A Table, A Barn, and a 6PM Screening

There’s something surreal about showing up to a festival not just as a filmmaker—but as a vendor, too. I’ll be at the Santa Fe Springs ArtFest from 2 to 10 PM, set up with my books, talking to people face-to-face, handing them something I made. That part already means a lot. I’ve done fairs before, but every time feels different. You never know who’s going to stop, what they’ll connect with, or what story might land with someone in a way you didn’t expect.

But this one hits different. Because later that night, at 6 PM, they’re screening my short film Answers as part of the festival’s film block. Same event. Same day. Two sides of what I do.

It’s a weird, full-circle kind of feeling. On one side, I’m behind a table, selling The Late Hour—stories. On the other hand, I’m watching a room react to a film that came from that same place, just told through a different lens.

And the setting? It’s not your typical theater. The films are shown inside a barn. There’s music playing from other parts of the festival, people walking around, grabbing food, checking out art. It’s not polished or silent or “perfect,” and honestly, that’s what makes it work. It feels alive. I like that there’s no clean separation between the art forms. Books, film, music—it’s all happening at once. It reminds me why I started doing this in the first place. Not for some distant industry moment, but for this: being in a space where people can experience the work directly. If you’re around, come by. Say hi. Flip through a book. And if you stick around for the 6 PM block, you’ll catch Answers on screen. Same stories. Different media. Same Day.