The weather is cold but the spirits are hot.  Slamdance 2012 is pumping like a well oiled machine.  As a first timer here, I must admit its a wonderful experience to be part of a huge gathering of artists alike.  Ten years ago when I made the choice to become a filmmake my goal was to see a project of mine on the big screen.  In about 24 hours this dream with be coming true.  My only hope is that it will be received well by the audience.

Either way my filmmaking spirit has been reenergized after a a long bout of financial illness and weakening confidence.  It goes to show that things can flip on a dime and the world will give back.  Honestly I am still not sure what to make of it all especially as a first timer to an event of this size.  I must still remind myself that I am not here as a tourist but as a contributor to the festival.  Hopefully all goes well at our screening tomorrow.

I again thank all of our supporters of the film, ‘We Win or We Die’ and of course all our supporters over the years.  At 180 films we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Reporting from Park City, Utah

Erik Niel

Adrian Belic, Erik Niel, Matt Millan, Evan Sexton, Amir Masud

December 7, 2011, the creative crew of ‘We Win or We Die’ attended a kick off diner for the 2012 Slamdance film festival. Over Cuban food in Los Angeles Versailles restaurant, the crew enjoyed meeting other filmmakers, critics, and distributers as everyone toasted in the new festival for 2012.

For Matt Millan and Erik Niel this was the beginning of a new step in their 10 year career as filmmakers. Both men agree emphatically that none of their recent success would have ever transpired without the talent of animator Evan Sexton, the quality insights provided by Adrian Belic and Amir Masud, and of course Chris Testa and Harold Millan’s incredible knowledge and guidance to the project as producers.

Matt and Erik wish a warm thank you to all the supporters of the film who believed independent film making is a worthy endeavor. Without people like you Independent artists could not exist.

The crew gears up for Slamdance cometition taking place in Park City Uath in late January 2012. Morale is high and the crew is very excited to have been selected for such a big festival. To all 180 Films supporters and fans over the years we again say, “thank you very much for your support we could not have gotten this far without you.”

Be on the look out for updates as the festival approaches, from all of us at 180 Films, Happy Holidays.

Slamdance 2012

Rebirth: 17 of February Music Festival is an exciting new initiative: the first annual music festival in a liberated Libya, and soon to be the most epic music event in North Africa and the Middle East. It will be held on the one year anniversary of the uprising, and will run for three days (Feb.17th, 18th, 19th, 2012). It is the brainchild of filmmaker and music lover Matthew Millan, who traveled to the East of the Libya in April and May of this year to Libya to document the uprising. Within hours of entering into the country from Egypt, he became horrified at the level of devastation and neglect wrought upon the East of Libya by the Gaddafi regime. From the forgotten ruins near Shahhat to the half-erected buildings of Bayda, the East appeared to be remnants of an abandoned civilization. Yet amidst the dust of war, he soon discovered something extraordinary being born out of the spirit of Libyan people. From the sophisticated art of Bayda to the thriving music scene in Benghazi, a nuclear explosion of the arts had occurred, covering its plume throughout the East of the North African country. And while exploring the ruins of the Katiba the sprawling fortress that dominates the center of Benghazi, it occurred to him that a music and arts festival would be the perfect foil to highlight this blast of creativity, and in one of the most beautiful regions he has ever seen.

The idea was borne not only out of a strong desire to highlight to the rest of the world the rebirthing of the Libyan cultural identity amidst the chaos, but to raise money to help rebuild the decaying infrastructures that plague Libya. In September of 2011, Matthew Millan returned to Libya to secure the location for the festival, and to take care of the local logistics. The difficult process of bringing the festival to life in a war ravaged country will then be made into a feature length documentary, a singular event that encapsulates the Libyan Phoenix rising out of the ashes of the old regime.