Benjy and I just returned from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where we attended the world premiere of the documentary film Darius Goes West. Director Logan Smalley, star of the movie Darius Weems, and the rest of the crew all flew out to California for the movie’s debut, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. Delta Airlines, Susan Levine, Randy Reiff and Kathe and Reid Chase all donated flights so Darius and the crew could be there.
The premiere was amazing. At all three showings, audiences cried and laughed throughout the movie. We were thrilled to learn that the documentary won the Audience Award, which means that audiences liked Darius Goes West the best out of all 200+ films shown at the festival!
The crew made an impressive sight: a 300-pound teenager with a megawatt smile zooming around in his “pimped out