The second coming of Hotel Darklight...

I went to a second screening of Hotel Darklight today at the IFI, comprised of ten shorts that includes my script Regards to the Chef. I ended up taking part in a Q&A after on stage with the two directors, a director and another writer. This was kind of alarming because of the blinding lights focussed on us, although at least this meant I couldn't really see the audience and get nervous. Truth be told, I'm a shameless talker and it was fun to get to take part in it. And even more fun to see the movie again. Thanks to everyone at Darklight for arranging the whole thing!

They're now going to try and enter it into some festivals and then it will be available to watch online. The great thing about that whole project was the can-do nature of it. Bear in mind that they started with no budget and yet managed to make ten short films and give a lot of crew members their first screen credit, including me. That's gold, especially for a writer. 

I've read several bad reviews of the recent release Situations Vacant - I'm going to reserve judgement until I've seen it myself this week. But whatever it's like, someone managed to make a film and get it released, which is no easy task at the moment. I think this should be applauded and that the critics should remember that this is a tough period for moviemakers. 

We have to find cleverer and cheaper ways of getting our work on the big screen - these are harsh times but also ones potentially full of opportunity.