Epic Dust - Grand Finale!!!
After almost two years of working on the great enigmatic extravaganza that is Epic Dust, (Darin's episodic film project of stylized westerns) we held our grand finale night of celebration and film viewing Friday night June 8.
The night was a roaring success and many a rowdy soul shed a tear or two that night.
This has been a truly communal and collaborative project full of the most whirling assortment of fun times, field romps, and adventures.
i was so very proud of my husband that night.
getting ready for this big night, he worked tirelessly day in and day out. the film shoots were the fun part.
it was the endless hours of editing, the music mastering, the phone calls, the computer crises, the dvd creating, the photoshopping, the researching and exporting and recording and projector-checking and all the other weird little details that come with being a totally independent filmmaker.
the tasks he had to finalize in the last week seemed humanly impossible.
and yet he pulled it all together with pizzazz and energy and love.
cause he is a dreamer and a wizard and an artist.
nick and jamie were always his best comrades. epic dust heroes!
zack pangborn created the dvd cover / poster that would encapsulate this grand project.
(photo courtesy of katie garwood, em's cousin)
darin is a wise man. he believes that digital media is not enough, that downloading tracks or episodes online does not bring a community together. so we put together real cds and dvds and posters like the good old 90's....something you can take with you, hold in your hand, watch, remember, and keep.
and there were also plenty of moments that you simply had to experience in the flesh.
the crowd was crazy this night. the doors opened at 8 and every seat immediately filled. this old-timey upstairs historic room was hot and wild with anticipation, a tiny juney breeze came in through the open window (that's where i sat!) and everyone was loud and ready to laugh.
jorden and joey were our live musicians for the theatrical performance.
a ragtag acting troop: jamie and chloe take the stage. they WERE HILARIOUS....
...as was mikie, who came all the way up from LA to participate in the "traveling medicine man show" and be here for epic dust night.
the actual screening of the films went so well. people really seemed to love them. darin talked a little about the whole process and what is has meant for him, and told some of his inspirations: Borges' The Universal History of Infamy and "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts" by de Quincey. the best part was when he talked about Billy the Kid a little bit and told about some scenes that never made it into the movie. I was tearing up, as shots from the films crossed the big screen behind him and he spoke of a rebel and the complexities of life and i saw my friends and loved ones creating art in moments captured in time.
then, darin and joey's band Dark River, with Em at the mike, sang the most haunting rendition of one of my favorite songs, "Billy" by Bob Dylan from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, my favorite soundtrack ever.
(video courtesy of katie garwood)
after the films there was a wild sense of celebration. people were congratulating darin (and me, and the actors) like you wouldn't believe. we were giving out the dvd to the big kickstarter contributors and i had made a photo album of epic dust memories that made nick cry.
doniella and carolann and suzanne all came up from the city.
i was so overwhelmed with people to greet and chat with that i barely got to see them that night but i had a beautiful day with them the next day for my shower (coming soon!)
i love epic dust nights cause everybody has an excuse to get a little gussied up.
bridget had the prettiest velvet and muslin prairie dress, and em wore one of my calico sundresses.
amber came with mikie from LA! she looked so adorable in her Gunne skirt and black corset top.
Jen and Monique hanging out after the show.... don't you think Monique's pale rose burlesque dress took the cake?!
sibling love.
darin and suzanne:
chelsea, perched elfin-like.
i hung out till almost 1 a.m! rather a late night for me these days.
everyone else stayed even later, drinking and dancing to savage garden and nsync and basking in the glow of great friends and homegrown artistic inspiration.
if you are curious about epic dust or want to view the episodes, you can head over to epicdust.com. also, we are going to try to put some dvds and soundtrack cds up for sale on that website soon, and possibly even here at my blog, so check back!
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