Up until last Saturday evening, there was only a small handful of people that had seen the film. While those of us that had seen it provided some initial feedback, we really don’t count. Being close to the project throughout the entire process made it a little too easy to say “wow, that looks great, I can’t believe how well it turned out.” The real test was going to be when our actors, friends, and family saw the film for the first time. We finally got that test last week at the private screening, and I like to think that we passed.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t the least bit worried about the showing. It was just going to be people we knew, nobody that we really needed to make an extra effort for. While we did invite Gov. Gregoire, the Washington State Film Office, the City of Seattle’s Office of Film & Music, and some other local film scene folks, the only ones that indicated that they were coming were people we already knew. That lack of nerves changed on Saturday when we started getting ready to make our way to the Seattle Public Library. Seeing Bjorn in his tux really made it hit home. “Wow, we’re really doing this. Guess we just go with it and hopefully everyone likes it.”

The entire drive into Seattle I kept thinking that we’ll have maybe 70 people show, nothing to get too worried about. As it turned out, we weren’t the only ones looking forward to seeing the film on the big screen. When we arrived, there were already people waiting in the auditorium. “Ok, good sign.” Then more people showed up. And they kept on coming. There was even a line to enter the auditorium at one point. “Holy cow, are these people sure they’re at the right place?” I don’t know what the final count was, but I figure that we had close to 250 people that night.

Once everyone we were sure was coming was seated, Jody kicked things off with an introduction and a little raffle. There was some good stuff to give away, just a little way to say thanks to everyone that came out. Swords, helmets, a shirt, and a poster with everyone’s signature on it. I was really hoping that I’d win the poster, but no dice. You’d think that as a co-producer I could hook up a poster with signatures, but it’s looking pretty unlikely. Maybe if we get a distribution deal it’ll happen.

Jody handed the mic over to Bjorn for his director’s minute, during which he ran through some thanks, told the story of how I got tricked into helping out with the film, and got everyone prepped. Next thing you know, the doors are closing, the lights go down, and we’re rolling.

The watching of the film was pretty uneventful, apart from having to switch DVDs halfway through. “Note to self: find better compression technique when transferring to DVD.” There were some gasps and an “oh no!” when certain characters were killed off, people were leaning forward in their seats, and even some laughter. People definitely seemed to be enjoying it. Then, it was all over and I felt much better.

It was really fun listening to all the applause and the “there you are!” comments as credits rolled. It felt great to have produced something that so many people seemed to enjoy. Bjorn will tell you that he was tired of the film after watching it over and over and over during the editing and sound mixing process, but I know he loved finally being able to see it on the big screen. I know I did, hopefully you did as well.

As cheesey as it may sound, a huge thank you goes out to all our actors and extras that were so central to this film. Without you, we wouldn’t have had a reason to get together and enjoy last Saturday evening. You guys are what turned a dream shared by a couple friends into a reality. Congrats.

So what did you think? Were all the weekends that you drove out to the mountains and suffered through bee stings, bad weather, and guys that really didn’t know what they were doing worth it? I’d love to hear what your thoughts were on the evening.

If you have any pictures from the evening that you’d like to share, let us know. Thanks to Kevin Freitas for these ones.