In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

Media Advisory For Immediate Release Waterbury, CT Screenwriter to be Honored with the Sir Edmond Hillary Award at the 2010 Mountain Film Festival Awards Ceremony February 19, 2010, WATERBURY, CT – Aaliyah Miller, a life-long Waterbury, CT resident will receive the Sir Edmond Hillary Award for her screenplay, Finding Patience. The screenplay follows Hatima Miles, an edgy, tenacious public defender, who becomes her most challenging case when she searches for the foster sister from whom she was separated in childhood. “I’m ecstatic about receiving this award. I consider it a validation of my work as a screenwriter,” says Miller. Aaliyah will receive the honor at The 2010 Mountain Film Festival being held on February 26, 2010 in Mammoth Lakes, California. The event will be held at the Westin Monache Resort. Awards are presented in all the main categories along with cash prizes for top films and filmmakers. The Mountain Film Festival truly celebrates and honors the indie film...

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the Barnes and Nobles in Waterbury, trying to crank out an outline for my spec script. In the midst of my mind block I get a call. I look at that phone and don't  recognize the number so I let it got to my voice mail. The phone rings again and this time I decide to answer it. It was a  good thing I did, on the other end of the phone was a coordinator from the Kent Film Festival, http://www.kentfilmfestival.org/about.html , congratulating me on my acceptance into the festival. It took a couple of seconds for it to register and for me to respond to the good news. But once I realized his call was for real I was elated (it was a kodak moment). Since I let so much time pass between that phone call and this entry, I cannot remember the man's name who called, but I do remember him telling me that he likes to personally call accepted filmmakers when he likes their film. My reply to him was, "You made my night." He really did. The last few wee...

Hello all, I have a correction to make on After The Headlines . It looks like it didn't receive the Sir Edmond Hillary Award from the folks at the 2010 Mountain Film Festival, that honor goes to my feature script Finding Patience . It's a minor setback, but I still feel pretty good because my work is still being honored. I will take my blessings were I can get them. The folks at the Mountain Film Festival sent me two congratulatory emails, one said for a film, the other for a script, but when I went to the website to check the award winner postings, I saw that After the Headlines wasn't there. See for yourself, http://www.mammothfilm.com/Festival/2010ScreenplayWinners/tabid/388/Default.aspx . A win is still a win, so I'm keeping my head up. I have submitted to a few more film festivals that range from my backyard to nationally known festivals. I will continue to plug away. Next up on my plate is getting a website for After the Headlines. I'm working with my e...

You can't see it, but I have a really big smile on my face. I've been smiling from the inside out because a couple of days ago I received some exciting and promising news for After the Headlines. After the Headlines has been chosen to receive the Sir Edmond Hillary Award Winner at the 2010 Mountain Film Festival, http://www.mammothfilm.com/ /!  I've been invited to attend the annual awards dinner and filmmaker ceremony to accept the award and celebrate my achievement. The 2010 Awards Ceremony and Filmmakers Dinner is scheduled to take place at the luxurious Westin Monache Resort in beautiful Mammoth Lakes, California on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 7:30 pm. I haven't had this kind of high since I won the award for "Best Dramatic Scene" at the 2009 Action on Film  (AOF) International Film Festival, http://www.aoffest.com/ .  My script Finding Patience is also an award winner at the 2010 Mountain Film Festival. I feel honored and a bit taken back t...

I'm pleased to report that the official copy of After the Headlines is in the mail to cast and crew. I put a bunch of tapes in the mail yesterday and today and will hopefully finish tomorrow. I feel a great sense of accomplishment now that the film is finished, packaged, and out the door. It's nice to say,"post-production on the film is a wrap," and mean it. A big thank you go out to the cast, crew, and supporters that made the production of this film possible. Although the film is done, the journey is far from over. I've submitted After the Headlines to a bunch of festivals. I've already received some rejections, so I've learned to expect the worse and hope for the best. If it does manage to make it into some festivals I will count my blessings. Before I forget, let me plug the After the Headlines fan page on facebook, visit, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/After-the-Headlines/195595142834?ref=ts . I'm proud that I followed through on ...

It's cliche, but Happy New Year. At the moment I'm not that happy, I would be in a much better place if the temperature was about 20 degrees higher. I dread winter season. When it is close to 0 or below I lose my motivation to do just but anything. The one upside I have is the cold winters offer me the great opportunity to write. Now, I just have to take advantage of it.  This morning I wrote my am journal entry also known as my "morning pages." By the end of the entry I realized that 2010 is my year to step up my game both personally and professional. For me stepping up my game means continuing to be diligent, more focused on my writing, receptive to correct criticism (this is a life long goal), and seeking opportunities to challenge myself and raise the bar. It's not too long of a list, but when I think about all the tasks I will do to accomplish this, I feel the ton of bricks I'm actually carrying. It's a lot of work, but in order for me to grow I ha...

It's been a while, yes I know. Things in my life have been a little hectic. I should have joined the circus, because for the last couple of months it seems like I've doing a lot of juggling. I'm still adjusting to married life, which is different, yet the same. Although I don't celebrate Christmas, not in an official sense, like going to church, but I do appreciate the holiday season.  After Christmas, I will take some extra days off of work to catch up on the personal life stuff. This will be my perid of "taking stock." At the end of the year I like to look at where I am, versus where I was a year ago. 2009 was a good year for me. I've grown in so many ways and finally feel like I'm making progress as a screenwriter. I say that despite the fact that I received my rejection email from the ABC/Disney Screenwriting Fellowship yesterday. I'm bummed out by it, but I realize that the program is highly competitive. I will have another chance to apply...