“The Stair” Rifles to 22 by Mort Laitner
After a long dry spell and many rejections “The Stairs” won its twenty-second acceptance to a film festival in Romania. The movie will be shown at the University of Arts Targu-Mures. The following magic words appeared on my screen from the Rolling Ideas Film Festival: “Project has been selected to be included in our festival.”
The Rolling Ideas website states: “…We seek to recognize and celebrate excellence in cinematography. Rolling ideas is looking for feature and short films, that combines elements of classic cinema and new tendencies.” I know we used elements of classic cinema in our movie but I’m not sure about the use of any new tendencies.
I loved the Rolling Ideas logo with its vibrant “idea” light bulb encased on a film reel. The festival’s name encapsulated the essence of good film making— ideas rolling in the viewers head as the movie barrels on.
An idea rolled in my head that Rolling Ideas made eight nations that have shown our movie: Romania, Canada, Israel, Slovenia, South Africa, USA, India, and Macedonia.
An idea rolled in my head as to why the number 22 was important to me. Then it hit me. The number 22 has significance in my life because of the .22 caliber bolt-action rifle with mounted scope. The gun that my father allowed me to buy on my fifteen birthday. I used that gun to get my Boy Scout rifle-shooting merit badge. I put that rifle against my shoulder and pressed against my cheek, while aiming for the bullseye on posted paper targets. I pulled the trigger and heard the bang echoing of the surrounding mountains. I inhaled the whiff of smoke filled with the pungent odor of gunpowder. That rifle with its wooden stock that I loved to polish. That rifle with the long spirally grooved barrel that I loved to clean with oil-soaked cloth patches attached to brass cleaning rods. That rifle that came with a box of 50 long or short caliber cartridges. That rifle I still own fifty-two years later and still cherish and still love. A gun that made me feel safe, powerful and manly and still does.
And now the cast and crew of “The Stairs” can own and cherish their twenty-second win thanks to Romania’s Rolling Ideas Film Festival and realize how powerful our movie is.
Why I write—because readers relate their lives to my stories.
Steve
