California Mermaid Convention
I made it back home to Los Angeles after a total of almost 5,000 miles driven thus far for our crazy whirlwind of the Erzulie tour. I knew when I started that it would be nuts and now it is almost halfway over. From Los Angeles to Austin to Shreveport to New Orleans to Sacramento now back again to Los Angeles, we are now ending the month of May with our limited theatrical release at the Laemmle in Glendale.
When I made this film, I knew that it would be a lot of hard work. I was prepared to grind. I have been grinding for over ten years in this industry to earn the privilege to make Erzulie. But never did I expect that I would also be attaching a list of other jobs in order to succeed as a director. I am now also a professional event and party planner, photo booth operator, full-time marketing director, social media manager, graphic designer, promoter, and more. All of this has been out of necessity for the love and belief in the film and for the people behind it all. If I am not the loudest and most annoying champion, most hard working person for our film, how can I expect others to be as well? Grassroots marketing to the max.
We have crushed it at some events, but others, not so much. It has been a rollercoaster to say the least. The California Mermaid Convention was the ultimate test for us. Collectively, we had zero personal connections and we had never been to a mermaid convention at all. After coming from 15 events spread across Austin, Shreveport, and New Orleans… I was on the brink of exhaustion and burn out. To top it all, most of my marketing team could not follow me to New Orleans and I have had to navigate the rest of the journey alone. The last straw was my co-producer pulling out indefinitely due to unforeseen personal circumstances. All of this happened while I was driving towards Sacramento.
I wondered during this time, in tears, while simultaneously texting, emailing, and posting for the millionth time on Facebook groups about our Sacramento screening, why I was doing all of this. I really wanted to turn around and just head back home. Sleep in my own bed. Just sleep, period. But then an amazing thing happened. My AD fam came to the rescue. My 2nd AD, Carly Shiell helped me make graphics (on her VACATION) since I could not do that while driving. My 2nd 2nd Niki Flores made arrangements to fly to Sacramento after her overnight on set. My lead actress Diana Rose started calling schools and tackling a long list of other marketing to-dos to help me spread the word.
It gave me the much needed strength to make it to the California Mermaid Convention. Our screening only had 15 people, but I was just grateful that we had anyone show up at all. 15 wonderfully beautiful strangers who knew no one, had zero ties to me or the film or anyone on the team. They watched the film. Laughed out loud. And at the end, they stayed for almost an hour asking questions and chatting about the ins and outs of the film. It was “fin-tastic.” But it only got better.
The next day at the convention, three incredible people from that audience showed up with bouquets of roses. I get emotional talking about it. Three complete strangers connected so strongly with the film that they gave Leila and I roses. This is when I remembered why I was breaking my back doing everything – the opportunity to connect through my art, to know that your film affected someone you had previously zero connection to. We are now friends, but thank you Alex, Anna, and Camille. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for shedding your light on a filmmaker whose light was starting to fade from being ridiculously overworked. I finally felt heard.
The journey is far from over. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help us continue the momentum. Help us tell everyone in Los Angeles to join us for a week long of events. It would mean the world to us.
EVENT SCHEDULE:
🎟️ 5/27-6/2 @laemmletheatres @ 7:30 PM (https://www.laemmle.com/film/erzulie)
