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Venice, Italy and London, England - September 2006

European Premiership

Thanks to many of you, our European premieres were a success.

The week began in Venice. I went with my cousins Ije and Gigi, as well as Rachael (who played Heather) and her man Richard, and were soon joined by Kalilah (the cinematographer) and her parents and sister, and finally by Ayo and his friend Chanel. Yes ñ we did cut rather a dark swathe amidst the throng of paler tourists. And it was fantastic!

No one can overstate just how lovely Venice can be, and we did get pretty caught up in the cityís charm, mosquitoes and all. As movie fans, you would have expected weíd take the unique opportunity to catch the first ever public screenings of ëBlack Dahliaí, ëChildren of Mení, ëThe Fountainí, ëBobbyí etc at the main Festival. But where were the Rag Tag posse? At the beach.

We did manage to make it to our own screening. The house was packed, and our host Daniel had to encourage some people to leave so weíd have seats. Our festival were generally quite considerate about our well being, handing us over to the luscious Marco, and the delectable Andreas ñ purely for their translation skills of course. I got a kick out of the Italian subtitles once the movie started, and. while much of the humour might not have translated effectively, all the drama definitely did. The Italians leaned forward and gasped as loudly as any North American audience.

It was at the London screenings that we felt weíd come home. Sundayís screening was sold out by the time we returned from Venice, and it broke my heart to turn people away that evening. Those that got in seemed to relish every moment. A largely black audience, they were not backward in coming forward about their feelings at every point. This was wonderful when they were laughing raucously for much of it, but I did have to brace myself as soon as they caught a whiff of sexual tension. And sure enough ñ protests in English and Yoruba rained down at the first kiss. Yet, by the time we got to the sex, they seemed to have gotten into it enough to stay quiet lest they miss a bit.

Thursdayís audience, though reserved during the screening, held nothing back during the Question and Answer session. For the first time our two leads Danny and Damola were both at hand to tell them all the things theyíd been wondering about. In between answering the numerous thinly veiled questions about the sex, they both provided an eloquent and concise description of just about everything Rag Tag.

It warmed my heart to see so many of you there, and I look forward to seeing those of you who are yet to make it. Back by popular demand, weíre having a couple more London screenings next month, starting in the South on the 6th of October. Stay tuned for further updates.

Adaora x