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As you may have noticed, after a great deal of activity over the Summer while we worked out how to navigate the film festival circuit during a global pandemic, we went quiet after the film festivals we were selected for closed.

This is due in part to having nothing to report, and in part to having one of our upcoming festivals drop entirely off the radar. (There is also the part where I started talking to my socks, but the less said about that the better.)

We were, of course, pleased and excited to be awarded Best Hair, Makeup and Body Design at the Madrid International Film Festival! And while we were disappointed that we did not win any of the awards we were nominated for at the Hermetic Film Festival in Venice, we were pleased to be included in the program and enjoyed watching the other entries! This was a wonderful experience and we met some great people as a result.

In addition, we were excited to be selected for the Seattle True Independent Film Festival, but shortly after our selection for the festival, their web site went down, and we have heard nothing since. At least until I started writing this update. More on that in a moment.

The initial inspiration for this post was an email we received a few days ago, where we were pleasantly surprised to learn that our festival win in Madrid qualified us for the World Independent Cinema Awards, and that the Film Festival Webteam has nominated us in two categories!

Best Story | WICA 2021
24/11/2020 By FILM FEST WEBTEAM
The Rite of Saturn
Best Original Screenplay of a Feature Film | WICA 2021
24/11/2020 By FILM FEST WEBTEAM
The Rite of Saturn

We are not certain yet about the dates, but will keep you updated as we learn more! Still, that’s pretty sweet!

These categories are not those we applied for when we originally submitted to the Festivals. So, I guess congratulations are in order to Aleister Crowley, author of these Rites, and to Melissa Holm as the mastermind behind our adaptation of The Rite of Saturn from Crowley’s script to the theater stage, and Bob Jones for his work in bringing it to the screen. We are as yet uncertain what all of this means, but we thought we would let you know that there continues to be widespread interest in our project.

During the course of writing this update, I also discovered that the Seattle True Independent Film Festival site is back up, and there seems to be some movement on progressing with their festival as well.
Seattle True Independent Film Festival

Of course, there is always the question what this means for us?

These festivals are traditionally places where filmmakers bring their work to market them to studios and streaming services. And, to be honest, since we had to make our videos available to streaming on Amazon in order to sell the DVDs there (something we promised our fans), that boat has sailed for us this go round. There will be no big money deals with movie theater distribution and cable streaming services. It turns out that Amazon is not going to pay us for a product we already gave them for free. Which is too bad. The amount of money they could have dumped into promoting the work may have really helped us find a broader audience.

On the other hand, we continue to make contacts in the industry and we have shown that we have a terrific team that has proven they can create interesting and quality content. There is much to do, and we’re just getting started! This is certainly a testament to the hard work, love and creativity our cast and crew has brought to these and all of our projects!

Incidentally, if you haven’t yet seen our award winning The Rite of Saturn or you missed any of the Eleusyve adaptations of The Rites of Eleusis, you can stream them right now! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ritesofeleusis

Or you can order the DVDs or stream on Amazon. Great as a Holiday Gift for someone you love. Or, you know, to completely freak out a family member who could use a little shaking up…

And while we are talking about promotional stuff and cool gift ideas, we have a t-spring store where we now have commemorative hoodies and leggings along with the awesome t-shirt design!

We are very pleased to report that The Rite of Saturn was recognized by the Madrid International Film Festival with an award for Best Hair, Makeup & Body Design for 2020. The complete list of winners.

We were given 20 seconds for an acceptance speech, and wanted to recognize the collective efforts of our cast and crew. He’s what we had to say:

Thank you so much to everyone who has been a part of the project over the last 20 years. We are looking forward to seeing you again as soon as we can.

Hello Friends!

We have an update from the Seattle True Independent Film Festival!

Rather than starting this week as had been previously reported, the Film Festival will begin on Thursday, September 24th featuring online screenings, with additional future public screenings and events rolling out as restrictions due to Covid-19 are adjusted.

In addition, we have been informed that The Rite of Saturn will be part of the online screening program. We have been officially selected for the Festival! We’ll find out about any public presentations (theaters, drive-in or pop-up theaters or kiosks) once the schedule is set.

So, that’s cleared up! We’re looking forward to bringing you more information as details are ironed out!

Hello Friends!

The members of the creative team at Eleusyve are continually overjoyed and humbled that The Rite of Saturn has been nominated for awards at several film festivals. Of course, due to the restrictions resulting from Covid-19 we will be unable to travel to exotic locations in order to attend these festivals in person. Sure, we’re disappointed, but there is an positive side. Since these festivals are being celebrated virtually, YOU can attend too!

Last week we included information on virtual attendance at the Madrid International Film Festival, which we’ve included again below. This week we wanted to share information on the dates and virtual attendance information we recently received from the Hermetic International Film Festival as well!

And, because it’s 2020, they are happening the same weekend.

Hermetic International Film Festival

From the festival:
“Due to the worldwide ongoing CORONA VIRUS crisis, this year’s edition will be held online in a secure Livestreaming environment powered by our partner platform Occultrama, the esoteric and occult Netflix of our times.

YOUR FILM WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR 24H (DUE TO TIME ZONE DIFFERENCES, YOU DO NOT NEED TO STAND UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT) AND THEN DISABLED. YOUR FILM IS 100% SECURE. IT CAN BE ONLY ACCESSED BY THEIR MEMBERS AND OUR FILM FESTIVAL AUDIENCE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.”

Seeing as the Festival runs from the 3rd through the 9th of September, we are still not certain which 24 hour period The Rite of Saturn will stream during, but we will let you know when we do! Fortunately, with a Festival Pass, you’ll have access all week.

The Rite of Saturn is nominated for:

Best Picture – Mercure Award
Best Feature Film – Caduceus Award
Best Music Video – Kenneth Award
Best Music – Atalanta Award

Madrid International Film Festival

September 1st – 5th, 2020

The Rite of Saturn is nominated for:

Best Costume

Best Hair, Makeup & Body Design

Best Original Score

Jury Award

People are invited to attend the festival on-line, with the following ticket options:

Screening Pass

Full Festival Pass

Awards Night Pass

Of course, if you don’t want to wait for the festival, you can watch The Rite of Saturn and all of the Eleusyve adaptations of The Rites of Eleusis right now! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ritesofeleusis for streaming,or order the DVDs or stream on Amazon.

Hi Friends!

We wanted to take a few minutes to update you on how things are developing with our Film Festival submissions.

Madrid International Film Festival

September 1st – 5th, 2020

The Rite of Saturn is nominated for:

Best Costume

Best Hair, Makeup & Body Design

Best Original Score

Jury Award

People are invited to attend the festival on-line, with the following ticket options:

Screening Pass

Full Festival Pass

Awards Night Pass

In addition we’ve received more details from:

First Hermetic Film Festival

The Festival date has yet to be announced

The Rite of Saturn is nominated for:

Best Picture – Mercure Award
Best Feature Film – Caduceus Award
Best Music Video – Kenneth Award
Best Music – Atalanta Award

The 2020 Hermetic Film Festival will be a virtual event. Tickets are not yet available, but we will post them here as soon as they are!

Seven Lessons: Lesson Five, The Rite of Mars

Hi Friends!

AS you know if you’ve been following along, we’ve been working on a series of seven short videos wherein we discuss our process and the lessons we learned along the way. In this video Jon talks about techniques for using the imagination of the audience to complete the narrative.

We continue to reflect on and learn from the material, even after all this time. For example, have you noticed that the three Rites than comprise the pillar of severity each end with the central figure falling into a despair? It is as though their force is entirely spent and they collapse, and rather than be overthrow or sacrifice themselves in some manner, they just give up.

Are there any similar patterns that you have noticed within the narrative of The Rites of Eleusis? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks again to everyone who has been watching The Rites of Eleusis, and sharing the videos with their friends. The outpouring of support has been moving, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped to make this work a reality!

First, some news we received from the Madrid International Film Festival 2020.

“Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we considered that we can not take the festival as the original form. We are very sad and disappointed that we can take the festival in a beautiful city, Madrid. However, we decided that we are going to do the festival online. We would like to provide a great time at this tough moment. We hope all of you enjoy the festival at home. Our online festival will be happened on 1st and ends up on 5th of September.”

This means, on the one hand, that we will not be going to Madrid to attend. We’d be the only people there. On the other hand, it sounds like there are going to be packages available to attend on-line screenings! So, you can attend!

MADRID INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Seven Lessons: Lesson Four, The Rite of Sol

We’ve been working on a series of seven short videos wherein we discuss our process and the lessons we learned along the way. In this video Jon peels away a layer of the symbolism behind the work, talking about how themes and characters wind their way through the seven part narrative.

In addition we’ve cut together another clip with memories shared by the cast and crew spanning the decades of our creative process.

Thanks again to everyone who has been watching The Rites of Eleusis, sharing the videos with their friends. The outpouring of support has been moving, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped to make this work a reality!