CONTEXT
Thanks to the Shasta County Arts Council, The Wildlife of Little Hot Springs Valley screened at Old City Hall in Redding, CA. I went to the screening because I was already in northeastern California for my Thanksgiving Break from college. Driving from Little Hot Springs Valley to Redding took a couple hours, but I got some neat scenery shots near Highway 299.
Compared to the theater screenings Donna Sylvester put on, the Redding screening was fairly low-key with my documentary projected onto a hanging screen. Still, there was also free popcorn. David Shepard and Frank Treadway hosted my screening and I was on hand for introducing my work, selling DVDs, and talking to viewers. At the time, Frank was the cultural coordinator for the Shasta County Arts Council and David was a volunteer for the council. David lives in Hat Creek (semi-close to Little Hot Springs Valley) and has experience in the professional filmmaking business. I met him at my Fall River screening.
PRE-SHOW
Many people showed up early and chatted with me before my production screened. One woman recognized my distinctive clothing and asked me if I was studying archaeology. I had to explain that I was actually studying geography at Humboldt State University and wanted to go on to study filmmaking. Most of the other discussion related to basic facts regarding how, why, and where I made my documentary.
MAIN EVENT
After most of the audience was settled, David gave an introduction to my video and said a bunch of nice stuff about how amazing it was that a teenager could make a film like mine. I worked on my documentary from age 16 to 19, so he had a point.
Anyway, the audience applauded me after David gave his talk but before I talked, which was pretty nice. It’s not often I get applause, much less before I’ve really done anything. More often, I have random people on sidewalks whistle the Indiana Jones theme music at me. Anyhow, David, thanks for your speech. After David’s talk, I smoothly delivered a personal introduction to my production. Then my documentary screened.
I got plenty of applause after the credits finished. Then I answered questions in front of the audience. By November 2008, I was starting to get used to the classroom style Q&A sessions where I called on people with their hands up.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank David and Frank for making the screening possible. I’m also thanking everyone who attended. About 45 people showed up, and I was happy to once again share my work with a large audience.