Well it ain't Cleveland, but then, what is, really?

If you couldn't make it out to the Ohio Independent Film Festival last month, you missed a rolicking good time. Or so I hear. I couldn't make it either, seeing as it was my anniversary and as much as I love Cleveland, I love my wife more.

The good news is that you get another chance to see 'Burning Passion', my film about a guy who ejaculates fire. It'll be playing December 4th in the Novita Film Festival in New York.

If you're keeping track, that makes this the 31st film festival that has seen fit to invite 'Burning Passion' to screen. And while I can't guess whether it'll win anything, the film has already won three Gold Awards, three Audience Awards, two Screenwriting Awards, and a Best Directorial Debut.

By my calculations, that gives 'Burning Passion' a longer run-- with more critical acclaim--than 'Van Helsing', a film which deals with many of the same themes, only they managed to spend more than thirty-two hundred times as much to do it.

If you want to see the film ('Burning Passion', not 'Van Helsing') get yourself over to 288 Elizabeth Street at 5:20 on Sunday, December 4th. I won't be able to make it, so if you're the first person to convince the festival organizers that you're me, you'll not only get in to see the film for free, you'll get two all-access passes that will get you into every film in the festival as well as all the parties.

You might be expected to say a few words after the screening.

I suggest mentioning my being Apple's Featured Artist--the iCard site is still up, by the way, and if you're getting into the movie for free, the least you can do is tell people to dink over to http://www.mac.com/WebObjects/iCards.woa/wa/category?name=art/fea〈=en and send my mom another iCard.

(Hmm. For some reason, the computer puts a square in there where there's supposed to be '〈'. Look. It did it again. How weird.)

Oh. One more thing. If you sent an iCard to the MacArthur Foundation on my behalf, thanks. I may never get one of those genius grants, but at least now they've heard of me.

Here's the link to The Apple iCard Featured Artist Site in case you want to check it out yourself or copy down the URL without that weird square thing happening.

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News from the MacArthur Foundation

I know how many people have been eagerly waiting for the MacArthur Foundation's announcement that I'd been awarded a Genius Grant (I love you too, Mom). And I finally have news. Both good news and bad news.

The bad news is that--once again--the MacArthur Foundation saw fit to pass me over for one of their spiffy, million-dollar grants.

Oh well.

The good news is that Apple has chosen me to be their Featured Artist for their iCards.

This means that millions of people can now send virtual postcards over the internet using images I created.

You could send a condolence iCard to my mom. She'd appreciate that (mrsbelefant@yahoo.com). And you can send one to the MacArthur Foundation (try 4answers@macfound.org).

Just dink over to http://www.mac.com/WebObjects/iCards.woa/wa/category?name=art/fea〈=en.

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Like you need another excuse to visit Cleveland

We all keep talking about it, but for one reason or another, we never seem to get around to booking that trip to Cleveland.

Well now we have no excuse. 'Burning Passion', my film about a guy who discovers at 14 that he ejaculates fire, has been invited to play in the 2005 Ohio Independent Film Festival.

The festival runs from November 6th through the 13th and I would recommend going for the entire week.

If you can only make it for one day, 'Burning Passion' screens on November 12th at the Cleveland Public Theatre, which is located at 6415 Detroit Road. The screening starts at noon.

If you want more information about 'Burning Passion' or any of my other work--or you just want to check out my snappy new website design--visit http://www.belefant.com. There's a ink down there underneath my phone number that you can click on to get there.

And if you want more information about the festival, go to http://www.ohiofilms.com. Tell you what. I'll see if I can embed a link to their site down below.

Try this one:

http://www.ohiofilms.com

Hmm. Didn't work. Oh well.

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My contact in Istanbul

I've always wanted to say that. My contact in Istanbul. Sounds like a secret agent thing.

Anyway. The money's in place and I'm off to shoot my documentary on American expats. First stop, Turkey.
I'll be there for almost the entire month of July, and in between visitng the baths, eating imam bayildi, blowing glass, and haggling over carpets, I plan to break out the camera and spend an occasional hour or two interviewing ex-Americans about their lives--the ones they have now and the ones they left behind.

So two things:

1) if you know any ex-Americans living in Turkey, I could use more subjects. Please either give me their contact information or give them mine. E-mail works best for me because...

2) I'm going to be almost totally incomunicado. I might check my e-mail every few days, but don't even count on that. If you want to reach me, either do it before I leave or wait until I get back.

Meaning late August. I'm going to be directing an ad campaign for Arizona tourism first thing when I get back, so I won't be back when I get back, at least not entirely.

By the way, if you don't know anybody in Turkey, but you know ex-Americans in other parts of the world, please pass their names along to me too. After Turkey, we're talking about visiting Mexico, Argentina, and France.

I know. I truly do have the best job in the world.

Oh. One more thing. The raven flies at midnight.

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Hear me prattle on the radio.

Prattle is the right word, isn't it? I think it is.

Anyway, I'm going to be interviewed by Les Szekely for the B+ Moviemaking Radio Show, which as you probably know is about making high quality films for not so much money, which is what I seem to be doing a lot of.

The show airs on Wednesday, May 18, from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm (Pacific), 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (Eastern).

If you want to hear me prattle on about my work, go to http://www.AdrenalineRadio.com and follow the links to The B+ Moviemaking Show.

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A chance to see 'Burning Passion' in a real, live theater

A lot of people have asked me when they can see 'Burning Passion' on the big screen. Sorry for the short notice, but how about next week?

'Burning Passion' is my film about the guy who ejaculates fire. The film has done pretty well in film festivals:

· Gold Award -- Houston International

· Audience Award -- CrashFest

· Best Directorial Debut -- New York International

· Silver Audience Award -- Crested Butte

· Audience Award -- Melbourne Independent

· Best Comedy -- Newport Beach

Plus a half-dozen awards from other festivals the film was invited to screen in.

Next week it's playing at the Arizona Film Fest. Twice. Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00pm and Saturday, April 23 at 5:00pm. What's especially cool is that they're going to screen a real, live print-- not a digital projection.

Can you make it? Please? I'm going to try to be there.

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Looks like I don't write good enough after all.

Remember that contest I e-mailed you about? The one where they're looking for the next John Carpenter script?

I didn't win. But I did get to be second runner-up, which is the same thing as third place but sounds nicer.

So you won't be seeing John Carpenter directing 'The Lakeside Slasher' anytime soon. Which is a shame. I'm a huge Carpenter fan. And I was really hoping that maybe he would do 'On Top Of The World' for the soundtrack.

Oh well. Maybe I'll just have to go make the damn thing myself.

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Looks like I can write after all.

I don't know if you know this, but I started out as a writer. And in spite of all the money and accolades and really good parking spots I get from directing, I can't help myself. I write. Still.

A couple years ago, I had an idea for a really twisted script about a hot-headed local kid who wants to murder the asshole college students who come to the lake to party during the summer. All the tits and gore of your typical teen horror film, but with the slasher as the protagonist.
It's called 'The Lakeside Slasher'.

Well, 'The Lakeside Slasher' was just named one of the 13 finalists in a competition to find The Next John Carpenter Movie.

This is the eleventh thing this script has won, which tells me that there are a lot of people who appreciate a totally fucked up story out there. Eleven of them, anyway. And I appreciate them for appreciating it.

I know, now you want to read it. Okay.

First, tell me how much you like me.

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Another award for 'Burning Passion'. Like you care.

Well, another film festival has seen fit to give an award to 'Burning Passion', my film about the guy who ejaculates fire. For those of you keeping track, that brings the total number of awards to 13.

I won't bore you with the entire list, but here are the more impressive ones:

Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival

Best Comedy, Newport Beach Film Festival

Audience Award, Melbourne Independet Filmmakers Festival

Silver Audience Award, Crested Butte Reelfest

Finalist, Dramatic Category (?), Crested Butte Reelfest

There's a trailer for the film on my site, which is up, but not at 100%. If you want to see the film iteslf, drop me an e-mail. (Not recommended for small children or Catholics.)

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My work exhibited in the High and Dry Photography Show

Thought you might be interested to know that I was recently invited to show some of my photography work in the High and Dry Photography Show.

The show is a photographic exhibition of landscapes & peoples of the world's dry lands, and the work I contributed was shot in Namibia, among the Himba tribe. The show is going to close on January 21st, so if you're in the Lubbock area before then, stop by the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech and take a look.They're at 601 Indiana Ave.

Of course, you can always go to my site and see a bunch of my photo work, along with other stuff that I find really interesting and maybe you will too. (The site is still under construction, so please don't be too hard on it. But the intro is pretty cool.)

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