Johnny Lingo Had a Cow, Traded for an Ugly Wife…

On Saturday, the Lingos Film Festival took place in Manhattan. In preparation, I submitted a video entitled, The Rest of NYC. I put a great deal of time and effort into making that video, and was satisfied to submit it via e-mail, and post it on YouTube.

At the start of Saturday night's event, I was excited in anticipation to see my creation presented before the large crowd that showed up there. There were several films that had me laughing, and then there were some that made me want to do my best impression of Homer Simpson shouting, "Boring!" Out of respect for the creators of those videos, I kept my mouth shut when such feelings came upon me.

The biggest surprise was not what was shown, but what was not shown. Even though there were many good videos, mine was not shown! At all! Not even a reference to it! The worst part is that nobody said anything to me about whether it could or could not be shown there. If I had received an e-mail a day or two before saying something like, "Hey, Robert. Could you bring a copy of your video on CD or DVD [or even on a flash drive] to the event? I can't seem to play it on my computer." I would have done so. I had produced it in 3 different formats: AVI DivX, WMV (which I sent via e-mail), and iPod-compatible MP4. However, nobody said anything to me about getting it in another format.

These videos, they're like my children. I have made 31 of them (with a 32nd on the way), and if someone doesn't give the video the respect it deserves, or the respect which I expect it to receive, it offends me. Nobody has given me a clear and proper explanation as to why it was not shown. I have worked my butt off to get this out before the submission deadline, and having done so, I expect nothing but the best treatment. (I'm not saying that it deserves to win an award, I'm saying that at the very least, it should have been shown to the audience.)

To not show a video which was submitted according to the directions I had received, and presuming that others had done the same, and not give an explanation as to why the video is not being shown, demonstrates a lack of respect toward the video and its creator. It's as if someone had come out of nowhere and slapped me in the face, for no other reason than to slap me in the face.

I had planned a release of this video on my blog during the week following the Lingos, so I promoted it to all I could get to listen to me for a moment. I am posting the video I submitted for Lingos as part of a double feature at 17:30 EST (That's 5:30 PM for those who don't understand the 24-hour clock), on Monday, December 3, 2007. It'll be right here on this blog. I've already mentioned it to many, and hopefully, they'll be watching.

For those who may wonder where the title of this post is from, it is from the film Johnny Lingo, where the name of the film festival comes from as well. A basic synopsis of the film can be found here. At the wedding party for Johnny and Mahana, some of the island kids began taunting him, saying, "Johnny Lingo Had a Cow, Traded for an Ugly Wife. Johnny Lingo's married now, He'll be sorry all his life!" That's how I felt when I discovered the faux pas of not seeing my video at the LFF.