Mystic Film Festival Acceptance

"The Ghost of Electricity" World Premier in Connecticut

Dear Reader,

I am thrilled to report that I have officially finished the first of fourteen short films. I directed The Ghost of Electricity on January 2nd and 3rd of this year, with support exclusively from my family members while visiting Connecticut for Christmas. You can read all about that experience in my January Newsletter, A Family Affair.

Not only is The Ghost of Electricity completed, but this 7-minute short has been accepted to The Mystic Film Festival in Connecticut. I might have screamed when I got the email. This is the first festival I have been accepted to for something I directed.

It means more to me than words can express that my entry into the festival circuit as a director begins in Connecticut, where I grew up, at a festival 20 minutes down the road from where we shot this short film. An homage to all the people and experiences that shaped me as a person while growing up, and for the seven years after college. A very appropriate launchpad.

The Mystic Film Festival takes place in Mystic, Connecticut, the same place they filmed Mystic Pizza. A trip to Connecticut always finds me walking these romantic port-town streets, breathing deeply the sea air, and sighing with contentment.

The Mystic Film Festival 2024 is September 19th-22nd. Click this PDF for the LIVE SCREENINGS, EVENTS, & WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE. You can now buy tickets for the individual screenings, or a pass for the full film festival: $199, VIP All Access. Individual time blocks show either a collection of shorts or a feature film. Each time block costs $15 for adults, or $12.75 for seniors and students.

If you would like a ticket to the NARRATIVE SHORTS Heart-lightening (Block 4), where The Ghost of Electricity will have its world premiere screening at 7 pm on September 20th at Mystic Luxury Cinemas 1, click here and then click “order ticket.” The total with tax for an adult is $16.79 (which, let’s face it, is about $9 less than a standard ticket at movie theaters these days).

Living by the ocean, an indie DJ (the Ghost) struggles to find his creative voice. He turns to a literary master, James Joyce, and a musical intellect, Kulhed, for inspiration. Moved in his soul by the poetry and the music, the Ghost joins the rhythm of the created world and finds his voice.

This short film falls into the category of “Art House.” Both I and the star of this short, James J. Shay III, will be available for the Q&A after the showing.

In other news, we are closing in on the post-production for Forget-Me-Not and Roommate Generation. I am in pre-production for Echoic, shooting in the next couple of weeks, and polishing a few other scripts slated for this fall. So many stories, so little time. But that’s the rhythm, and we must surrender to the music.

I hope to see you at The Mystic Film Festival. Let me know if I should look out for you.

Adventure Awaits,

~S. C. Durbois

---

S. C. Durbois Newsletter

• 1st Saturday every month: a new original short story.

• 3rd Saturday every month: a writerly check-in with updates.

• 4th Saturday every month: a new chapter from “Bohan the Mage,” a dark academic fantasy novel. Subscriber access only.