by Roger Leatherwood

I’ve just returned from showing “Usher” at the Telluride Indiefest , which ran from Tuesday, August 31 through Sunday, September 5, in Telluride, CO. “Usher” was one of only 12 features selected for this independent festival, which runs concurrently with the more Hollywood-friendly Telluride Film Festival.

I’m proud to say the showing of “Usher” at 3:00 p.m. on Friday was a sell-out! We were fortunate that many regular Telluride festival-goers were present, as their festival didn’t officially kick off until 5 that evening. The room, which seated about 100 people, was attentive, and very film-savvy. They recognized the Belmondo picture on Ash’s wall about 5 minutes in, and after that point they were on our side. They ate up the first confrontation between Ash and Alvin in the hot dog store ("You have my dick in your hands.") and also really loved the conversation in the bar in which Usher Blake complains that rich people spend all their time watching movies instead of “changing the world.”

There were only 2 walks-outs early on (you can’t please everybody), and people seemed to really like the ending movement, as Ash deteriorates into an emotionless (and directionless) stalker of the hot dog clerk, Alvin. The Q & A afterwards was lively, with questions ranging from logistical ("What was the splash of blood made of?") to philosophical ("Why didn’t Ash throw him off the roof?"). The Q & A was cut short by the festival director in order to clear the room for the next feature.

The film received many encouraging comments afterwards, and people came up to me on the street throughout the rest of the weekend commenting on how the film had stayed with them, and asked questions about things that had occurred to them later (like, “What was in that suitcase?") continued...