Eric Blue unleashes his frightening foray into horror, Beacon Point next month as part of Dances with Films’ program. The movie, shot in Georgia, has its world premiere at the Chinese theatre on June 10. Ahead of the screening, we speak to Blue about the film’s conceptions, setbacks along the way, and how tough the film was to shoot physically and emotionally.

Q:As I understand it, you raised the funds for the film on Kickstarter? How did you find the crowdfunding process?
We raised $24,000 on Kickstarter in in 45 days. It was a lot of work and pretty stressful but worth it. I think people underestimate how difficult crowdfunding really is. We did a ton of research before we started and followed the advice of other successful crowd funders. If you do your homework and build a foundation for your campaign, crowd funding works.

Q:Was that the only option available to you at the time? Why did you decide to crowdfund?
We really didn’t have any other options. We needed funds for finishing post production and marketing. Crowdfunding seemed like a good choice. Not only did we get extra funds to finish our movie, we built a new fan base for Beacon Point.

Q:Do you think there’s a certain type of film that has more luck crowdfunding than another – be it a horror film, sci-fi movie or comic book movie?
I think genre films have a large built in fan base and may be easier to fund than a musical or drama. The real key to a successfully crowdfunding campaign is to do your homework, research what works, and follow a plan to get people behind your campaign. Crowdfunding isn’t about luck, it’s about hard work.

Q:How long ago was it that you reached your target? Does it a feel like a world ago?
We successfully completed our Kickstarter June 2014. Wow, it does feel like ages ago. Crowdfunding really helped us expand our fan base for Beacon Point. This is important now that we’re about to release our movie.

Q:Did you get straight to work on the movie after that?
We never stopped working on the movie. That’s what made our crowdfunding campaign so challenging. We were promoting our Kickstarter campaign while we were still editing the movie. It was a ton of work.

Q:How long of a shoot was it?
We shot for 25 days working 6 days a week. To say it was physically and emotionally intense would be an understatement. There were days when I wondered how I was going to make it through. It all came together and we captured an amazing movie.

Q:Any hiccups?
There were challenges, not hiccups. For example, the bugs were really bad. Hornets terrorized the cast and crew constantly. I got a tick bite that didn’t heal for months and I thought I had Lyme disease. Luckily I didn’t. The heat was intense every day and our shoot was during one of the rainiest periods in Georgia’s recent history. We also shot in a cave and the main prop wouldn’t fit inside. Oh, and there were the airplanes flying over our set constantly since Atlanta has the busiest airport in the world

Q:Have you gotten the film to any distributors yet or did you intentionally decide to go the festival route first?
We have a lot of distribution interest. However, we wanted to do a festival run first to help build prestige and buzz for Beacon Point. I’m confident we’ll get distribution one we’re done working the festival circuit.

Q:Can you tell us when and where the Dances with Films screening will be?
We are proud to announce the world premiere of “Beacon Point” at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. as part of the Dances with Films Festival on Friday, June 10th. This is an awesome festival with great press and visibility. The Chinese Theater is world renowned and rich in history as the premiere theatre for Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. We are excited to hold our world premiere in such an amazing location. The “Beacon Point” production team and actors will be attending the premiere and everyone is welcome to attend. We want to pack the theater.
You can get tickets here:
https://danceswithfilms.com/beacon-point/

Q:Will this be the first time you’ve shown the film to an audience?
Yes, this is our world premiere. It’s very exciting! We hope to see a big crowd at the Chinese Theater. It’s going to be a blast.