What is the current status of this movie? - Universal Signs Discussion

[–] ejs7921 18 years ago

I spoke with Sister Barb who plays Sister Margaret in the film and she has not been able to reach anyone at the production office to find out what is going on. Last she heard was the movie was to premiere here in Philly this November and that was some time ago. She keeps calling and no one answers the phone or returns e-mail. It is possible they have run into a snag because if the premiere was still on schedule then the actors would know when and where it was to be held. As far as any film festivals, it was scheduled to be shown at Sundance in January so check with them and maybe you can get some info. I was planning on having a small premiere party for Sister Barb with some friends but this is on hold now.

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[–] Silentwolfdog 18 years ago

I was wondering about this too. I got invited to go to premiere but I never heard anything from them again. I am happy I am not the only one with this problem.

Lt. Jean Razak "For I have loved the stars too fondly to be afraid of the night."

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[–] SweetHomeAlabama 18 years ago

I learned that the film is going to a festival and someone told me that some festivals that some movies must show there first before show anywhere else for legal reasons and they will show it after festival I guess. Maybe that's why you have not heard about it yet.

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[–] elizabeth-marlo 18 years ago

From what I understand, this film is ready to start the festival circuit. This means that it is in the process of submitting to festivals, and if accepted to a festival will be screened. If it is to premiere at a festival such as Sundance, it cannot have been previously shown to a paying audience.

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[–] ejs7921 17 years ago

I have an e-mail into the Philly film office about the movie to see if it will be part of the festival next March and will let you know as soon as I know something. They may even have premiere info about this.

In the last 2 months I have heard Larry King and another reporter talk about actors, producers, writers etc and what they both said was that when a person is done with the project, they are more or less told to kiss off, brush off etc. and from the total silence people have been given about the premiere, it seems like a case of "kiss off" again. The fact that they took the time to invite the cast and crew, if there has been a change in plans, then take the time and let everyone know what is going on. That's not asking too much. It's the proper thing to do. I do agree there could be legal reasons for what has happened but let people know. Sister Barb was so gung ho about this and all she wants is an answer.

Last February a local paper ran a nice size artice on this movie with a photo from the film shoot with Sister Barb and two of the actors. I told her in order to get extra copies for her (like 8 of them) I swiped them from neighbors who just throw them into the recycle bags anyway. When the new owners took over the paper 4 years ago, they destroyed the nice little neighborhood paper and turned it into a waste of paper. 90% of it is ads and it's just a waste but I take a quick look and then recycle so this is how I caught the article.

If anyone does get to a festival please post your comments so I can show Sister Barb. There is no way she can afford to go to anything other then a local event so she just has to wait.

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[–] ejs7921 17 years ago

I heard from the film office and all they do is represent the film festival but I have an e-mail into Andrew Preis who is part of the film festival so maybe I can find out if the movie will run here or not. more later as soon as I know something.

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[–] ejs7921 17 years ago

I had an answer from the film festival office here in Philly and they never heard of the film and Joan Bessler from the film office not the festival office also got back to me and she told me they also have no information on the film and all anyone can do is wait. Wish I could have helped more but that is all I have been told. If I do find anything else out I will post it but Joan did tell me the office in Doylestown PA closed and that is why no one can get an answer by phone or e-mail even though the phone is still connected. Sorry.

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[–] SweetHomeAlabama 17 years ago

??? where are you getting those informations? who are you? Did you work on Universal Signs film? I heard they are going thru Sundance Film Festival not Philadelphia Film Festival. We will know by January if the film will be in the Sundance Film Festival or not.

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[–] ejs7921 17 years ago

my info came from Sister Barb at Chestnut Hill college who was in the movie and she had an e-mail from the produciton office back in the summer that the film would have it's premiere here in Philly in November then there has been total silence from them. No calls or e-mails are being answered. Sister Barbara plays Sister Margaret in the film and she wants to know what is going on and came to me for help but I have done what I can and still no answers. I contacted the film office here in Philly and they have no info and neither does the staff that runs the Philly film festival so I have no idea what is going on. When any production staff sends out an e-mail about anything they need to follow up on it and they haven't and this is not the way to handle things. If the premiere here had to be called off for any reason, they need to tell this to everyone so they don't keep waiting for more information and they were told more info would follow. This is not the way to treat anyone especially the cast. The bulk of the film was shot here in Philly and that is why this city was picked for the premiere. It's obvious it's not going to happen now for what ever reason.

I had plans in the making for a premiere party for Sister Barb with some friends and was going to write an article on the event for 2 local newspapers but now all plans are scraped since no one knows what is going on.

If Sundance doesn't pick the film up, do you have any idea who will or would this go right to DVD? Many indy films get shelved so anything is possible. According to Sister Barb, the website has not been updated since 2005 and I have not looked at it but she has so if anyone knows of another website for this movie, please post the info and I will get it to her. Thanks.

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[–] Silentwolfdog 17 years ago

If anyone want to know what's the status of the movie. Here's info I got in e-mail today.

Dear Friends and Supporters of Universal Signs,

We hope you are well and excited for the holiday season.

We want to share some disappointing news with you. Sadly, Universal Signs did
not get accepted into the
2007 Sundance Film Festival. 996 films applied to the festival’s dramatic
competition and only 16 films were
selected. Although we are somewhat disheartened, this is just the beginning for
the film.

There are many other amazing festivals in which Universal Signs will be a
wonderful addition, and we look
forward to the next steps. We have already submitted to the Berlin Film
Festival, and are next applying to the
Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. In addition, we have many other festivals in
which we will also be submitting the
film. We will give you updates as they get closer.

The film itself is coming together beautifully. We are working with our
composer on the score, which is
hauntingly gorgeous. We are also working on further fine cut editing. Every
step makes the film stronger and
even better!

Many of you have asked about a screening for the film. Because of film
festivals' strict rules and guidelines
regarding film screenings, there are no screenings scheduled at this time. We
do not want to hinder our
opportunities for acceptance into film festival competition.

Also, we have been asked about the film's Web site. We are actively creating an
entirely new site for the film.
This new site will feature stills from the set and the movie itself as well as
up to date information and other
exciting facts and trivia. We will send out another email announcement when the
new site is live.

We could not be where we are today without the support and contributions of each
of you. We are grateful for
your willingness to go on this journey with us.

Sorry that this time we could not say, "Get out your snow boots!" However, we
visualize and believe that we
will all be celebrating together soon at an amazing festival. Please keep us in
your thoughts and prayers and
fingers crossed as we take our next steps on the road to success.

Thank you for your continued well-wishes and support!

Lt. Jean Razak "For I have loved the stars too fondly to be afraid of the night."

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] ejs7921 17 years ago

thank you for the info, I will forward it onto Sister Barb.

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[–] ejs7921 17 years ago

thanks for the info and I will let Sister Barb know about this.

I have a feeling that the only way you will get to see this film will be when it comes out on DVD if it does. Indy films are a hard sell and many just simply do not make it and I just hope for all your sakes this will not be the situation with this film. The fact that the Sundance festival didn't pick it up means you may have a very long wait to see it. If the other festivals fail to pick it up I am not sure what will happen but since you were able to find this much info out, why not just ask some quesitons like what happens if the film is not picked up anywhere, would be go right to DVD? You are not being negative at all with your question, you just want to know what possibilites there are out there for the film. I do know Sister Barb is not going to be happy to hear the news but she has to wait and see what happens.

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[–] Silentwolfdog 17 years ago

This is just an e-mail that I got when I sign up to get infomation from Universal Sign website. I don't know if they will response to my questions, since it seems like an auto e-mail which they forward to everyone who signed up.

Lt. Jean Razak "For I have loved the stars too fondly to be afraid of the night."

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[–] nejgne 16 years ago

I was fortunate to get invited to the first public premiere of this movie this past Saturday. It was a gathering of about 150 close friends/family. I didn't know what to expect and it was one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time - extremely poignant and moving. It was really eye-opening to view the difficulties that deaf people incur from their perspective. A number of the major actors didn't know any sign language when cast, so this film was an incredible accomplishment of all participants. Ann is extremely talented. I'm not sure what their next steps are, I know that they have been trying to make some connections and I hope that they are successful. This is definitely a movie to see. Hopefully you will be able to see it on a big screen in the next couple of years.

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[–] podunko 16 years ago

2008 Philadelphia Film Festival!

Sunday April 6th, 2:15, Tuesday April 8th 2:45.

Enjoy.

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[–] rohrbem 16 years ago

Actually, here is the correct information:

Sunday, April 6, 2008, 2:15pm Cost = $8
Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103
Link to Directions: http://www.princemusictheater.org/visitus/
Featuring a Q&A session with actors Anthony Natale & Sabrina Lloyd
and filmmakers Ann Calamia and Catherine Miller!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008, 4:45pm Cost = $10
Ritz East 2
125 S Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Link to Directions: http://www.ritztheaters.com/about/parking.php
Featuring a Q&A session with filmmakers Ann Calamia and Catherine Miller!

To buy tickets you can go to the Philadelphia Film Festival's Web site. Here is the link to their site: http://www.phillyfests.com/pff/film-details.cfm?id=7466

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[–] maozed 14 years ago

If the film isn't showing near you you can order the DVD here:
http://hnhinc.com/us/

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