In this very moment the film is playing in theatres all over Sweden. I have been travelling around, meeting audiences all over the country. We opened with four special screenings in cooperation with Doc Lounge, live music, DJs and huge crowds of enthusiastric audiences. The 24th was the official release date and the reviews flooded in. And we can proudly announce that they're really good. We are at the very top of the Swedish critics' list, with the highest score. Average 4.0 out of 5. Really cool.
I've been doing interviews almost every day. I was booked for two morning TV shows the very day Sweden got a new crown princess-to-be. Of course, the media went crazy, and I was kicked out of the TV4 show. A bit frustrating, since I had got up at 5.30, shaved and showered – my first thought: "Well done, Dole!" The SVT morning show did allow for a short slot for me. So in the waiting room, I was hanging around with the Archbishop and a ton of sleazy lovers of monarchy...
Life is interesting. TV4 invited me for a second time, and a few days later, our U.S. lawyer Lincoln Bandlow flew into Sweden. Together, we attended two public screenings in Stockholm and Lund. But the most important event was a screening in the Swedish Parliament. The screening room was jam-packed, over 100 in a small room, including the Minister of Culture and many other national VIPs.
Lincoln Bandlow gave a speech to the members of parliament. He started quite gently, but soon he was banging his hand on the table, thinking of Dole's attack free speech.
We had invited one of the country's top lobbyists for a debate. I asked for transparency: "Why can't the PR and lobby industry disclose who they work for?" The debate was over quite soon. Lobbyists know that transparancy is a debate they should avoid. It's bad for business.
So as you all can see, we're working hard, but meeting our audience is a sweet thing, and the response is strong. The film gets invites from festivals all over the world. It just played at Zagreb Docs in Croatia. One World in Prague and Cine Punta in Uruguay are next.
Launching a film is costly. Nobody pays us for the hours that go into it. So our Kickstarter campaign is really important. With only six days to go, imagine we could bring in another 5,000 dollars. How cool would that be?
