Back in March we shared the books we were reading, but now it’s June, yo. New season. New books.

These books look good enough to eat.

My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless (33 1/3) (McGonigal)

• Recently Jess was in her new favorite store (Transistor), and found this Mike McGonigal book about one of her favorite albums (My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless). So – she bought it. 33 1/3 has a whole series of tiny books about famous albums. If you’re a music lover, check ‘em out!

Vacation = relaxing + reading + internetting

The Witch and Other Stories (Chekov)

• Julie loves reading short stories while on vacation, and she grabbed this one for the Cinekink Vegas trip. She barely cracked it because they were so busy at the festival, but now she’s slowly making her way through it. “The Witch” made her giggle.

Marriage: The perfect way to spice up your relationship?

Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence (Perel)

• Watching all of the sexy movies at Cinekink brought up a topic that Julie & Jess often like to explore: how do people in long-term relationships keep the sexy spark alive? This book by Elizabeth Perel explores just that. Highly recommended.

Are You There, God? It’s Me. Kevin. – A Memoir (Keck)

• Since we’re adapting this naughty memoir by Julie’s faux-cousin Kevin into a naughty screenplay, it only makes sense that we read and re-read it, right?  Julie read it again this week.  She laughed. She cried. She finished the treatment. Get ready…

Two scoops of bossy - J&J on LIBIDOLAND set

The Pillow Boy Of The Lady Onogoro (Fell) & Tales of Muraski and Other Poems (Bellen)

• These two are assignments from Jessica to Julie regarding their next short. Stay tuned.

Tart Show

What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science (Wolke)

• Julie loves cooking almost as much as she loves reading, and when this book miraculously dropped into her life (thank you, book fairy!), she jumped right in.  This book combines food and science, explaining things like the difference between green tea and black tea (did you know they come form the same plant!) and when to add cream to your coffee to keep your java the hottest (answer: right after you pour the coffee. That one’s free, friends).

Hitchcock / Truffaut (Truffaut)

• Since Julie just read that tasty Hitchcock biography, this seemed like a logical follow-up.  She just can’t get enough of that old dog…  Her mom, who also sent her the first Hitchcock biography, just sent her a collection of Hitchcock movies & tv shows – the same compilation shown in Phil Holbrook’s “One Nightstand” picture.  Coincidence? Let’s hope so.

So now we’ve shown you ours – time to show us yours!

(P.S. If you like us, and I mean REALLY like us, then sign up for our mailing list immediately to the right. You’ll get special stuff. Secret Kfink stuff. Check it out.)

CINEKINK FINAL DAY – SATURDAY , MAY 15, 2010

Jess will miss you, Vegas.

Poolside w/ the Cinekink Crew

• Final Morning of Fun: After crying a little because it was our last day in Vegas, we repeated our Starbucks / granola bar breakfast and then headed out for a poolside meet-up with Tess, Diva, and Lisa to discuss what Cinekink + Chicago might look like.  We all agreed it would pretty really damn good.

Jess = Thai Heaven

• Carbo Load = Done! To prep for the second day of films, we grabbed some great Thai food near the Onyx. Chili mint tofu + ginger tofu + fresh spring rolls + charming waiter = you win again, Vegas! (And by “you,” we mean “we”.)

Cinekink = Camp - Ticks + Sexy Movies

• Fast Film Friends: You know how kids develop fast and deep friendships at camp? Well, Cinekink felt like that, and by Saturday there seemed to be nothing that the attendees wouldn’t talk about or share.  It was wonderful.  Certainly we talked about the movies, but we also talked about our families, our travels, our ambitions, and our desire to meet up again at future Cinekink festivals.

• Movie Wrap Up #2: Amongst Saturday’s films we were delighted to find a wide array of topics, rawness, styles, and skill levels.  Cinekink director Lisa Vandever said that she saw a theme of female dominance in many of the movies entered into this year’s festival, so she put them together in the “Yes, Mistress” section. A few that really tickled our fancies included:
  • In the “Yes, Mistress”section: “Anti-Samaritan Hotline” – an exploration of perils involved with falling for your dominatrix;  “The Pawn Layman” – a funny twist on a fast cash fable; and “Taxi” – a short and sassy cab ride starring the aforementioned Madison Young. And…oh yeah – Our “LIBIDOLAND” was in there, too! So exciting. We talked a little after the screening, and the audience was very kind. Perhaps the perfect audience for this short.
  • Also on tap on Saturday: The features “Swingers” and “S & M Judge.”  Both foreign entries (Netherlands and Belgium, respectively), these movies contained “normal” characters in relationships who explored kinks in a thoughtful and unexpected way.  We didn’t actually watch S&M Judge (see below), but “Swingers” hit its mark.  It nailed what we tried to say with LIBIDOLAND, which is that kink can be a fun part of a normal, loving relationship.
  • Our only question: would “Swingers” work if it was in English?  Sometimes accents fool us (okay…Julie) into thinking something is better than it is.  We’d love to see an American film tackle swinging in a similarly mature and titillating way, but we doubt it could be done with as much tact and finesse. An American remake would probably star Jonah Hill and Jessica Biel anyway.  No, thanks.

Sushi Heaven

Corn + Cheese = Japanese?

• Dinner Time: We were determined to stay out late with our Cinekink friends, so this meant that grabbing dinner was essential. Unfortunately, it meant we had to miss “S&M Judge.”  We ordered a few rolls, and then the sushi chef started handing us extra food, including miso soup, cucumber salad, sizzling corn & cheese appetizer, broiled mushrooms, and ginger ice cream. It was wonderful.

Patty Fantasia = very comfortable or bored out of her mind

• We Met Patty Fantasia, Yo! We returned to the fest in time for Jessica to watch “The Best of Cinekink” program and for Julie to chat with Twitter friend and indie film producer / marketing guru / red carpet maven Patty Fantasia. Julie asked Patty a million questions about her job(s) and her current project (“Accused”); then poor Patty tried to stay awake while Julie blathered on…yes, Julie was a little nervous.  Can you blame her?

• What’s in a Name? By the way, Julie found out whether or not Fantasia is really Patty’s last name.  Are we sharing the answer?  No.  You’re going to have to meet up with her and find out for yourself.

• Best of Cinekink: While Julie chatted with Patty, Jessica watched the “Best of Cinekink” program, which consisted of award winners from the Cinekink NYC fest.  It goes without saying that all of the films were top-notch.  Jessica’s favorites included “Coverage” (about the effects of September 11th on a couple’s sex life) and “Balloons” (a documentary about sex and, well, you get the picture. But you’ll have to see it to REALLY get it…)

J + Terje + J

Seriously - have you ever seen Jessica look this happy?

• Another Cinekink Love Match: We never would have thought that we could fall in love so quickly after meeting Waxie Moon’s star and director, but after they left the fest, they left a hole in our hearts.  Luckily, that hole was filled when we witnessed a spot on impression of a woman from “Balloons” by Norwegian journalist Terje Mork.  Swoon. We never had a chance. If only his magazine was in English…

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Tess?

Terje...on the rocks

So this is goodbye...for now

• Don’t Dream It’s Over: The Cinekink wrap-up party moved to the Peppermill Lounge, which had an old school, rat pack vibe, crazy floating fire pits, waitresses wearing long black gowns, and more flat screen TVs than we’ve ever seen in one place.  Someone may or may not have ordered a way-too-big fishbowl drink.  Julie may or may not have imbibed most of it through a 3ft long straw.  At the end of the long night, we somehow tricked Lisa, Diva, and Tess into walking all the way back to the hotel instead of grabbing a cab, much to the dismay of Diva’s little high-heeled feet. She was a trooper, though, and we had a great time savoring the last few moments with our new friends.  Hugs in the lobby. Stayed up to do a little tweeting. Finally went to sleep around 2am, which was unfortunate because…

Final, Final Cinekink Day, Sunday, May 16

Jess in LV airport

• Leaving on a Jet Plane: We got up at 4:30am to catch an 8am flight back to Chicago (via Cleveland).  Red eyes.  Starbucks breakfast.  And, surprisingly, we were probably the calmest we’ve ever been pre-flight. Sometimes exhaustion is your friend.

• A quick note about Continental Airlines: Way more leg room than we’ve ever had + free breakfast + no fewer than three drink passes = we will definitely use them again. You should, too. (No, we are not getting paid for this compliment. Although we are not opposed to that.)

• SUMMARY:
  • While we were sad to see the end of our Cinekink Vegas film-cation, we’re excited about what lies ahead. Specifically, we hope to bring Cinekink to Chicago this summer, and we’re absolutely inspired to make another kinky movie so that we can be a part of the Cinekink fun next year.
  • If the traveling Cinekink show comes to a town near you, GO.  If you’re a filmmaker, make something sexy and submit to Cinekink (submissions for 2010 open in August).  It’s a great opportunity to reach a very loyal and supportive niche audience, to connect with other filmmakers, and to be a part of a festival that could potentially screen your movie across the country.  Multiple screenings for one low submission price?  That’s very hard to beat.
  • So film it, cut it, print it, and submit it to Cinekink (submissions for their next cycle will start in August), and join us (if we’re lucky enough to get in again).

Julie's dreaming about Cinekink 2011

Want more? Really? Then check out our little “King is a Fink Does Vegas” v-log on King is a Fink Web TV!

CINEKINK DAY #3 – Friday , MAY 14, 2010

Top ON

• Up and At ‘Em: Our second morning in Vegas =  Starbucks + granola bars + Twitter.  Then we met Diva and Tess at the pool (possibly the topless one) to get a refresher on our sunburns.  There we learned more about Diva and Tess’s event planning business (Tied Up Events) as well as their involvement with the online Kink Academy. Kfink + Kink Academy? Sounds like a match made in heaven. We just hope our Girl Rods series gets us some transfer credits.

Rainbow's End...again

• Lunch Stop: We made a quick return trip to the heavenly Rainbow’s End.  The waitress started to suspect that we were stalking her.  One of us ordered the exact same thing as the day before. (We’ll never tell who, except her name probably rhymes with Messica). Then, we headed to the Onyx Theatre to finally see some kinky flicks.

Julie + Onyx Theatre

Early Dirty Birds

• The Onyx Theatre: Located in the back of a sexy leather and toy shop, the Onyx was a comfortable, if slightly chilly, spot to watch the kinky movies curated by Lisa Vandever (Cinekink director). The first day we huddled together for warmth; the second day, we brought sweaters.  And huddled together because it was fun.

Julie + Waxie Moon Director Wes Hurley

• Waxie Moon: Cinekink’s opening movie, Waxie Moon, was a huge hit.  The touching documentary about a central figure in the Seattle ‘boy’-lesque scene left the audience swooning, especially when they found out that Waxie himself (aka Marc Kennison) and director Wes Hurley were in attendance.  We fell for them both. Sadly, they snuck away before we had a chance to trick them into marrying us.

Lisa's Q&A with Waxie Moon's Marc + Wes

• Kfink Loves Love: Yes, we do have a habit of falling in love with people at festivals. (We’re lookin’ at you, Matt Shea and Adam Bronstein.) However, we DARE you to meet Marc and Wes or see their movie and NOT fall in love.  We’re pretty sure it’s impossible. To get your fix, find them at Seattle’s True Independent Film Festival in June.  LIBIDOLAND will be there, too. You know, just in case you’re in the neighborhood…

• Movie Wrap Up #1: The first day’s screenings also included:
  • “Bring It!”: This selection of Cinekink’s SUPER-adult films was, though not completely unenjoyable, a bit overwhelming. These excerpts + a theatre full of strangers = mildly traumatic, although we were reminded that in the “old days” most people saw much of their their erotica on the big screen. Our favorite film in this section was one with a sense of humor. (Shocker, right?) Madison Young‘s “Frisk Me” was frisky (see what we did there?), playful, and fun.
  • “My Sexuality:  A Sensory Experience”: This student documentary followed 5 women on their journey toward learn more about their personal, and feminine, sensuality and highlighted that anyone can become more in touch with their sexy selves no matter what their size or age.  Plus, this movie had a cameo by Carol Queen – can’t beat that.

• Pick a Little, Talk a Little: At the end of the day, we participated in a panel discussion about women and filmmaking with Carol, Lisa, and Lynn Comella, head of the women’s studies department of University of Nevada at Las Vegas.  CLEARLY we were on this panel by accident, but that didn’t keep us from talking way too much about why we started making movies, who the Girl Rods are, and our path to LIBIDOLAND.  We were very honored to be in such great company.

CineKink Ladies Club

• Intelligent Chicks + Tasty Martinis = Too Much Fun: A group of CineKinkers headed to the Downtown Cocktail Bar, including (above) Lynn Comella, Julie, Jessica, Lisa Vandever, Tess Danesi, Dee Dennis, and Carol Queen.  Our dapper Norwegian friends joined us later.  So how was that post-party? Some of us may or may not have run into a glass door on our way out.  We also may or may not have imbibed the last of the bar’s signature Bee Keeper martinis (just for you, Sean J. S. Jourdan!)  We also may have complained when the DJ pumped up the volume during a discussion about whether Sarah Palin is pre-feminist or post-feminist and what her involvement in U.S. politics says about the United States. May. Or may not.

Phew! Almost done. Are you ready for Cinekink Day #4?

Here’s what we did on Day #1. Ready for Day #2?

CINEKINK DAY #2 – THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010

• Woke up starving. Hit the buffet. Jessica ate a sensible breakfast of protein, fruit, and fiber.  Julie, on the other hand, might have eaten everything that should never exist at the breakfast buffet.  This may or may not have included: steak, nachos, an “everything on the sundae bar” sundae, a variety of seafood-ish products, and chicken strips with bbq sauce. May. Or may not.

Jess + Stratosphere Death Watch

• Bloated and buzzing on caffeine, we then did the most logical thing we could think of: headed to the pool.  There we encountered bikini waitresses, guys looking for the “European-style” (e.g. topless) pool, and a clear view of tourists who’d paid $100 for a simulated suicide jump off the tip-top of the Stratosphere tower.  Luckily, their screams were drowned out by club music hits of the ’00s that seemed to get pumped up every time we started to engage in meaningful conversation, a trend we noticed throughout Vegas.

Onyx Theatre

Making sure we're still on the list

• After getting properly sunburnt (a Kfink tradition), we explored Vegas on foot. We walked past the Onyx Theatre, where the CineKink screenings would be held later on.

Goin' to the chapel?

• We also saw a cute little quickie wedding chapel. Next door was a place where a lucky couple could rent a dress and a tux. Across the street was a spot that tattooed wedding rings on fingers.  Did we take the plunge?  No – that’s illegal, silly.  Would we if we could have?  Maybe.  As long an espresso maker was in it for us. (Hello, Williams and Sonoma.)

Rainbow's End

The Goddess

Goodbye, Goddess.

• In lieu of getting married, we decided to eat lunch at the Rainbow’s End.  This raw and organic food paradise might have saved our lives.  Yum, vegan sandwiches.  With cheese, of course.  We stocked up on water and granola bars (apparently we thought there was a chance we’d get kidnapped and dropped off in the middle of the desert), then headed back to the hotel to primp for the CineKink opening gala.

Jess doing work, sending Julie to the wolves

• We found out (via Twitter, of course) that CineKink Director Lisa Vandever was hanging out with event planners @DebauchedDiva (aka Diva) and @Urban_Gypsy (aka Tess).  Julie was slightly concerned that some spontaneous porn might erupt. So, naturally, Jessica sent her to the meet-up alone while she took care of some business.

• The first ever Kfink / Cinekink crew meet-up was brief but good. Tess and Diva’s hotel room had a great view of the kooks jumping from the top of the Stratosphere spire, so we were distracted every 10 minutes or so when a new jumper plunged past the window. Julie was instantly smitten by Lisa, Diva, and Tess.  She even got to meet Good Vibrations resident sexologist and founder of the Center for Sex and Culture Carol Queen.  Score!

• Our lack of sleep started to catch up with us, so we grabbed some coffee at the Starbucks in the hotel casino before heading to the party.  Calm, twangy Starbucks music collided with the crazy dance ditties pulsating on the casino floor, which made Julie’s brain explode a little.  She may or may not have cried.  Jessica may or may not have called Julie a poor little baby. The only thing we can say for sure…Jessica filmed it:

Click here to view the embedded video.

• After recovering from the sensory overload, we cabbed it to The Erotic Heritage Museum despite some not-so-subtle warnings from well-meaning gentlemen.  Check it out:

Click here to view the embedded video.

• Cinekink picked the perfect spot for the opening night gala. The Erotic Heritage Museum is a dirty diamond in the strip club dotted rough.  You’d never know from the outside what wonders lie inside.  The site has only been open for 2 years, but it’s skillfully filled to the brim with wonders you can’t even imagine.  If you’re interested in sex, sexy things, sexy art, sexy movies, or the history of sex, we highly recommend that you skip the strippers and head to the museum on your next Vegas trip. Okay, at least on one of your nights there…

The Wall of Shame makes Julie sad

Art, people. Art.

Human chandelier a la Jessica's favorite movie, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"

Bondage 101

• The gala was full of fun and flirty delights. Filmmakers and other attendees marveled at the amazing museum exhibits, mingled, and ate their way through approximately 15 lbs of chocolate. Past Cinekink winners showed at a small theater upstairs next to a Peep Show exhibit.  Waxie Moon attended in full regalia, accompanied by documentary director Wes Hurley. Performers belly danced, tied each other up, and sang kinky songs with ukelele accompaniment. Carol Queen brought the house down with a segment from her one-woman show.  A good time, no – a great time – was had by all.

• As we all know, Julie loves playing the prude, and the Erotic Heritage Museum was the perfect place for her favorite character to come out.

Julie learns from transgendered porn star Buck Angel that hormones work. For realz.

Jesse makes Julie nervous

• So what happened next? Did Kfink pole dance the night away? Did they actually watch any movies? Did either of them marry Waxie Moon? And will they ever be allowed back in the Stratosphere?  All of these questions (or none of these questions) will be answered in Cinekink Day #3 post.

CINEKINK DAY #1 – WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010

Evidence that J loves J

• Left our apartment in Chicago at 5:30pm.  Our fuel for the evening: handmade spring rolls by Julie.  NOTE: if someone makes spring rolls for you from scratch, they really love you.

Travelling Jess

• Got to O’Hare at 6:30pm for 8:40pm flight. Yes, we are a little cuckoo.

• While at airport, recorded segments for our video of support for Danny Lacey‘s 24-hour fundraiser for Love Like Hers (5/20). Rode the pedway (Jessica calls it a “walk-a-lator”) back and forth in United Terminal for 45 minutes – we had the time.  Emergency: Julie fake-sprains her wrist while performing a risky carry-on/escalator move.  Live fast, die young – that’s her motto.

Plane Nibbles (mmm, Advil)

• Flight delayed by 10 minutes, then by 20, then 25, then 30, etc.  Once we boarded, we waited on the runway for another hour before take-off.  The flight was bumpy and stormy.  We sort of slept and definitely felt nauseous.  We consoled ourselves by pouring over the Cinekink Vegas schedule and dreaming of how awesome the festival would be.  Our native Las Vegan (? – she was from Las Vegas) airplane row neighbor commented on how well Julie took care of Jessica snack-wise.  Julie swears she saw her wink.

Jessica minding her own beeswax

• Arrived in Vegas at 12:30am. When we got to The Stratosphere, we were greeted by a swath of smoke (we’d forgotten that you could still smoke indoors in NV – oof!) and an ear-splitting rendition of “My Sharona.”  Julie went on the hunt for food, while Jessica tried not to make eye-contact with the woman crying behind her in the check-in line.

Vegas water + fake vitamins = what we needed to relax

• Once in our room, we both took emergency vitamins to ward off airplane cooties, cab cooties, and to mend Julie’s fake-sprained wrist.

Vegas at night = scary clowns + lots of drunk people

• Instead of sleeping, shot more segments for our Danny Lacey video. This started in the hotel room, then spilled into the streets of Vegas.  We may or may not have started a fight at the blackjack tables.  Julie may or may not have won an amateur stripping contest.  She then may or may not have used her winnings to bail Jessica out of jail after Jess punched out someone who looked at her funny at the club.  May have.  Or may not have.

Julie + Vegas wedding chapel

• So what happened next? Who did King is a Fink meet at Cinekink?  Which movies did they see?  Did they meet Waxie Moon in person?  Did they go to the topless pool or the regular pool?  Did they ever get to sleep?  And why did Jessica make Julie stand in front of this Vegas wedding chapel?  Find out in our Cinekink Day #2 post!

Here’s a peek into what we’re shoving into our carry-ons:

IN-FLIGHT SNACKS

IN-FLIGHT SNACKS: Jess is a bear when she’s hungry, and I often panic at the airport right before take-off and buy emergency bagels and M&Ms to ward off mile-high blood sugar emergencies. Expensive and carby. This time I’m coming prepared with Jessica’s favorite ginger snacks, freeze dried pineapple slices (should we feel bad that they’re made out of “baby” pineapples?), and trail mix. It’s a bummer that we can’t take our own water, but we wouldn’t want to cause a scene near the full-body scanners. Or WOULD we…

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT: For the plane ride, Jess will probably bring one book and her iPod.  Very practical. I, on the other hand, plan to bring 12 books. Okay, 12 is too many, but I’ll most likely bring 2 of these five:

• Oedipus Wrecked by Kevin Keck – Our next project (after TILT) will be the movie adaptation of Kevin Keck’s naughty memoirs. We’ve already read his books and written an outline, but now it’s time to get deeper into the story so that we can hammer out the treatment. Kevin’s style is similar to that of David Sedaris and Jonathan Ames.  Kevin’s been great to work with so far, and we respect him immensely. Additionally, his interests match ours perfectly. Lots of sex talk and awkward family interactions. Here we go!

• Are You There, God? It’s Me, Kevin by Kevin Keck – See above.

• The Men Who Stare At Goats by Jon Ronson – We haven’t seen the movie yet.  If we had, probably wouldn’t be reading the book.  Jess read most of this and got frustrated that money is spent on paranormal experiments when there are so many other concrete things for our country to spend their money on.  I saved the book from our last book weed-out and am about 25% of the way through it.  So far I’m really enjoying Ronson’s easy, breezy nonfiction(?) style.

• Ghost Town by Robert Coover – I’ve read this before, but I’m reading it again, because a) I enjoyed it the first time, b) I have a short memory for books, and c) I love reading maliciously funny, genre-bending, and fantastical books on vacation.  I often bring Murakami (or buy Murakami books while I’m at my vacation destination – Hello, Miami!), but this time I thought I’d switch it up a bit.

• The Other Side of Desire by Daniel Bergner – Again Jessica already read this (guess who usually buys the books in our house), but I want to check it out, too.  I think it would be especially fitting to read it while in Vegas for the kinky film fest.

POOL-SIDE ATTIRE

POOL-SIDE ATTIRE: The last thing we’re bringing won’t take up too much room.  We’re planning to lay by the pool…a lot.  So even though we can’t bring our big bottle of sun screen (Why do you want us to get skin cancer, TSA?), we’re definitely bringing strappy swimming suits.  Commence the cooking of Kfink!

Have any suggestions about WHAT ELSE we should stuff in our bags at the last minute?

Best ideas so far:

• Jessica’s new Flip camera (so we can do interviews with Cinekink fest attendees for our Peep Show column on Film Snobbery.
• $1 bills (for strippers)

We won a STIFFY. This makes us giggle.

• LIBIDOLAND won a STIFFY Award from Seattle’s True Independent Film Festival for “Most Romantic Auto-Asphyxiation.”  We’re very proud.  Our moms will be, too. LIBIDOLAND is scheduled to play at STIFF at an over-21 show at the Jewelbox Theater on Saturday, June 5th, at 10:15pm. Be there or be square.

LIBIDOLAND's Leilah with the Meat Guy. And the Fish Guy. Yes, she gets around.

• Before LIBIDOLAND hits Seattle, it’s screening on Saturday,May, 15th, in Las Vegas with the Cinekink 2010 “kinky film festival” tour. SO many great movies are showing, and we plan to see as many as possible.  We’re especially excited to see Waxie Moon, Anti-Samaritan Hotline, and S&M Judge.  Join us for the naughty movies, a little fun in the sun, or some bootylicious Vegas buffets!

LIBIDOLAND's Reed = a little tied up at the moment

• LIBIDOLAND will, hopefully, be playing in LA while we’re there in late July.  More details coming soon.

• Lastly, LIBIDOLAND will be joining SNOW BUNNY on IndieFlix soon.  For those who take the plunge and invest in the DVD, there’s an extra special “extra.” Let’s just say, NOT buying this DVD could cause you some…ANXIETY…

scary hitchhiker + barn = bad news in ANXIETY ACRES

Happy birthday to us.

Happy birthday to us.

Happy birthday, little Kfink blog.

Happy Birthday to us!

Snow Bunny.  One year ago (according to our blog, without which we’d have NO RECORD of what we’ve done) we’d just finished shooting.  Jessica was in the process of editing.  We were working with our musical director Jeffrey Bouthiette.  We were picking festivals to submit to.  We were happy.

WHAT DID SNOW BUNNY LEAD TO?

• Fun Screening for Family & Friends in Chicago.

• Film Festivals. So far, Snow Bunny has been an official selection of the Queens International Film Festival, EgoFest, and Lakedance Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Drama.  The movie is still being considered by a handful of other fests, but if you can’t wait for Snow Bunny to show up in your neck of the woods, feel free to buy it or stream it from IndieFlix.

Talking with Eren at QIFF Screening

• Fabulous Friendships. In November at the Queens International Film Festival we met director Matt Shea, producer Maria Lokken, and Eren Gulfidan of the Film Annex.  Since then we’ve contributed to Maria’s blog and posted our short film Sound Sleeper on Film Annex.

Kfink Crew at Cinekink NYC

• Fabulous Friendships – Part Deux: Our friendship with Matt blossomed into a love affair with a whole group of NYC/NJ filmmakers and writers, many of whom went to see our short LIBIDOLAND when it played at Cinekink NYC in February. Their attendance at Cinekink resulted in us receiving an award for “Outstanding Viral Achievement,” and now LIBIDOLAND is a part of Cinekink’s national tour. Sweet.

Adam & Jessica

• Fake Boyfriend. We didn’t get to go to Lakedance, which really bummed us out, but Adam Bronstein contacted us after the fest and told us that he liked our movie, that it was well-received at the fest, and that he wanted to do a movie swap.  We were very flattered, because Adam’s film (My Movie Girl) won several awards at Lakedance, including Best Feature.  We were lucky enough to meet Adam when MMG came to the Lake County Film Fest in March, and we have plans to see him again in July. Any thoughts on what we should wear for the second date?

• Film Snobbery. As a result of our Twitter conversation with Matt about the highs (and lows) of QIFF, we ended up doing an interview on Film Snobbery Live with Nic Baisley.  Nic subsequently gave us some very helpful advice for our blog.  Now we’re slated to write a column for the Film Snobbery site.

Silly Philly

• Phil Holbrook. Phil got our jokes about QIFF on Twitter and in the Film Snobbery chatroom.  We clicked and started talking. We watched his hilarious short (HONEST WORK), we submitted our movies to his film festival, and, eventually, we started talking about a feature project that had been knocking around in his brain for a few years.  This project was TILT, and now we’re writing it for (and producing it with) Phil.

A year ago we never could have predicted where we are now. The past year has been filled with great new friendships, exciting new projects, and a whole lot of fun. Any predictions about what April 2011 has in store?

• TILT BLOG! This week the blog for our new feature-length movie project (TILT) was launched.  Be sure to check out the very first post, a great introductory video by director Phil Holbrook, and our post on the basics of the project.

• GUEST BLOG: MultiHyphenate! We also made our 2nd appearance on Tyler Weaver’s blog-o-zine MultiHyphenate.  Check out our article on what Steven Soderbergh said to rile everyone up, why the American movie-goers prefer blockbusters, and what indie movie makers can do to get more attention: “Soderbergh’s Lament: A Little Whining + A Little History + A Possible Solution“

• GUEST BLOG for Maria Lokken! Just in case you missed it, we also wrote a post for dear friend Maria Lokken recently: ” Shared Storytelling: A Bicycle Built for 2…or 2 Million.”

• NYC SCREENING! We still can’t believe it, but Libidoland is screening at Cinekink NYC on 2/18 in the “Kind of Kinky” block.  Tickets can be purchased online, but you’d better be quick – quite a few of our Twitter friends are going (Gary King, Matt Shea, Marinell Montales, John Trigonis, Jerry Cavallero, and more…) Should be a blast!

• ROAD TRIP! Next week we’re headed to EgoFest.  Snow Bunny and Libidoland are screening on 2/20.  12 hours. 40 short films. 30 filmmakers.  Should be a blast.  Plus, we’re very excited to finally meet Phil.

• Hooray!  Our short movie LIBIDOLAND has been accepted into the 2010 Cinekink NYC Film Festival. We’re so honored. When we learned about this festival through Twitter, we knew that it could be a great fit for our kinky, quirky short about a loving couple stepping into the world of bondage for the first time. Many thanks to Cinekink co-founder and director Lisa Vandever for taking such good care of us.  Cinekink often takes their show on the road, so we’re hoping we can talk Lisa into making a stop in Chicago.  You know…for our moms.

• We’re headed to 2010 EgoFest Short Film Festival in Brainerd, Minnesota, to meet festival organizer and filmmaker Phil Holbrook face-to-face.  We’ve already met with Phil a few times via Skype to discuss the feature-length dramatic thriller we’re writing for him; he plans to direct it later this year.  Phil is in the process of setting up a website to which we will all post progress reports on the script-writing, fund-raising, and the overall collaboration process. More on that soon!

• We’ve finished the first draft of our 3rd feature length screenplay, a dark comedy called THE UNLOVABLES. Logline: A jaded single woman drags her unwitting family to Vegas to track down the serial killer who passed her by for her hotter, blonder best friend. Yes, this one’s pretty dark, but it’s also very funny.  In it we explore single life, married expectations, skewed relationship goals, interactions between adult siblings, and the very basic desire just to be chosen by someone.  We’re currently collecting feedback and suggestions from trusted friends and readers.  We’re also working with Script Dr. Eric, who is giving us valuable tips about our query letter.  The next step: getting feedback from the helpful readers at BlueCat Screenwriting Competition (deadline = 3/1/10 & they give GREAT notes), revising, and then trying to find a home for our newest endeavor.  Click here to learn more about THE UNLOVABLES or to read the first 15 pages.

• Lastly, next week filmmaker Tyler Weaver, is relaunching his website Multi-Hyphenate (here’s the old version) and turning it into more of a blog-o-zine.  His first celebrity guest is Frederick Marx of Warrior Films.  Frederick is 1/2 of the team responsible for the documentary HOOP DREAMS.  When Tyler asked us to contribute a post to his maiden week, we happily said yes.  We did a piece about collaboration, which we’re doing a lot of these days.  We’ll keep you posted about when our entry is up!