Take me back to the Tetons and the warm arms of the butt-pillow lady
Reflections on recent adventures in Indie Film
A few weeks ago I traveled along with the cast and crew of PEAK SEASON to Jackson Hole for our Wyoming and Idaho premieres. If you’re unfamiliar with PEAK SEASON, it’s a fantastic indie rom-com set in Jackson that I co-produced and star in which premiered at SXSW in 2023. It will come to a theater and streamer near you this summer.
I love this film. Surly I’m biased as I’m in almost every scene. But had we been able to afford a more famous actress to play my part and if my participation was limited to crafty or transpo, I would still love this movie. It’s funny, it’s romantic, it’s set in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and it’s made by a team of filmmakers who are some of my dearest friends. You can tell when audiences vibe with something and after every screening we’re greeted by grinning, misty-eyed guests who share some of the most heartfelt praise I’ve ever received. It’s almost enough to make you forget that the indie film market is crumbling and no one can make a living doing this! (More on my pessimism whiplash later).
PEAK SEASON was shot all around Teton county and we really wanted locals to see the film so we went all out with our Wyoming and Idaho press tour. Thanks to the efforts of our co-director Henry Loevner and producer Patrick Ward, we did a spot on local Jackson Hole radio. We had several write ups in local papers. We appeared on Idaho morning news! Adorable. That may sound patronizing but I mean no offense to the outlets, this is all self-deprecation aimed at myself. I know this is small time stuff. We’re not on the Today show promoting our nationwide release. We were just trying to get the word out to the community that a really beautiful movie, filmed in their town, was screening that weekend.
We spent three days putting up flyers in coffee shops and local businesses. I haven’t interfaced with that many strangers and establishments since I was 9 years old going door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies. And… it was so worth it! We filled both theaters! A woman showed up an hour early to the Idaho screening cradling a butt pillow. She pointed at me and said, “I recognize you from the news.” I audibly gasped. That worked??? Appearing on 6:30 AM local news actually translated to a real life audience member?? I’m not used to engagement outside of Instagram and TikTok so this felt like a friggin miracle.
Butt-pillow lady joined us for our screening at the historic Pierre’s Theater in Victor, Idaho and it was one of our favorite screenings ever. This theater was fantastic. Velvet red curtains, classic fold down movie seats, dusty old sconces and a slightly wrinkled screen. Could I see a president being murdered there? Absolutely. Don’t change a thing honey. You’re prefect.
The crew and I were a bit nervous going into this one. PEAK SEASON aims to capture the beauty and difficulty of life in Jackson and we wondered if a home crowd would appreciate or denounce our attempts at authenticity. But the Pierre’s Theater audience seemed thoroughly pleased with our Teton tale.
The next night we screened in Jackson- a very different crowd, a very different venue. We traded Pierre’s historical theater for the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Not a cobweb or dusty sconce in sight. The building houses millions of dollars worth of artwork by 19th century painters lured West by tales of its grandeur. Much like us and our rag tag team of filmmakers. Instead of dragging an easel and oil paints up a mountain, we lugged a few cameras and lavs, but the results are much the same. We’re all just artists trying to translate a sense of awe to a canvas or screen.
The museum setting was only appropriate given the net worth of the audience. Teton County has the highest per capita income in the country. We hoped the Jackson crowd would be self aware enough to enjoy the scenes that poke fun at multi-millionaires cos-playing as cowboys, and if the laughter was any indication then the Wyoming 1% can still take a joke.
On our last day in Jackson our friend Alex, who runs a local cider company, invited us to visit Astoria hot springs. We crowded into the HOTTEST WATER I’VE EVER BEEN IN and rehashed some of the themes of the film as they apply to Alex’s real life. It’s hard to date in a small town. It’s hard to make a living. It’s hard to have blue politics in a red state. He’s a small business owner (his cider company is just a year older than our film) and I felt both comforted and disturbed by how much his career struggles mirrored my own. Do we stick out the lean years because we’re resilient and brave or because we’re stubborn and afraid? How many more articles about industry contraction do I have to read before making a career shift? Do a few screenings and hot spring conversations make years of struggling and penny pinching worth it? The day after our screenings I’d have said yes. Three weeks later, in the depths of Sunday scaries I say no, it’s not. And if I get a call tomorrow that I’ve landed the last writing job I interviewed for, then I’ll take it all back and spout some drivel about “sticking it out” and “believing in yourself.”
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I started writing this post when I was still in Jackson. Shacked up at a beautiful mountain home with my good friends, away from my ad agency job and promoting work I was proud of and excited to share, I made a point to steer way from pessimism. I included the below paragraph in an early draft specifically to keep the vibe light and positive.
“Does the world really need another anxious article about how nearly impossible indie filmmaking is? What does adding to the echo-chamber of pessimism really accomplish? We already did the damn thing so better to reflect on the joy of the process rather than how difficult it is to sell and distribute a small film. Funny how no one tells small business owners (and a film IS a small business) to just ‘enjoy the process! it’s not about the results!!’ That adage seems to be reserved exclusively for artists. Buuuut it’s true. Our summer filming in Jackson was one of the best experiences of my adult life. And I only stress cried twice! HUGE for me.”
Three weeks later and I’m back to scrawling black circles in my notebook like a possessed child in a horror film. ^^That writer had a good week. This writer is back on her depressive bullshit. I knew I should have finished this post while I was still high on cider and mountain air! Back when butt-pillow lady was telling me how much she enjoyed the film and even cross-armed billionaires were admitting how well we captured the milieu of Jackson.
Now I’m back in agency land where “community engagement” is shorthand for how many likes a comment receives on TikTok. I feel so far away from the intimacy of our small town screenings. Much like the character I play in PEAK SEASON, I yearn for connection and feel very adrift in the media landscape. I’ve made content that’s gotten millions of views on YouTube, I had a short lived stint as an instagram “influencer,” and I’m currently producing for TikTok. But no view count or #sponsored post has been nearly as gratifying as the audience reception at Pierre’s. And yet there’s zero money to be made with indie films so we’re back to the, “is it worth it” question. As I’ve demonstrated, the answer changes with the weather so I guess we’ll see where I am next week.