By Fiona Torres Moino
PaceDocs first international Premiere happened last Monday 13th and it was an unforgettable night. The premiere of El Tonelero: Creando el Alma del Barril took place at the beautiful Teatro Garnelo in Montilla at 8pm. The director Dr. Maria Luskay arrived at the premiere along with one of the assistant directors Fiona Torres Moino. Numerous reporters approached them and began interviewing them about the filming process, including the Montilla Digital TV Channel.
Immediately familiar faces that we had interviewed just a few weeks ago began to arrive. Recognizing each other they began to greet them and talk about how excited they were to see the documentary. Accompanied by their families, they took pictures with our poster and waited anxiously for the time to enter the theater.
When the time finally came, they all went inside and sat down in their respective seats.
The evening started with a welcome speech from our dear Isa Calvache, field producer, and location manager. Just after that, the moment we had all been waiting for started, the room filled with silence, and the music of our beloved composer Primitivo J. Buendia Pico began to play.
The film ended and the room was filled with applause.
Then Isa, full of emotion, came back to say a few words thanking PaceDocs and expressing how much she loved the movie. Following her, the director Dr. Maria Luskay gave a speech that she had prepared in Spanish to be understood by the whole audience, which was very moving. She was followed by Fiona Torres Moino who also expressed her gratitude to the people of Montilla and all those who had come that night.
Rafael Llamas, the mayor of Montilla, and Francisca Carmona, the mayoress of Moriles, presented them with a medal in the shape of the Pedro Ximenez grape, typical of Montilla-Moriles as a symbol of gratitude for everything. To finish the function, the mayors said their words, highlighting that the history section of cooperation in our film was crucial and informative. He also emphasized how moving it was to be seen by filmmakers from New York, people who come from so far away.
At the end of the speeches, all the guests were invited to the lobby where complimentary wines from wineries that participated in the documentary were served. One person approached Maria and Fiona and commented “We can tell you did it with heart.” And so it went on for the rest of the evening! People kept coming up to them expressing their gratitude and heartwarming sincere comments for what PaceDocs had created. Both people who had participated in the documentary and Montillanos who had attended to watch. It was an unforgettable night in the history of PaceDocs and we will treasure it forever.
Also, some big news! The wait to watch our documentary yourself is over. The YouTube premieres of our Spanish and English versions are today at 1 pm EST and 7 pm EST respectively! Get excited and be there for the live premiere so you can chat with us during the live stream at these links: Spanish version and English version.
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