TFPF Tour '08: Houston (x2)

My out-of-town workshops started in earnest this past weekend, with two in Houston, at both the Aurora Picture Show and the Rice Media Center (courtesy of SWAMP). I had determined to do two in Houston since we had somewhat of a disappointing turnout at the single Aurora workshop last year. Houston is one of the largest cities in the US, so I knew there were more filmmakers hiding in nooks & crannies. Indeed there were, since we increased our attendance 3-fold between the two workshops this year.

Thursday night was only my second trip to the Aurora, but it still continues to charm. Before the workshop, I got to visit briefly with ex-AFS staffer Rachel Blackney, who moved to Houston a few months ago and got involved with Aurora as their Community Partnership Manager. She'll be back in Austin in a couple weeks, though - to get married! Go Rachel!

My celebrity guest for this workshop was Douglas Newman, a Houston resident who snagged a $5,000 TFPF production grant for his GONE TO TEXAS: THE LIVES OF FORREST CARTER last year. The feature doc uncovers the fascinating story of the man who was both the acclaimed author of the THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE and THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES and a KKK member who penned George Wallace's infamous "Segregation Forever!" speech. Carter's double life was revealed only after his death in the early 90's (I looked at my copy of LITTLE TREE, which was widely read in schools for its gentle portrayal of a half-Cherokee boy learning about his heritage through his grandfather, and saw that it was published perhaps months before the scandal broke).

We went through Douglas's submitted materials (actually his project is the newly uploaded documentary sample on the TFPF front-page) and he showed some footage from his project, including an interview with Mr. Josey Wales himself - Clint Eastwood.

Friday night, I put on my filmmaker's cap and presented a SWAMP-sponsored screening at Rice of THE CASSIDY KIDS, a feature I co-wrote a produced a couple years ago. We got a good turnout for the film, thanks mostly to the extended family and friends of Houston's own Jonathan Lewis, one of the young stars of the film. Well, he's not so young anymore - both he and his co-star Tiger Darrow, who also attended the screening, seem to have grown about three feet taller in the three years since our Summer '05 shoot. This screening just happened to coincide with the film's premiere on the Independent Film Channel this weekend. THE CASSIDY KIDS is also (shameless plug) now available for download and DVD-on-demand purchase through B-Side.

After a fun Q&A moderated by SWAMP's Michelle Mower, I visited Houston's famous and beloved Chocolate Bar and gorged myself on ridiculously decadent sweets like the Black Russian chocolate mousse cake and white chocolate ice cream with dark chocolate flakes. It was a choc-pocalypse.

I was solo for the second workshop, back at Rice on Saturday. Before I got started, Michelle announced a couple upcoming SWAMP events - Austin's own Steve Mims has taken his storied filmmaking workshop Austin FilmWorks on the road and will be in Houston this coming weekend presenting his Cinema Expedition. And, the Rice Media Center is sure to be overwhelmed by Buffy fans in early May when Amber Benson presents her directorial debut LOVERS, LIARS AND LUNATICS.

Old pal Alfred Cervantes, from the Houston Film Commission, was nice enough to sit through my presentation. Afterward we went out to dinner with Michelle and Alfred's 11-year-old son Alfred (not Jr., just Alfred). Delectable dessert was on the agenda tonight, too, this time at Rice Village's frozen yogurt place Swirll. Both Alfreds recommended the pomegrante and they were spot-on. Throw some walnuts on there - it's righteous.

So, this Houston trip was all about the dessert, and I was totally okay with that. This coming weekend, it's a triple header - Denton, Fort Worth and Dallas. What sweets do these cities hold for me?