Screening tonight in Miami! Many thanks to Paula Diaz for coordinating the preview screening of Freedom Dance to a small but enthusiastic audience at Kimbara Cumbara cafe in Little Havana (down the street from Globo Theater where we screened Houdini last year).

Kimbara Cumbara could very well be the Cavern Club of South Florida, intimate and with a lot of character. The Q&A afterwards and the meet and greet following that was beneficial because it gave me the chance to talk with a non-Hungarian audience … something Freedom Dance has rarely had in its preview stage. Receiving the alternative, mostly Latin, perspective was of great interest to me, and it’s not surprising that the unviersal theme of a guy searching for his freedom is the theme most identified with no matter a person’s nationality or ethnicity.

Some TV coverage by a crew from a Latino entertainment magazine show which airs in Miami and New York, I’m told.

Such a fun and joyful evening—seeing my friends Pipo and Consuelo (and their new baby girl); Jim and Deen and friends Marlen, Paula, and Jodi really made it an extra special night (especially the after screening, late night supper at Versailles … Cuban, not French as one would suspect).

One of the highlights of the night for me was the performance by my buddy Jim Camacho who had agreed weeks ago to play at the screening. And even though he was hurting from the onset of a cold, he went on and played his heart out on each song! One one song he even invited his friend (and now mine!) Latin Grammy-winner Jodi Marr to share the stage. The concert helped turn the screening into an all-out party!

Following up with folks met in Naples who are interested in hosting screenings next year in Miami and Naples. We’l lsee … keepign on the ball on all these and hope to make the screenings a reality for early 2007 when the movie is completely finished.

~Steven