Film Screening Success!

The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival screenings of "On Joy & Sorrow" went really well. Producer Bob Ross and his wife attended Thursday evening. The crowd was small, given that it was a weeknight, but the venue was a charming outdoor garden.

On Friday, 20 people came out for the show at the Exit Skate Shop. Editor Matt Lewis and assoc. prod Sarah Fulton attended. As unsual as the venue sounds, the skate shop had a large, open room with great acoustics where they showed the film.
(above photo depicts some of the attendees)

The film festival staff and volunteers told us how much they enjoyed the film.

Of the 20 people that came on Friday, a handful of them made the ride from the Scranton area and were the first GP fans to see the film. They told us how much they enjoyed the show and thanked us for making the film. But really, thanks to all of YOU for supporting us and coming to Philly to be part of the screening.

Newspaper Review of the Documentary - 6/25/09

Here's a great review from The Morning Call's Go Guide:

New documentary tells the story of a '60s Scranton band
By Amy Longsdorf
SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL
June 25, 2009

Even though he was too young to experience the psychedelic band the Glass Prism in its prime, Jim Thorpe resident Bob Ross has been a fan of '' Scranton's answer to the Beatles'' for decades. The Channel 13 cameraman was still in high-school when he discovered the quartet's first album, a trippy synapse-scrambler that blends progressive rock with lyrics culled from the pages of Edgar Allan Poe short stories.

''What I always loved about the Glass Prism is that, lyrically and musically, they did things differently,'' says Ross, 43. ''You don't get any more unique than recording an entire album of Poe lyrics.''

Last year when Ross noticed that Glass Prism was re-uniting for the first time in decades for an appearance at Philadelphia's Edgar Allan Poe House, he got the idea to document the band's resurrection as well as its rise and fall.Ross contacted long-time collaborators Sarah Fulton and Matt Lewis -- owners of the Allentown-based film and video production house Post Sputnik -- and the trio set off on a mission to spread awareness about the psychedelic Scrantonians.

The end result is ''On Joy & Sorrow: The Glass Prism Story,'' a terrific, hourlong documentary that uses vintage photographs and fresh interviews to tell the story of the group that signed with RCA Records in the late '60s and enjoyed considerable chart success with ''The Raven'' before imploding over a management snafu and a poorly received second album.

The documentary will screen as part of the Second Annual Philadelphia International Film Festival at 9 tonight at the Arbol Cafe, 909 N. Second St. A second screening will be 9:49 p.m. Friday at Exit Philadelphia, 825 N. Second St. For ticket info, see http://www.piff2009.com/ .

As for the band's reaction to the movie, Fulton says they were ''blown away. They seemed to be moved by it, seeing their youths played out on the screen ... I think they really appreciated the story we told.''

Film Screening Information

We are anxiously awaiting the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival to see the first live screening of "On Joy & Sorrow: The Glass Prism Story."

The film will screen twice, which is a special treat since so many do not get this privilege. We hope you can make it one of these times:

Thursday, June 25 at 9 pm at Arbol Cafe

Friday, June 26 at 9:49 pm at Exit Skate Shop

Individual tickets are $8 and may be purchased through the festival website: http://www.piff2009.com/

The fest is not selling tickets for specific screenings, they are general admission only and first-come, first-serve. So get there early to grab a seat.

Some of the film crew plan on being at both screenings for Q&A. We hope you can make it!