Everyday I get up and look at my horoscope. Not that I believe that a few words that millions of people born within a month of me read are some how intended for just me, but there are usually great aphorisms.

Today may have been the best.

Feb. 27, 2006 - Face it: You have a great life. Sure, there are a few spicy bits to the overall mix, but they just keep things from being too bland. Today you appreciate your good fortune more than ever.

And I do. Appreciate your good fortune today.

j.brown

CFVF 2006 is over. Deep breath before I worry about CFVF 2007.

I hope I got to meet you or see you at this year's festival. There were so many great people this year - along with some incredible filmmakers that I was privileged to meet.

I just wanted to take a moment and reference some nice photos taken by Renee Wright with NCFlix.com. Please see if you see yourself - Friday Night's Happy Hour and Saturday's Awards Reception.

See you next year - if not sooner.

j.brown

Thank you for the possibilities.

Don Knotts passed away this week. Every memorial to him that I read, and I read several, they buried the fact that Knotts was born in Morgantown, WV and attended West Virginia University. In a career that covered the unforgettable Barney Fife to the irrepressable Mr. Limpet, his hometown was not a dominant theme.

To see the streets named after him in Morgantown or watch his work on television, Don Knotts is a clear example of what I treasure in this world. Coming from simple upbringing in West Virginia his life is filled with hardwork, determination and humility towards what he did and how he shared it with the world.

I am inspired by those people who let their actions shine through. I try to emulate those people who act and then try to share whatever they have with people who need to see the opportunities and possibilities ahead.

In seventh grade history class, we studied all the great West Virginians and the famous ones as well. Don Knotts was both - fighting in WWII and shining on broadway, the big screen and the little one too. Our state may have a short list of famous celebrities, but Knotts made an even shorter list of celebrities worth admiration.

Thank you.

j.brown

HERE ARE THE WINNERS!

What a great Carolina Film & Video Festival!

Following the presentation of the 2006 North Carolina Distinguished Filmmaker Award to documentarian Ross McElwee, the winners of the 2006 Carolina Film and Video Festival were announced to a large and appreciative crowd at Greensboro's Carousel Theatre on Saturday night 25 February. Winning shorts will be screened at the Carousel Theatre through 2 March 2006.

2006 Carolina
Film & Video Festival
Winners

SymPics Narrative Award (Independent)
Winner:Smartcard, directed by James Oxford
Honorable Mention: Forgotten Stars: The Jerry and Delbert Story
directed by Richard Keel

SymPics Narrative Award (Student)
Danya directed by Beth Armstrong

Documentary (Independent)
Venezuela: Revolution in Progress directed by Matthew O’Neill

Documentary (Student)
The Abortion Diaries directed by penny lane

Experimental/ Animation (Independent)
Joyride directed by John Cernak

Experimental/ Animation (Student)
Marvelous, Keen Loony Bin directed by Lizzi Akana

UNCG Showcase
Winner: 51st State directed by Vicente Gonzalez & Jefferson Loftfield
Honorable Mention: Influx directed by Gregg A. Easterbrook

Alberta Ahler Filmmaker (High School)
Winner: Gelatin Smile directed by Filipe Medeiros
Honorable Mention: Everyday directed by Patrick Muhlberger

Kodak Award for Cinematography
Photomateurs directed by Pascal Tosi

CineFilm Award for Direction
Danya directed by Beth Armstrong

Best actor ever - with the least amount of publicity?

For those of you who don't watch Countdown with Keith Olbermann, let me share this with you.

Wednesday was Paul Dooley's birthday. Dooley has been in nearly everything under the sun, but is most famous for being Molly Ringwald's dad in "Sixteen Candles" and Dennis Christopher's dad in "Breaking Away," and to some extent Julia Robert's dad in "Runaway Bride." He's also a West Virginian who I got to meet two years ago when we honored him at the West Virginia International Film Festival.

Olbermann celebrated Dooley's birthday by calling him the greatest actor ever who gets the least amount of publicity. Yeah, that's about right.

But with this little bit of extra publicity, I'm giving Curtis Armstrong a shot at this next time.

j.brown

Getting Better all the time.

For those of you who don't know, I am working on a documentary about the impact the film "Matewan" had on West Virginians - the people who worked on the film, the people inspired by the film, and the people who are simply West Virginians.

I've been blessed by several instances of good luck so far, and possibly one more. While I don't want to get into specifics yet, there are so many things working in my favor right now I just want to take a second and express my gratitude to all those people who have supported me, who have inspired me, and who have touched my life. Thank you.

This whole endeavor is about reflecting that impact back to those who have helped people - and saying thank you.

j.brown

Darkon Noir?

There is nothing better than finding something cool and being able to share it with your friends. So, over on the IFC Blog, I found this trailer for the film Darkon that's screening at SxSW. For every Pagan, Ren-Fair, Worlds of Warcraft friend you have - this is there film. And better than that, for every person who doesn't get those friends of yours - this movie gives great way in.

Now, like every trailer, the movie could be crap. But it's a helluva trailer.

Wednesday - the CFVF begins. I may or may not be on here for awhile.

quick note - I'm having a little meeting at Concord University about interest in helping with my "Matewan" movie I'm shooting this summer. I've incredibly excited about how this is coming together.

j.brown

A mind once expanded...

Of all the cool things we're doing this week at the CFVF, the one thing I'm looking most forward to is meeting the cool filmmakers.

At the last minute tonight, I had to make some phone calls to line out where some of the people coming to town were staying and when they're arriving. I got to talk to some cool people - and that excites me. There's this great quote that once a mind has been expanded by an idea, it will never return to the same shape.

That is such an invigorating idea. As soon as I'm told something new or different - no matter what - I will never be the same person again. That's awesome. Of course, that got me looking for stuff on the internet. I came across this thing called TED (Technology, Entertainment & Design), which is being described as "beta version of Heaven." That's the coolest idea I've ever heard. Wow. I'm already somebody new.

The conference has a book club. And next month, they are coming out with this book called What We Believe But Cannot Prove. Religion? Superstition? Free Will?

j.brown

The beat goes on....

So, it's a day full of crossing eyes and dotting t's - wait stop that, reverse it.

Checking to make sure we had all the right films and formats for the festival, I got a chance to watch Barbecue is a Noun. Very cool film, excited about everyone's reaction to that.

Still, I have my favorites. In no particular order - Amateur by Josh Adler (I don't know which is funnier, the ending or the beginning with his sister), Clown by Karl Hirsch (As soon as I recognized Circus Liquor, I was hooked), and Cyxork 7 by John Huff (anything with Paget Brewster I love, hell that's why I started watching that damn Pam Anderson/bookstore show).

I sat down to look at the footage I shot this weekend on the New River. That which is not blown out from the white snow - is blue. I made several good contacts about getting photos for the movie; so, it'll work out.

Rock on,

j.brown

Top of the morning to ya!

Well, regardless of what it looks like outside, I'm going to go shoot my New River/Hinton movie. Yippee, skippy!

Before I leave, I wanted to try to keep to my word - and this blog. So, some quick bits and bites before I head out the door.

- Finally watched Chicks 101 this week. It's from a fellow Hollins University alum. While it didn't get into our festival, I totally see why it's won the awards it has. Rock on Lavinder.

- My pal Nicole Phillips was one of ten semi-finalists in this year's Coca-Cola's Refreshing Filmmaker Awards contest. She made a cool PSA called "Six Degree's of Coca-Cola." She's suppose to hear this week if she won. When she does, you can see it in theatres near you this summer.

- I bought my tickets to Full Frame, which I am totally psyched about. While I know that the CFVF is a "real" festival. Full Frame brings in the big movies, the big players, and the big crowds. So, it will be my first "real big" festival.

- Other than that, I am totally on course for my documentary about the impact of the movie Matewan on West Virginia. I've been working on grants and fiscal sponsorships and crew and equipment. Now it's almost time to actually start scheduling interviews. If you know anyone interested in this story, please tell them about this. If not to help me get their story, then to help support the movie in some even small way.

Thanks everyone, let's see if I can keep this up with the festival in town this week.

j.brown

Ya Gotta Love the Snow?

So, I drove back to West Virginia this weekend to work on a short film about the impact of the New River on Hinton, WV - both constructive and destructive. I was inspired by Noah Adams' book Far Appalachia The plan is for it to be more experimental than documentary - but that's for another post.

After a few hours driving, then a few more hours at my alma mater about another upcoming project, I finally got to Hinton. As soon as I crossed the bridge, I set down the tripod and started shooting. Maybe, ten minutes worth. Then I drove into to town where I was meeting a nice lady at the CVB & Train Museum. From there I was leaving to meet up with a friend who would be helping me shoot this weekend.

I woke up this morning, knowing that part of my day would be arranged around the WVU/Connecticut basketball game. What I didn't realize was that when the Weather Service called for "Partial Flurries," they meant 3 inches of wet snow.

Cest la vie. I'll be back in two weeks to shoot again, scan some photos, and avoid the snow.

j.brown

Bring on the CFVF already!

I've spent two weeks thinking about, "Hey, shouldn't somebody do a blog for our film festival?" Which was usually followed by, "Man, I've got to start keeping my own blog."

So, short, sweet, and just a bit of a sell-out - here I am with my little blog for the Carolina Film & Video Festival.

Quick starters - totally check out the website. Tons of great stuff there - all the films, the parties, and the workshops. I'm sending out a couple alerts this week - so, if you're on the CFVF e-mail list, you'll be in the know when things are happening.

Today, I'm going to keep things short to say - great, great, great films. I've seen a little over half the films, but there are some I still want to see. Later, we can talk about what I think is great, today my short list of what I haven't seen yet - Barbecue is a Noun, End of a Dog, & Photomatuers.

j.brown