the web about Soul Searcher this month, particularly a glowing review on Only Foreign Film.