All Good Things

I keep getting messages about a call for entries for the upcoming Mad Monster Party, so I thought I should take a moment to update everyone on my status with regards to the festival. Over the past twelve years, I've done my best to showcase talent from across the Carolinas, the Americas, and even the World in the Mad Monster Party Film Fest! When I accepted the assignment to host the film festival, it was ostensibly to have a venue in which to feature my own selection of short and feature films, and we managed to do just that. I was thrilled having the opportunity to share my works like Scarecrow at Midnight, Muticia's Movie Morgue or The Blind Eye Looks Within with our target audience. 

As of this writing, I feel that I have taken the festival itself as far as it can go within the confines of the convention festival paradigm. The film festival wants to grow and get larger and deserves to be a more integral part of the convention itself, but that is just not a reality for convention-based film fests. Conventions feature guests and events, but the guests like Bruce Campbell or Robert Englund are what puts butts in the seats. People do not buy tickets to conventions solely to attend screenings of independent films. The notion of the festival becoming more integral to the convention is just not a viable option. 

With that, I've done my part and carried it as far as I could. In the years in which I did not feature any of my own works, I did what I could to help lift and promote the other independent filmmakers, even going so far as to offer feedback and reviews to those who asked. I even featured several filmmakers on Mutantville's long running podcast, MVP Mutant Radio. I've done all of this at the detriment to my own creativity, as the festival preparation and events wound up dominating a good four to five months of every single year. This became a time when I was constantly distracted from and unable to focus on my own creative efforts. 

At the start of the festival in 2011, I often found myself on the set of every film that I could find within the state of North Carolina, offering my services as anything from a PA or grip to Script Supervisor or even on-set EPK director. When I accepted the position, I had to remove myself from being involved in the immediacy of other filmmakers' processes. 

As the title of this entry says, "All good things come to an end," and as of this writing, I have fulfilled my commitments to the wonderful and supportive promoters of the Mad Monster Party, as well as to the filmmakers that submitted their works year after year. If you were one of the folks that enjoyed the films every year, then you are welcome and I thank you for joining us. If you are one of the people that was annoyed by my selections and curating year after year, then worry no more, as I have removed myself from the process and will now solely concentrate on my creative efforts outside of the film community. 

Lastly, I would like to extend a hearty "thank you" to the promoters of the Mad Monster Party and the creative people behind the scenes for giving this unknown indie creator a platform on which to share my work. The time has come for me to move down the road and rebuild my career in other areas. To the filmmakers, I always say "keep up the good work". You were all an inspiration to me and you prompted me to work harder every day. 

Thanks for reading. MVP Mutant Radio still exists as an entity and will arise from time to time when I have something to address, but for now, I am no longer able to promote other filmmakers, artists, or musicians. It is time to focus on my own scripts, illustrations, and creations. I feel that I've given everything I could to the film community over the past twelve years, and rather than head into lucky year thirteen, I am hanging it up. 

You can follow my efforts to bring my long gestating graphic novel to fruition by bookmarking my blog Comic-Jutsu and following the Youtube channel.

Thank you.