"Turn around and look at the screen," Owen said with a slight tilt of his head.
Sophie turned her head over her shoulder and saw that Owen's email inbox was open on the monitor. The first message, just arrived, stood out in bold.
[Sender: Palm Springs]
[Subject: Status Update Regarding Your Film Submission]
Sophie's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is that…?" she asked.
Owen nodded slowly. "Yes. Palm Springs. It's the response."
The festival where they had submitted Paranormal Activity weeks earlier, a festival scheduled for late June.
Owen slid his finger toward the mouse but stopped.
"Should I open it?" he asked, not looking directly at her.
Sophie raised a hand gently, as if to stop him.
"Wait. Let's think first…" she said softly. "We can't tell from the subject line if it's an acceptance or not, but… if it were a rejection, they probably wouldn't say anything. These festivals, when they don't select you, many times they don't even reply. Or they do so at the very end, or you find out when they publish the full list and your film isn't on it."
She paused, weighing her words, "Following that logic… this should be good news, right?" she added.
Owen nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. They usually don't notify you this far in advance if it's a rejection."
Sophie shifted a bit more on him, now facing the screen. Though still sitting on his lap, she turned her body toward the monitor and gently placed her hand over his, which was still on the mouse.
"Then… let's click it together," Sophie said.
Owen couldn't help but smile at the comment. "Whoa, that's such a cheesy line. Do you want me to call Matt so he can put his hand over ours?" he asked.
"Shut up," Sophie said, not in the mood for jokes.
Owen smiled faintly, realizing it wasn't the time to tease. Together with Sophie, he moved the mouse over the email and clicked.
The page loaded. The message unfolded.
[From: Palm Springs International Film Festival]
To: Owen Ashford
Subject: Official Selection – Palm Springs International Film Festival 2022
[Dear Owen,
We are pleased to inform you that your feature film, Paranormal Activity, has been officially selected for screening at the 2022 Palm Springs International Film Festival, which will take place from June 23 to June 30, 2022, in Palm Springs, California.
Your film has been selected for our Midnight section, a curated showcase highlighting bold and genre cinema in the realms of horror, suspense, and the supernatural.
Please note that we currently have an early cut of your film on file. To finalize the programming, we kindly request that you send us the final version of the film no later than June 15, 2022. The final cut must be delivered via secure digital download (preferred formats: ProRes 422 or H.264, minimum resolution 1080p).
We will shortly send a follow-up email with the full technical specifications, the request for marketing materials (stills, trailer, press kit), and information regarding filmmaker accreditation.
We are delighted to include your work in this year's program and look forward to presenting Paranormal Activity to our audience.
Congratulations once again, and thank you for sharing your film with us.
Sincerely,
Programming Team
Palm Springs International Film Festival]
Sophie read the email silently until the end, her smile growing wider with each line. When she finished, she quickly turned back on Owen's lap, facing him again, and kissed him with unexpected passion, leaving no space for words.
It took Owen only a second to react, surprised by the intensity, but soon he held her by the waist with both hands and returned the kiss, a smile still drawn between his lips.
When they pulled apart, Sophie's eyes were shining.
"You did it!" Sophie said, her smile a mixture of relief and joy.
"We did it, Sophie," Owen corrected her, with a calm but happy smile.
His voice was still serene, true to his nature, but it carried genuine happiness. This meant that his film, his acting, Sophie's performance, Matt's direction, all of their collective effort, had been seen, valued, and accepted.
Sophie's smile grew even brighter at his correction, lowering her gaze a little with a tender gesture.
"Owen… You were the one who did it all. You wrote the script, financed it, produced it, put the team together with Matt's help. I was just part of the cast. You hired me," Sophie said.
"Yes, but your performance was amazing. Thanks to your acting, the film reached a higher level of quality," Owen said, making Sophie lower her gaze slightly in embarrassment, though with a smile as she listened to his praise.
Those kinds of words, coming from Owen, were worth more than a thousand compliments from anyone else.
"We have to tell Matt. He's going to lose his mind. He'll definitely want to celebrate," Sophie said with a soft laugh.
"Yeah… but not now," Owen replied.
Without further explanation, he stood up from the chair with Sophie still in his arms, as if she weighed nothing, drawing a surprised laugh from her.
"Owen, what are you doing?" Sophie asked, laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck so she wouldn't lose her balance.
"Celebrating," Owen answered with a slight smile as he headed toward the bedroom.
"And your way of celebrating is to kidnap me and take me to the bedroom?" Sophie asked, still smiling playfully.
"Something like that."
Sophie burst into laughter, burying her face against his shoulder, blushing and amused at the same time.
Once at the bedroom, Owen gently pushed the door open with his foot. It swung easily, and he walked in carrying Sophie. The door closed behind them, leaving the computer still on, the email still open.
Some time later, Owen and Sophie were lying in bed, partially covered by the sheets.
"I should call Matt and tell him the news," Owen said, stretching his arm toward the nightstand to grab his phone.
"Yeah… If you wait too long to tell him, he'll get all dramatic. He'll think you forgot about him," Sophie said with her eyes still closed and a faint smile on her lips.
Owen chuckled quietly as he unlocked the phone and dialed.
"I'm going to make sure he's in a safe place before I say anything. I don't want him to fall down the stairs or something."
"Good idea. Put it on speaker, I want to hear his reaction," Sophie said.
He turned on the speaker, and after a couple of rings, Matt picked up.
"Hey, Owen! What's up?"
"Where are you right now?" Owen asked directly.
"Huh? At home, I just got back from college. Why?"
"Are you sitting down?" Owen asked.
There was a brief pause on the other end, "If the toilet counts as a seat… then yes."
Owen and Sophie looked at each other. He shook his head, and she covered half her face with the sheet to stop herself from laughing.
"Perfect. Then don't make any sudden movements," Owen said, holding back a smile.
"You're scaring me, man. What's going on?"
"Palm Springs. We got in. Paranormal Activity is going to the festival. Midnight screening."
There was a silence on the other end that lasted only a second before Matt's voice exploded in a shout.
"WHAT!? Are you serious!? You're not joking, right? Because if you are, I'll curse you and make the entity from the movie haunt you."
"Of course I wouldn't joke about this. The email came a few hours ago," Owen replied.
"This is amazing! We have to celebrate right now! What are you doing!? Are you with Sophie!? Let's make a toast!" Matt exclaimed loudly.
Sophie burst into laughter, covering her face with her hand, while Owen winced and held the phone away from his ear at the volume.
"Yeah, I'm with Sophie, but I don't know if celebrating today—"
Before Owen could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.
"Great, I'll change and come right over! I'll invite Tyler and the others too, they'll go crazy when they hear our film got accepted!"
"Wash your hands before you come," Sophie joked, leaning closer to the phone.
"Sophie? Are you there?" Matt asked.
"Oh… I see. I guess you two already celebrated in your own way, huh?" he added in a teasing tone.
Sophie couldn't help but blush slightly. "That's none of your business, idiot!" she said, as she ended the call.
The room fell silent until Owen spoke.
"I didn't know you were shy," he said playfully.
Sophie gave him a light shove with the pillow as she got out of bed.
A little while later, the small improvised party was already underway.
Everyone who had worked on Paranormal Activity was there: Matt, Tyler, Eric, Alison, and even Daniel. They also invited the guy who was editing the film, since Matt and Owen had been working with him for quite some time, spending hours every day together.
For all of them, it was the first time a film they had participated in was accepted into an international festival.
The leads were Owen and Sophie, but even Alison and Daniel, who had very minor roles, felt genuine joy at being included. Their scenes didn't last long, but they were there, and they knew their names would appear in the credits, that their work, no matter how small, was part of something that had been publicly recognized.
Getting into a film festival is no easy feat, especially for a movie with a budget of just $20,000.
Each year, thousands of films are submitted to Palm Springs. You could say that 99% of them have higher budgets than Paranormal Activity, most in the millions of dollars. On top of that, they have production companies backing them, seasoned actors, press campaigns... The competition is fierce, and the majority of submitted projects don't even get a response.
Being accepted means that someone watched their work and decided it deserved to be shown on the big screen, in front of a real audience.
Alison, Daniel, and the others never imagined the film would go this far.
When Owen hired them, the project seemed very amateur, with a very low budget. None of them expected that the end result would be screened at an international festival attended by over 100,000 people, in a real movie theater, in front of a completely unfamiliar audience.
Sophie hadn't expected it either when she signed the contract. That was where she met Owen. Her mother had only agreed reluctantly and didn't believe in the project at all.
Matt, on the other hand, had always been more enthusiastic. From the moment he read the script and Owen told him about the film, he felt involved and motivated, though, deep down, the most he imagined was that they'd manage to finish the movie and maybe submit it to a smaller, more accessible festival.
The one who never doubted was Owen. He knew what Paranormal Activity had achieved in his previous world. And despite the difference in timing, he had improved the film in both acting and script.
He knew this film would work again. Palm Springs was only the first step.
His true goal was far more ambitious: to secure distribution and bring it to theaters across the country, and then the world, to generate millions of dollars at the box office.
That night, while the others celebrated in surprise and joy at the thought of going to Palm Springs, already talking about which friends and family they would invite, Owen experienced it differently.
He was happy, of course, but deep down, he wasn't surprised, because he had always known they were on the right path.
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Link: https://[email protected]/Nathe07