Apple Pie on the Fourth of July

That was the phrase that stuck in my head after our memorable Fourth last year, in Seward, Nebraska (America's small town Independence Day capital, "Apple Pie on the Fourth of the July" rang out every five seconds or so during the pie eating contest there).  Now we find ourselves here in our Seattle summer retreat, awaiting another set of fireworks to erupt overhead, thanks to our spectactular view of Lake Union.

And we're about to hit the road again, as "Independent America" gets a couple of high-profile screenings.  The first couple of weeks of July are great for "Buy Local" campaigns, as many communities celebrate "Independents Week."  And what better way to do so, than with our film?  Heather is heading to Chicago as our film will be the grand finale to Local First Chicago's annual celebration on July 11th at the Chopin Theater.  It's payback time for Chicago, as we were forced to bypass that city exactly a year ago to get to Seward on time, despite our desire to see its storied Andersonville firsthand.

And I'm off to Salt Lake City for Local Utah First's own gala on July 12th.  A panel discussion will follow, to be simulcast on the local NPR affiliate.  The mayor of Salt Lake County and the head of Utah's office of tourism will be on the panel.  Interestingly, the event is co-sponsored by the Salt Lake City Film Center.  So we may not have made the Sundance Film Festival this year, but we're still getting a command theatrical performance in fabulous Utah.   Some vacation we're having huh?

Actually, it's great to explore America from one of our favorite corners of the planet, here in the Pacific Northwest -- and we welcome other organizations screening IA to invite us down as well.  We had such a successful screening here in January, we hope to have at least one more this summer in Seattle. 

We've had to do some business with some chains as we settle in here, but it's been an utter delight to venture in to the city's strongly independent neighborhoods like Queen Anne, Fremont, Ballard and Wallingford (from Red Mill Burgers to Sonic Boom Records to Video Isle).  I've also taken up kayaking, and went for a great bike ride down the Burke Gilman trail today, where some entrepreneurial young girls were selling cookies and lemonade (advertised a half mile ahead with chalk signs on the pavement, "STOP FOR COOKIES AND LEMONADE ON YOUR LEFT").  Two years ago I was in Baghdad as a TV journalist.  This independent filmmaker's lifestyle may sometimes be equally stressful, but it's also far more gratifying (check out how this terrific U.K. site used our short film on Soweto).  And safer.

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[Len Gutman]

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