When the going gets rough, the tough get, well, you know
Well, Parkway of Broken Dreams family, it’s November 2020, and like it has for most of you, our year has not exactly gone as planned. If you caught our last blog update in June, you know that your humble director’s life was turned on its side, and in the months since then, things unfortunately got a little worse personally before they got better. But, despite everything still being a little (a lot) crazy both in here and out there, a lot of progress has been made toward getting Parkway of Broken Dreams out into the world.
After several months off, we were finally able to get back to post-production and even braved traveling (as safely as possible) during a pandemic to capture a few pick-up shots in Las Vegas, as well as to do a few contactless hand deliveries of incentives to Seed&Spark backers (we also started mailing out the latest round of incentives to backers, as well).
But we’re kind of burying the lede a bit: The film is now essentially done, for all intents and purposes. We’ve started submitting a fine cut of the film to 2021 film festivals (including Slamdance, Big Sky, and AmDocs), with more submissions on the way this month. While we hoped the pandemic would be under control by year’s end, allowing in-person activities again, it’s very likely that some, if not all, of the festivals held next year will be at least partially virtual. And that’s just the way it is, and we’re OK with that. We can’t let the lack of physical screening opportunities stand in the way of the release plan for Parkway of Broken Dreams.
While we impatiently wait for decisions from film festivals, we’re working on all sorts of things, both in terms of finishing off the actual documentary, and in making sure it’s legally ready to screen in public. Some of those things include:
- Adding or updating maps/graphics
- Cleaning up dialogue
- Balancing and leveling the sound mix
- Resizing and optimizing images for larger screens
- Completing legal clearance for all music
- Preparing a new trailer and other assets for film festivals
For everyone wondering, “OK, great, but when do we get to see the dang movie?,” the answer is: it really all depends on which festivals we get accepted to (if any) and whether we secure distribution by then. Why? Because most festivals require that a film does not screen in theaters, on television, or via the web prior to screening at said festival. So, as the guy in the video above mentions, we can’t just throw it up on YouTube even when it’s 100% ready.
Trust us, we’re just as eager to put this thing out into the world as you are to see it. But this is all just part of the process. We had hoped to have made the 2020 festival season instead, but as we mentioned earlier, nothing in this crazy year has gone as planned. The cool thing about some of these festivals going online, though? That means ANYONE, regardless of their physical location, will be able to “attend” virtual screenings–and if we’re lucky, one of those will feature Parkway of Broken Dreams!
In the meantime, thank you again for your continued support and interest. We truly–no, really–hope you and yours are safe and healthy, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed to be able to bring you the fully realized version of Parkway of Broken Dreams very soon.