Cleveland International Film Festival

Our movie has taken us all around the country.  In the last four months we've taken "Missed Connections" to Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Boston and Ann Arbor.  There have been too many wonderful memories for me to mention all of them.  But I am going to attempt to share some of the highlights with you and I'm starting with Cleveland....

We premiered here, it was our first festival and probably one of the greatest times of my life.  The Husband and I joked that it was better than our wedding day, but we may not have been joking.  Here, we screened to four sold out 250+ seat houses.  They just kept adding screenings.  One day we had to turn away a hundred people who had waited in line for an hour.  That day the line wrapped all the way down the multiplex's corridor and around the corner into the food court.  This was taken at the premier...

We sat in the audience with our parents as the Festival Programmer, Bill Guentzler introduced the film. "This came as a submission," he said "which is really unusual.  Finding movies like this is the reason that I do what I do.  I really love this movie and I hope you do too."  The four of us held hands, cried a little and then the movie started. 

All of what I just said still seems untrue or like something that you dream about when you are a child but then you become jaded and accustomed to never attaining it as an adult.  It still hasn't really settled in, even now, four months later.  At one point, my father said to my mother, "This is the kind of thing that you hope for, for your children."  Uh....yeah.  It was unbelievable.

I love this picture above because it looks a little like a framed album cover that I have of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.  At the closing night gala, we stepped into a grand pavilion where two thousand people stood.  It looked like this...

We were certain that although, our film had done well, that there would be no actual awards for us.  That seemed impossible.  There were bigger movies with bigger budgets (200 times bigger), they had stars and important subject matter and did I mention the budget?  We were small potatoes with our cast of friends, our stolen locations and our budget of 25K.  Who would give us an award?  

And then a man on the podium said "and the winner of the best American Independent film goes to..."  and then our name "MISSED CONNECTIONS."  It was so clear and yet, it didn't really sink in.  The words seemed to spill out of his mouth like they were slowly being written in calligraphy in the air.  I could almost see the loopy font hovering above the podium.  The Husband was already on the stage before I even realized what was happening.  Our producer, Lisa Rudin had to turn around and say "Dorien!  Come on!!"  And there it was.  We won.  I cried.

 Cleveland Rocked

I honestly didn't think that the night could get any better and then, I met Wayne White from (best documentary winner) Beauty Is Embarrassing.  This was my favorite doc from all four festivals that I've been to thus far.  You should see it.  He's an artist and he's remarkable.

We left the next day and I swear it felt like we flew home without a plane.  Here's proof...

Cleveland changed me.  The festival was so organized and so encouraging that it set the bar unbelievably high for every other festivals.  The people of Cleveland love independent movies with a feverish passion.  I've never seen anything like it.  It was simply the most rewarding experience I've ever had as an artist.  I cannot thank them enough.  They put such a fire under our asses that we are already working on another movie.  I hope I get to go back to Cleveland one day, even if I don't have a movie to show.  It's just that good.

Missed Connections (the best thing I've ever cooked up)

Most of you know that I'm an actress by trade.  I've mentioned it before, but what you may not know is that I've spent the last year making a feature film with my husband and two amazing partners/friends.  Our movie Missed Connections is premiering at the Cleveland International Film Festival next week and we could not be more happy/proud.  I guess it's one of those moments in life when, you have to take a sec to say 'thank you' and 'wow' and 'holy shit we did it!'

So 'thank you' to all who supported me and 'wow' what the hell am I going to wear and 'holy shit we did it' (I hope this isn't the last time).

If you are interested in seeing Missed Connections at at theater near you, you can like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter as we'll be updating it daily.

Nomad Chef Secret Dinner

When we were in London last May, we were invited to a Nomad Chef Secret Dinner. It's a sort of a pop up restaurant that is held in a beautiful home in Notting Hill. Twenty strangers and a few regulars come together for one night of brilliant, themed food and company. The last time we went it was Cinco de Mayo and we had four courses of Mexican wonderful, including a lovely mole, empanadas and killer margaritas. Not a small feat when you are all the way across the Atlantic ocean. That night we met people from all over Europe, most of whom had heard about the dinners through word of mouth and blogs but had never met before. It was by far one of the best meals we had on our vacation but the company was my absolute favorite. It's no wonder it sells out every week.

So now that you know the deal, here's the secret... There is going to be a Nomad Chef Secret Dinner in Beverly Hills on March 26th. The theme is the Kubrick film "Eyes Wide Shut." Get your head out of the gutter, it's not a crazy sex party, just a meal of passionate food and drink. You won't be disappointed. The Chef has also hired a musician for live music all night. You can read more about it on the facebook event page or just buy your tickets here (it's just a donation to cover food costs). For those of you who are tight on funds, I have a secret chef-secret code to knock off a lot of those bucks. If you want it, leave a message in the comment box and I'll email it to you.

By the way, I know the secret menu, ooooooo, this is going to be good! Bring a bottle of wine and someone you love and come out and have one of the best nights ever. See you there!

Southern Food In The Blue Ridge Mountains

On my last visit to North Carolina, my father took my family to lunch at the Pisgah Inn. It's a seasonal hotel at the top of of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The inn overlooks the the entire Blue Ridge Mountain range and has the most remarkable views.

The gift shop had the yummiest local toffee and it also had these locally made seed flowers. I would totally have held a bouquet of these at my wedding. I'm a sucker for flowers with buttons in the middle.
Now, while the hotel is not known for having the most remarkable food. It's restaurant is always packed with people. Because the views are worth the drive alone. Now, that being said, we actually got pretty lucky in the food department because we stuck with the southern classics, I mean come on, when in Rome.
We started with these beautiful corn fritters.
Inside they were like sweet, molten, corn surprises that just exploded when you ate them. Next we went super-southern with fried pickles! Yes, and guess what, they are not as gross as they the sound. In fact, they were kind of awesome.
Inside...
Sweet tea (actually half sweet/half unsweetened).
The most awesome thing that we ordered up there on the mountain, was my Dad's local baked river trout.
Our waitress had a brilliant way of de-boning our trout at the table.
She made a slice down the middle of the fish and with some tricky fork-work she took the spine and the bones right out.
It was an insanely buttery, fresh fish, cooked so simply but with a fantastic flavor. Not bad for a restaurant with a not-so-good reputation. I think it's reputation might need a revision. When we finished our meal our whole family hurried to the van (so I could make my flight home). The mountains said goodbye, and I started missing North Carolina the instant I turned my back on them.

North Carolina

Last month was a whirlwind of yet more air travel. I took two red-eyes to Grand Rapids, Michigan to shoot a short scene in an independent movie, then from Michigan I took two more flights to visit my family in North Carolina. My brother flew in from New York and my sister, brother in law and nephew drove in from Colorado. We had an impossibly good time together.

It was bittersweet as my sister and her family were preparing to leave for Panama for a one year language/cultural immersion trip through Central America. But we all came together (sans sister in law, niece and other nephew) to wish them a Bon Voyage. Yes, I cried. My sister is my best friend. But before the tears, came a pretty perfect visit.

My nephew and my Mom get along like two peas in a pod. My mother was an elementary school teacher before she had children and is probably (to those who know her) the greatest story teller that ever lived. My nephew is, well just wonderful, edible wonderful. They can play in the back yard for hours just telling stories and laughing together.
The amazing thing about my parent's house in North Carolina, is that it feels like home. Of course it is 3,000 miles away from the place that I called home for most of my life. But this house makes me feel so safe and sound and inundated with nostalgia that I almost forget that I didn't grow up there. It doesn't hurt that all the furniture, pictures and carpets are the same either. We ate every meal on my Dad's newly renovated back porch under this umbrella.
Mom loves red.

My sister is a bit of a world traveler (Panama people). She spent some time in India and makes a mean curry. This was just one of the wildly colorful meals that we ate every night.These are my parents. They've been married for 51 years. I think they are too cute for words.My Dad insisted on wine with every meal (this is new). It made for some fantastic conversations and because we Davies are a long winded clan, we often stayed out on the porch until the stars came out. Best of all, because we were in North Carolina and in the middle of nowhere, the stars were brighter and seemed closer than any stars I've ever seen. Living in L.A. makes me forget how much I love seeing stars.

To say that I love it in N.C., is an over statement. I would love it if it were closer to Los Angeles. But when I see how happy my parents are there, well, I love that more than anything. North Carolina has a little bit of magic in it. For example, things grow there. They flourish with a verdant enthusiasm that I am not that familiar with. And the greens, there are more shades of green in my parent's little town in North Carolina than there are in the entire state of California. See for yourself-
Then there are the beauties in my mother's garden.

Plus, um, they have a bridge...and a creek.I wish I had a bridge. Right now, I'm thinking of all the games I would have played as a little girl, who had a bridge in her back yard. There would have been a lot of make believe fairy tales involving golden balls and prince-frogs.
Can't you see them under there hiding in the darkness? See? Magical.

The day after I flew in, my Dad took the whole clan paddling down the French Broad River. It took us about 5 hours to finish the whole trip. We saw butterfly covered beaches and the first few delicate showers of fall as leaves swirled by us landing on the river. My sister (who used to instruct white water rafting excursions) paddled with my Mom the whole way. At one point, my father and brother tipped their canoe over and it took three men to empty it of it's 1,500 pounds of water. We picnicked, swam and sang songs. My mother told my nephew stories, and we all listened. There is something older than us in North Carolina. It feels like a wiser tribal elder, someone who has something to teach me. It seemed to guide my family back to the things that mattered, the simpler things that I forget about living my life in Los Angeles. I really do wish North Carolina were closer, I would love to fall in love with it.

And don't tell me I already have....alright, I have. Shit. Time to buy another plane ticket.

Seattle - Walk

So, the post-doughnut walk wasn't an ordinary walk by any means. We, the mob of sugar-filled, marauding, Greek cousins covered all of downtown Seattle in an afternoon. One of the highlights was our trip to the market. Pike's Place Market is one of those special places in the world where tourists actually mingle with locals. True, tourists may outnumber the locals, but the fact that a destination so famous, still maintains such street cred with the natives is incredible. My cousin's wedding flowers came from Pike's. It's a beloved place, it's not hard to see why...














After the market we walked to the most remarkable library in the world, the church of books.












The night concluded with a rehearsal dinner on the lake and a view of the space needle in the sepia tone of a sodium light. The wedding was the next day and I was ready, Seattle never lets me down.

Seattle - Doughnuts

Our 2nd morning in Seattle we went all the way. I'd been wanting to try Top Pot Doughnuts for a while. We Don't have them in LA. When The Husband and I found out that there was one walking distance from our hotel, well it was pretty clear what breakfast was going to entail. We took a group of cousins on the brief trek to Top Pot. We walked into the place like an angry/hungry Greek mob and proceeded to buy out the store.


Best apple fritter of my life and it was huge, the size of a CD. This and a cup of coffee, forget about it.









I couldn't finish mine, I'm ashamed to admit. It was the largest most amazing doughnut ever. I've got a sugar intake max before my body goes a little crazy. But the Greek mob took care of the rest. After breakfast, we took a three hour walk through Pikes Place Market and to The Seattle Library to burn off all the calories that we ingested. Hardly a punishment, more like a reward for rewarding yourself. Hey, it's vacation.