Notes from the Premiere

Posted on by lazuli93
left to right: Sydney Colston & Heather Scholz, Midway Fest Event Owners,
Melissa Holm & Jon Sewell, Eleusyve Productions

Yesterday was the occasion of the premier of the Rite of Saturn, at the Midway Multicultural Music & Film Festival. The screening took place at the Midway Mercantile, a superb restaurant which is owned and operated by Chef John Platt, formerly of Seattle and St. Clouds, a popular restaurant he owned in the Madrona neighborhood.

Festival organizers Sydney Colston and Heather Scholz were on-hand and engage in the discussion of our history and process. We learned more from them about how the Midway Festival came to be, and their goals for the future.

We fielded a wide range of questions ranging from the methods and source materials to the connection of our work to the systems of Wicca, Ceremonial Magic, Freemasonry, and Latter Day Saints.


left to right: Sydney Colston, Joanna Fang (Producer “House Hunters”), Heather Scholz,
Melissa Holm & Jon Sewell

Throughout the day we enjoyed a variety of films, including a short film called “House Hunters”, produced by Joanna Fang. We had a great conversation with her about film festivals and the industry, where we learned a lot.

We capped off the evening viewing the films “Heroes of Dirt” (soundtrack by Sydney Colston), and two Vetflicks films, made by veterans and focusing on veteran issues, “Back from The Brink”, a moving documentary about PTSD, and “Last Man Club”, a charming and poignant story of WWII vets having a last adventure.

It was a full day, and we had a wonderful time. Everyone was so gracious and friendly, and we’re looking forward with excitement to the big events on Saturday, including the red carpet, awards banquet, and performances, so stay tuned!

Completion – The Four of Wands – Venus in Aries

Posted on by Jon Sewell

Midway Multicultural Music and Arts Festival, DAY ONE.

The title of this post (and the last) is based on a Tarot Card drawn from The Book of Thoth the day I was writing the post. They have been apropos to date.

Melissa and I rose at 5:15 this morning and headed for SeaTac International Airport. We managed to get ourselves to the gate before 6:30, and were sipping coffee as we awaited our flight to Salt Lake City.

The flight was blissfully short, and we were very grateful that the nearby baby didn’t scream for the entire flight. Only about half.

Last minute tickets… We were able to high-five from our seats

We collected our luggage and met my niece and her family for lunch. It was fun catching up, and they were kind enough to loan us a Lexus SUV to get around for the weekend! Such style!

Unexpected, and awesome. Seriously, heated leather seats.

Melissa and I arrived at the resort and checked in. Then, the first thing we wanted to do was check out the venue where The Rite of Saturn will be screened tomorrow. We visited Midway Mercantile, about 2 miles from our hotel. We were shown around to the private room where the screening will take place, just off of the bar. It was cozy, seating 30 to 40 people. We’re looking forward to the event tomorrow, and will share more afterward.

More coffee after our visit to Midway Mercantile

We returned to the hotel, and visited the pool. There is hot tub with a waterfall. Seriously. Check Melissa’s instagram for a video. 🙂

There was no honey-dew vendor. I smell an opportunity.

Across the street, we visited a local attraction called “Ice Castle”. We went down ice-slides, drank cocoa, looked at pretty lights, got snow in our shoes, and heard the shouting of many little girls who were all very pleased to share that their name is Elsa, and there mothers yelling back: stop eating the snow!

Another photo-bomb. Obviously my super power.

Now, time to rest and prep for tomorrow. It is a little more intimate than we expected, and we’re using this opportunity to practice our delivery. We have a couple more festivals in the future that we’re waiting to hear from.

Incidentally, there is another Film Festival (Sundance) going on about 15 miles from here. We plan to visit the area on Friday and celebrity watch!

Thank you all for making this possible! Jon

Mercury in Sagittarius – Swiftness

Posted on by Jon Sewell

Hello friends!

We wanted to update you regarding the latest developments surrounding representatives of Eleusyve Productions attending the Midway Multicultural Music & Film Festival.

There was some concern when we saw how much last minute flights would cost, but thanks to the generosity of friends and family – Melissa and I will be attending the screening on Thursday and awards ceremony on Saturday! We are happily looking forward to everything the event has to offer and we promise to take pictures and post updates as the event progresses.

We look forward to the panel discussion after the screening, and are hopeful to see some friendly faces in attendance.

This has all happened so quickly it still feels like a dream. Then again, as the reality of our attendance sinks in, with the dawning understanding that we will be expected to speak… well, maybe it still feels like a dream. Just a different sort of dream.

We are committed. We are excited. We are just a little nervous. Which means we are exactly where we need to be. Onward.

There Is Success

Posted on by Jon Sewell

As you may recall from the last blog post, The Artist and the Hustler, Melissa, Bob and I decided to enter The Rite of Saturn in some film festivals.

Well, there are still a few pending, and we await word. But one festival, The Midway Multicultural Music and Film Festival in Midway Utah, has selected The Rite of Saturn as a finalist in the music category, and will be screening The Rite of Saturn next Thursday!

You can see the full details on the new Film Festival Page we’ve created.

We wanted to make it clear that this does not impact our plans to release the streaming and DVD versions of Aleister Crowley’s The Rite of Saturn in May of 2020. Additionally, we wanted to express our gratitude to everyone who was a part of this project and all of our past projects. This is truly a marvelous development, and a great opportunity to celebrate the completion of the these adaptations of The Rites of Eleusis.

Since this did come as something of a surprise (it was only three days ago that we were notified that Saturn was going to be screened, and the screening is next Thursday) we’ve also been working to pull together the resources to get ourselves to the event. Once again, our community has come through to offer support. In just two days we’ve raised over $1,000.00 of the $2,300.00 of the estimated cost. Every few hours we get a little closer.

If you are in Utah, or really, anywhere, and you would like to join us, please do! We are being screened during the day on Thursday, January 30th between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm at the Midway Mercantile Restaurant. Melissa and I will be taking audience questions for 30 minutes after the screening and we would love to see some friendly faces!

Thank you to everyone who has donated money to getting us there. If you would like to pitch in, we’d be most grateful for the support.

Please be assured that we will be writing about our adventures here, and keeping you up to date regarding other festivals. Thank you! Jon