BEST DIRECTOR - WINNER LINK Film Festival Olympia, WA
HONORABLE MENTION FEATURE The Indie Gathering International Film Festival Cleveland, OH
BEST AMERICAN FEATURE - NOMINEE British Film Festival LA Los Angeles, CA
Festivals
Bridgetown Film Festival Bridgetown, Australia January 2010
International Film Festival Thailand Phuket, Thailand July 2009
British Film Festival LA Los Angeles, CA May 2009
Black Point Film Festival Lake Geneva, WI May 2009
Encore Chicago Screening Chicago, IL April 2009
Reel Time Film Festival New York, NY December 2008
Vacant Era Film Festival Norman, OK October 2008
Illinois International Film Festival St. Charles, IL September 2008
Portobello Film Festival London, England August/September 2008
Deep Fried Film Festival Lanarkshire, Scotland August 2008
The Indie Gathering International Film Festival Cleveland, OH August 2008
Entzaubert Queer Film Festival Berlin, Germany May 2008
Women’s International Film Festival Miami, FL AMC Cocowalk 16 March/April 2008
World Premiere Chicago, IL Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema March 2008
LINK Film Festival Olympia, WA Rough Cut Screening
mass romantic (the movie)'s Interests
General
love, feminism, socially aware media, coalition building, LGBTQI activism, liberal politics, healthcare, pro choice, food politics, animal rights, alternative families, queer politics, anti-war movement, immigrant rights, worker rights, independent media... being a part of something, being socially aware and caring about the world around you, while still being able to laugh and love.
Music
the musicians featured in Mass Romantic...
heidi spencer, carrie lydon, dave maxon, kate brown, actor slash model, home demo vixens, renee-louise carafice, ROFO, coyote grace, head of femur, martha berner, the blasphomatics, ticklepenny corner.
we also love... tegan and sara, ani difranco, pamela means, alix olson, dresden dolls, kimya dawson, veruca salt, carla bozulich, courtney love, regina spektor, belle and sebastian, miranda lee richards, moby, isobel campbell, feist, indigo girls, ripley caine, arcade fire, juliana hatfield, nick drake, holly mcnarland, the scotland yard gospel choir, leonard cohen, peaches, butchies, julia darling, camera obscura, buffy saint-marie, tanya donelly, the gossip, jane wiedlin, the dandy warhols, bif naked, frente!, eliza carthy, m.ward, fiona apple, sierra swan, erin mcKeown, the concretes, taken by trees, joan jett, the aislers set, bikini kill, rufus wainwright, northern state, the pixies, team dresch, most anything linda perry sings/writes/produces/etc, sleater-kinney, jeff buckley, melissa ferrick, marianne faithful, wendy james, bright eyes, mary timony, rachel yamagata, bread, stephanie dosen, billy corgan, le tigre, cat stevens, azure ray, tilly and the wall, cat power, the distillers, yeah yeah yeahs... and so so so much more...
Movies
i am one... but i also enjoy... me you and everyone we know, harold and maude, high fidelity, before sunrise, before sunset, high art, lovely and amazing, by hook or by crook, hedwig and the angry inch, personal velocity, juno, this film is not yet rated, good night and good luck, friends with money, but i'm a cheerleader, michael moore films, girl interupted, magnolia, go fish, dig!, boys don't cry, waiting for guffman, debs, better than chocolate, imagine me and you, ballad of jack and rose, supersize me, short cuts, dogma, you can count on me, little miss sunshine, 13 genders, kissing jessica stien, normal, annie hall, soldier's girl, secretary, ...2 girls in love, the anniversary party, eddie izzard stand up, margaret cho stand up, shortbus, ma vie en rose, station agent, love actually, saved, garden state, films from the 70's, french new wave, hal hartley stuff, ani difranco concert films, belle and sebastian 'fans only', alix olsen doc, shorts, documentaries, political documentaries, and many, many, many more.
Television
the daily show, the colbert report, the office, arrested development
Books
how about some writers... leslie feinberg, alix olson, noam chomsky, dorothy parker, carol queen, karl marx, tolstoy, judith halberstam, vonnegut, audre lorde, salinger, the beats, michael moore, kate bornstein, maya angelou, our bodies ourselves.
magazines... venus, bust, bitch, filmmaker, indie slate, movie maker, paste, magnet, pop culture press, stop smiling, time out, interview, curve, advocate and any other film, music, queer, feminist, cool magazines and alternative newspapers we can't think of right now...
Mass Romantic will be screening at the Bridgetown Film Festival -- When: January 2010
-- Where: Bridgetown, Australia
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PAST SCREENINGS & EVENTS!
Mass Romantic is an Official Selection of International Film Festival Thailand -- When: July 2009
-- Where: Phuket, Thailand
Mass Romantic is an Official Selection of British Film Festival LA -- When: Tuesday May 5th, 2009, 8:00PM
-- Where: Los Angeles, CA
-- Location: The Custom, 8639 Lincoln Blvd
-- Director Richard Paro and members of the cast and crew will be in attendance.
Mass Romantic is the Saturday night feature at Black Point Film Festival -- When: Saturday, May 2nd, 2009, 7:00PM
-- Where: Lake Geneva, WI
-- Location: The Geneva Theatre, 244 Broad Street
-- Director Richard Paro and members of the cast and crew will be in attendance.
Mass Romantic Encore CHICAGO Screening - after last year's sold out World Premiere -- When: Thursday, April 30th, 2009
-- Meet & Greet with Cast and Crew at 6:30PM
-- Screening at 7:30PM
-- Location: Landmark's Century Centre Cinema - 2828 N. Clark St at Diversey and Broadway -- Tickets: $10 (Advance tickets available at www.mudgeonsoul.org)
-- This exclusive screening is the first place to get your hands on advance copies of the Mass Romantic DVD before the June street date!
Mass Romantic is an Official Selection of Reel Time Film Festival -- When: December 12, 2008, 3:00 PM
-- Where: New York, NY
-- Location: Baruch Performing Arts Center - Engelman Hall, 55 Lexington Ave @ 25th St
-- Cost: Only $2 (Yes TWO)
-- Director Richard Paro and members of the cast and crew will be in attendance.
Mass Romantic is an Official Selection of Vacant Era Film Festival -- When: Saturday, October 4, 2008, 9:00 PM
-- Where: Norman, OK
-- Location: The Sooner Theatre, 101 E Main St
-- Director Richard Paro and members of the cast and crew will be in attendance.
Mass Romantic is an official selection of the Illinois International Film Festival -- When: Saturday, September 20, 2008, 3:00 PM
-- Where: St. Charles, IL
-- Location: The Arcada Theatre, 105 E. Main St
-- Director Richard Paro and members of the cast and crew will be in attendance.
Mass Romantic is an Official Selection of the Portobello Film Festival -- When: August 28, 2008 - September 14, 2008
-- Where: London, England
-- "The biggest celebration of independent film in Europe" - The Independent
Mass Romantic is a Drama Day selection of the Deep Fried Film Festival -- When: August 13th, 2008, 7:00 PM
-- Where: Lanarkshire, Scotland
-- Location: The Georgian, 26 Lefroy Street, Coatbridge
Mass Romantic to be awarded Honorable Mention at The Indie Gathering International Film Festival & Conference -- When: Friday, August 1, 2008 - Sunday, August 3, 2008
-- Where: Cleveland, OH
-- Producer Cyra K. Polizzi will speak on the Casting Panel Discussion on Sunday, August 3rd at 4:00pm. Cyra will discuss the unique experience of casting 40 actors on the micro-budget film Mass Romantic, as well as the insights she has gleaned working on numerous films as a director and actor.
Mass Romantic selected for DIY Point program of Entzaubert Queer Film Festival -- When: Thursday, May 15th 2008 - Sunday, May 18th 2008
-- Where: Schwarzer Kanal, Michael Kirch Str. 20, Berlin, Germany
-- As a radical, non-commercial festival, Entzaubert Queer Film Festival compiles a DIY Point program. DIY Point films are offered to viewers throughout the festival in a separate viewing room regardless of the scheduled films, giving viewers more choices in creating their own experiences.
Mass Romantic trailer is screening at Film Loop...topia -- Full Voice brings a collection of entertaining and provocative shorts to Looptopia, "Chicago's White Night"
-- When: May 2, 2008 from 5:00pm to Midnight
-- Where: 1 E. Jackson Blvd (at State), Chicago
Mass Romantic is an Official Selection of the Women's International Film Festival -- When: Sunday, March 30th 2008, 4:30pm
-- Where: AMC Cocowalk 16 (3015 Grand Ave., Miami, FL 33133)
-- Director Richard Paro will be in attendance
-- Special guests at WIFF 2008 include Oscar nominee Ruby Dee, Ally Sheedy and Chelsea Handler
Mass Romantic World Premiere Event Sells Out! -- Screening: Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 7:30pm at Landmark's Century Centre Cinema (2828 N. Clark St at Diversey and Broadway)
-- Q&A: Immediately following the screening there will be a brief Q&A with the director, cast and crew.
-- Official Party: Join the cast and crew after the screening at Mickey's Grille & Pub (just across the street at 2831 N. Broadway). Bring in your Mass Romantic ticket stub for a free drink during the party!
-- Soundtrack: The world premiere event is the only place to get your hands on advance copies of the Mass Romantic: Music from the Motion Picture CD before the March 18th street date! -- Tickets: $15 ($10 Artist/Industry/Student/Senior/Low Income).
Mass Romantic Rough Cut Awarded "Best Director"at LINK Film Fest -- Screening followed by Q&A with members of cast/crew -- When: Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 6:00pm -- Where: 610 Columbia St., Olympia, WA 98501 -- What: The LINK Film Festival is part of the SURGE Film Festival Network
1. Waiting For Me Home (3:14) . HEIDI SPENCER
2. The Breakup Song (3:02) . COYOTE GRACE
3. I Didn’t Know (2:00) . DAVE MAXON
4. Sleep (3:04) . HOME DEMO VIXENS
5. Songs For Trains (2:48) . THE BLASPHOMATICS
6. Hurricane (3:26) . ACTOR SLASH MODEL
7. Insomniac (1:27). HEIDI SPENCER
8. Isn’t It A Shame Instrumental (3:03) . HEAD OF FEMUR
9. A Town Called Happiness (4:47) . MARTHA BERNER
10. Dance on A Hook (4:53) . THE BLASPHOMATICS
11. Asylum Escape Song (3:51) . RENEE-LOUISE CARAFICE
12. Just Like Theives (3:09) . TICKLEPENNY CORNER
13. Witness (3:30) . HEIDI SPENCER
14. Suffer (4:37) . DAVE MAXON
15. Honey Bee, Leave Me (3:41) . THE BLASPHOMATICS
16. Denied (3:27) . COYOTE GRACE
17. Theme Song (3:28) . HEIDI SPENCER
18. Radical Live (3:31) . KATE BROWN
19. Isn’t It A Shame Live (3:06) . HEAD OF FEMUR
20. Bush Ain’t King Live (2:39) . CARRIE LYDON (SHOES FOR MABEL)
21. Three Little Words Live (3:25) . ROFO
Thanks to all of these musicians for being a part of Mass Romantic. You can find links to their myspace pages in our top friends.
Check out pics from some of our latest screenings!
See more in our photo albums! Click "View All Images" to see larger images.
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Mass Romantic
A group of 20-somethings stumble in love & art in this indie dramedy.
Jamie and Erin's activist theater company sets out to create a play based on PJ's book of political short stories. PJ hasn't written much in a while... or socialized much either, except for hanging out at Olson's vegan cafe. Erin's girlfriend Bel, having just moved from New York, prepares for a conference and searches for an apartment, as well as community, in Chicago. Meanwhile, Billy is void of direction even with the self-fulfillment classes, but his partner Sally hopes his new job at Olson's cafe will help. Olson's partner Annette is writing a new quantum physics book and feeling uninspired... as are her students.
When you're an artist, academic or activist, where do you turn when your passion wanes? Your work? Your partner? How do you fall in love with life again?
112 Minutes . Black & White . 2008 . Not Rated . English
What is this movie about?
MASS ROMANTIC follows activists and academics struggling to find love while creating political art.
Yeah, ok, but what happens?
It’s a talky ensemble movie, the characters deal with new relationships, old relationships, new projects and old insecurities. They rehearse a play, dance, play music, talk & kiss. So if you are looking for explosions, car chases, mob conspiracies and secretive people smoking in trench coats, this isn’t it.
Still want to know more? Check out the synopses above.
Wait, is this a gay movie?
Yes, two of the four main relationships involve queer characters (Bel and her girlfriend Erin and Annette and her partner Olson, who is F2M). Also, there are other queer characters and queer subject matter throughout.
If you see a lot of gay movies, you will probably notice this one is a little different from most. This isn’t a coming out movie or a triumphing over/succumbing to homophobia movie. MASS ROMANTIC celebrates the everyday lives of queer people and their allies, and acknowledges the importance of allies in building meaningful, enriching communities. In doing this, MASS ROMANTIC focuses on the character’s relationships, while touching on queer politics and transphobia. It also touches on other controversial topics such as healthcare, abortion, food activism and corporate control of media.
So, yes, it’s a queer movie. It’s also an activist movie and a relationship movie.
Who made this film?
We did! After years of development, the director self-financed MASS ROMANTIC and we shot it in the sweltering Chicago heat of late summer in just 11 days featuring 40 actors in over 10 locations, producing 33 hours of footage. The theme of coalition-building present in MASS ROMANTIC is reflected by the diverse group of individuals involved in the making of the film, many of whom are underrepresented in American cinema and identify as women, LGBTQ, people of color, non-native speakers and/or activists. Plus, the film features 13 independent bands, including live performances by Carrie Lydon, Kate Brown, ROFO and members of Head of Femur. A full list of the crew is available at www.mudgeonsoul.org.
Do I know anyone in the movie?
Perhaps, Mass Romantic features... Brenda Barrie, Lori Duncan, Petrucia Finkler, Crystal Hartford, Niki Mohrlant, Cyra K. Polizzi, Richard Paro, Teissia Treynet, Christopher Weiher, With... Patrick Babbitt, Riebana Biegel, Kate Brown, Mort Burke, Tracie Dahlke, Samantha Garcia, Kevin Gladish, Sarah Goeden, Ruta James, J Kilgore, Sarah B. McLaughlin, Mercy B. Oni, Breahan Eve Pautsch, Ellen Peace, Robin Posavetz, Christopher Rutherford, And... Gio Babbo, Kristina Burkel, Thomas Clayton, Rodrigo Dienstmann, Mike Elsener, Lauree Enos, Matt Focht, Paula Setta-Garcia, Jennifer Koesling, Carrie Lydon, Lynette Morris, Rachel Murphy, Kate Rickenbacker, Heidi Schreck, Tiffany Villarin.
How much of the film is improvised?
A couple scenes were completely scripted and a couple scenes were completely improvised, but most scenes were partly scripted and partly improvised based on a detailed skeleton script, workshopping and rehearsals.
Hey, were you guys the ones who shut down my street to have a place to park all your trailers?
No, you are probably talking about one of the Batman movies or some other studio picture. If we were shooting on your street, you may not have even noticed. This is a very DIY, dogma-esq film.
I live in Chicago, can I be in your next movie? Anyone can audition, check www.mudgeonsoul.org for upcoming projects.
When can I see MASS ROMANTIC?
Check back here or on www.mudgeonsoul.org for screening information.
Who I'd like to meet:
people interested in getting involved in the screening/promoting/selling/buying of Mass Romantic. people interested in watching Mass Romantic. actors, musicians, filmmakers, artists, activists and the like...
Inquiries about future projects (ours or yours, features, shorts, music videos for cool bands/artists, etc), headshots & resumes, cds, etc (as well as questions about MASS ROMANTIC and other projects) can be e.mailed to MUDGEONSOUL@GMAIL.COM
the profiles in the "top friends" section are some of the people (actors, filmmakers, musicians, etc) who helped in the making of MASS ROMANTIC. Not everyone is on myspace, so please visit our website for a full list.
Just wanted to let you know I've been hard at work in the studio for my long overdue sophomore album, and have just posted new demo tracks for you to preview. The songs are "SLOW ME DOWN" and "SANCTUARY," and I can't wait for you to hear them! I am so excited about the new album that I just couldn't wait to share SOMETHING with everybody, so I hope you enjoy this little "sneak peak"!!
I look forward to hearing from you about the track, and encourage you to check out the new pictures I've put up.
Hope you are having a great week!
Cyndi
Palms for Life Fund is calling out to young filmmakers, under 25 years of age, to participate in a competition to visually depict in their communities the growing epidemic of hunger in the United States.
Win cash prizes of up to $10K and gain exposure to a vast audience in a full-length compilation of the prize-winning works.
If you are interested in participating in the contest, please add your name to our mailing list by visiting http://www.palmsforlifefund.org and clicking on “Hunger Projects – Faces of Hunger in America or visiting http://www.facesofhunger.com
So, you may have heard that Crooked Lake Productions is hosting a film contest.
The rules are one shot, one plot. We received sixteen spiffy entries from some very creative people. The lengths vary from one sentence to one page and the story's have more flavor than a sunday brunch Smorgasbord.
Now, if you could go to http://crookedlp. com/news/ , read all 16 entries, think about which one you like the best, then vote.
The winner's story will be made into a short film.
Hope your year is going great so far. Chix Mix is throwing their annual Black Bra event at Circuit on February 20th; their hottest party of the year! You should definitely come check it out. The first 100 people to e-mail chixmixproductions@yahoo.com get into the V.I.P. room with no extra charge! More information is on the website at www. chixmixproductions. com!!
The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC) will hold its 17th annual conference Feb. 13-15, 2009 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Bloomington, home of the world-renowned Kinsey Institute, was recently ranked by The Advocate as the nation’s No. 1 gay-friendly small town vacation destination.
MBLGTACC keynote speakers are “The L Word” Writer/Director/Producer Rose Troche, out ESPN sports columnist LZ Granderson, and ISU Professor Kand McQueen.
Conference entertainment will be provided by dragapella beautyshop quartet The Kinsey Sicks and OUTmedia's Queer Riot! featuring comedians Julie Goldman, Marga Gomez, Vidur Kapur, and Jason Stuart.
Featured presenters are Hiding in Hip Hop author Terrance Dean, GLAAD President Neil Guiliano, and Mommy Queerest filmmaker Beverly Seckinger.
Registration is $60 for all and can be completed online via the conference website until FRIDAY, FEB. 6. Onsite registration will be available for $75.
This conference will be wheelchair accessible and will have ASL interpreters at main events.
Hello! Thanks for adding us and happy New Year! Will you please help us educate others by adding us to your top friends or adding one of our banners and/or videos to your page?
