Well, I Got It.

Me and 1 of the stars of UNSPOKEN, Lilianna

HECK YES.

Believe me, I would like to write something a bit more explicit, but I know that younger eyes do read this blog, so I will do my best to keep it G-Rated. But, HECK YES.

HECK YES.

Why the heck-i-ness? Well, my dear reader, my short film, Unspoken, won a Special Selection Award at the 2015 Olive Tree International Film Festival. We were all pretty shocked when they called "Unspoken by Candice Cain." I was so shocked that I didn't even get out of my seat until Amie, who was sitting in front of me, turned around, grabbed my leg and growled "GET UP!" My husband jumped up first, then I did. I quickly kissed him, walked down the stairs, grabbed the award from the presenter's hand, mumbled "Thank you" and returned to my seat. No kidding-- I didn't even give a thank you speech or anything!! Everyone from my crew looked at me incredulously. I honestly hadn't prepared anything, and I wasn't even in the mindset to improv anything. It was pure, unadulterated shock. That being said, I think I set a precedent for the rest of the winners since I was the first one called-- Absolutely NO ONE else gave a speech. They finished half an hour earlier than they anticipated!!! HAH! (Oops... My bad.)

Catherine, Charles & Allison in the cab.

Honestly, we had an unbelievable time that day. We all went in to NYC from various points on Long Island, watched our film on the big screen, and almost everyone came to my house for dinner catered by a local Italian restaurant. Oh, and I serenaded the people that I worked with on Unspoken with a parody I wrote with my mom and Nicole on the train home from NYC. My heart is still singing over it, and I can't wait until next year's Cain Awards to do a recap of everything. 

Honestly, I can't wait until we are accepted into the next film festival! I use FilmFreeway.com to find out what film festivals are available to us. We are currently waiting for a response from 46 of them to see where we stand. We have already had two screenings of Unspoken, so I'm positively thrilled. Considering that our budget was just $68, I think the fact that we have been screened at TWO film festivals speaks volumes of what an amazing cast and crew we had. Perhaps if our budget was higher, we would have been accepted to more festivals. Perhaps if we had better equipment, we would have won even more awards. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Anthology Film Archives theatre

Frankly, it doesn't matter to me how we fare at film festivals. This was our first project right out of the gate. We did it on $68 and 43 people were involved in creating it. The guy sitting next to me spent over $22,000 on his short film, Top of the Rock. Believe me, it was very well done. They had a budget for a green screen, which was cool. And it was a period piece. They took home the award for Best Narrative at Olive Tree. It was easily my favorite film of the night.

If I had $22,000, I would make a kick-butt short film, too. (G-rated, remember...) These guys used IndieGogo to raise their budget. Unspoken was entered into the 2015 Disability Film Challenge at the last minute, so we didn't use IndieGogo to raise any funds. If I had $110,000, I would make an AMAZING feature film. As a matter of fact, I already have the script for it: What Happened Last Night. I even have several actors already interested in being a part of it. I've got locations. I've got a crew. I've got the potential to make my kick-butt movie.

My excited face.

Now, I don't ask for a lot of things. I rarely, RARELY ask for favors. (This weekend, I did as my "little brother" to rescue me from the Jersey Turnpike after my brake line broke...) I do a LOT of things for a LOT of people. I've raised money for all sorts of causes and individuals. I've written recommendation letters for at least 100 people in my lifetime. I've spoken to groups, classes, meetings and such without charging a dime. Heck, I donate clothes every single time Big Brothers & Big Sisters calls me. I volunteer a lot-- As much as my busy schedule permits.

Yes, I sell a lot of stuff. I own a travel agency AND I work from home with another company. (Not as much as I used to, though...) I own Cain Talent, and I post a lot about it on FaceBook. Heck, I post a lot about travel and working from home, too. Oh, and let's not forget about eBay. I love selling stuff on eBay, and even do it for my daughter's twirling organization, The Sparklers. I'm sure I annoy the heck out of people. That's fine-- people can just unfollow me or hide what they don't want to see. I do it to those posts I don't want to see!

Anyway, I'm asking for help now. I want to make my film, What Happened Last Night, and I need help in two ways: Spreading the word and contributions. Now, a LOT of people have shared. I have 1,150 views on the IndieGogo Campaign from the USA alone. Canada is next with 18. France and Germany each have 9 views. There are 26 other countries with between 1 - 4 views as well.  If all of those people viewing the IndieGogo Campaign contributed even $1, we would have raised well over $1,000. Who knows how much we would have accumulated if each person shared it? Of all of those people, we have 13 people that have contributed for a total of $466. I need $109,534 more to meet the budget.

The Unspoken cast & crew after winning at Olive Tree

Obviously, I need help from anywhere I can get it. I need help in any amount. As I said, we are currently at $466 on the IndieGogo campaign. Once we hit $500 on that campaign, I will release the name of one of the actors playing a minor character. That's only $34, folks!! And check out the awesome perks that you can get when you click to contribute to our IndieGogo Campaign. There's something for everyone-- Even something for people that don't want a perk. (Nothing, actually. You get nothing for $1. You want to contribute, but want us to leave you alone.)

I'm not going to overwhelm you with all of the other ways that you can help with making What Happened Last Night a reality. I've applied for grants. I've contacted business owners. I've made videos. I've posted on FaceBook. I've done a ton. This movie will get made. I've got an awesome crew and cast so far. Several name actors are reading the script.

I cannot express to you how great it feels to be a part of something so... amazing. It's the only word that I can use to describe how it felt to create a film from a flicker of an idea and have it culminate with watching it on the big screen and winning an award for it. It was exhilarating-- And the movie was only a little over four minutes long. The thought of having my film - a feature length romantic comedy - on the screen for an hour and a half gives me goosebumps.

We have 30 days exactly left on this IndieGogo Campaign. Please share. Please contribute-- Even if you have $1. If 1000 people contributes $1, we'd have $1,000.

We WILL make this film. Be a part of it.

Please.

Ya Like It?

Photo by Katie Bogdanski

Since my last blog entry about The Secret, things have been absolutely AMAZING in my life. It has been a little over a month since writing that, and things are just AWESOME. I feel very, very blessed and fortunate. I always believed that I would be a success in the entertainment industry, although I never knew how. I've been an actress, writer, director, producer, casting director, stage manager and more... Never did I ever think that I would be able to wear all of these hats and be successful. I'm 

Make no mistake - I know that I'm successful because of the people that support me, those that give me opportunities, and, of course, thanks to God. I may seem like a one-woman-show, but I'm certainly not. My staff alone (Shannon, Joe, Kristin, Alena, Heeral and Kevin) are why Cain Talent has done so well. I thank them as often as I possibly can, and I know that they know that I truly, truly appreciate them.

The first super-exciting thing that happened was that my short film, Unspoken, was accepted into the 2015 Olive Tree International Story-Teller Film Festival, which will be held on August 29 in NYC. We are up for Best Film, which carried a $500 prize! Second place is $250 and third place is $100. I really hope that we place in the top three. A lot of people are heading into NYC to attend the festival. Two of the teens on my talent roster, Mikal and Makayla, will be speaking to the audience and actually opening the festival. Unspoken is the very first film that will be screened at the festival. I can't wait!

A couple of weeks after that, I received an email stating that Unspoken will be screened in the 3rd Annual Enumclaw Film & Arts Festival on August 22. This isn't a competition, and I really, really, really wish that I could attend, but it just isn't feasible. Heck, I wish I had someone in Washington State that could attend for me, but no such luck. It is going to be screened at the Chalet Theatre. It would be so stinkin' cool to see Unspoken on the west coast! I mean, it's going to be amazing in NYC, but the entire cast and crew is from here. The fact that it was chosen to appear across the country just amazes me.

Then I was asked to be interviewed for Adam Symkowicz's blog for being a published playwright with Samuel French. That interview will be posted this Saturday. Needless to say, I feel like I am on top of the world right now-- So much so that I decided to produce my first feature film, a romantic comedy entitled What Happened Last Night.

I wrote What Happened Last Night when I was in college as a stage production. I wrote, directed and starred in the play. It was the highest grossing show ever in the history of the theatre where we did the show-- Which was pretty freaking amazing for a college sophomore!! I adapted it into a screenplay in 1999 and did an EXTREMELY amateur version of it. I have no clue where it went, but I do know that I have the only copy-- somewhere.

I have since re-written the film, and am currently working on the third draft. We are going to film this movie in the late Fall on Long Island, and I truly couldn't be more excited. It has been a really long time since there has been a good college romantic comedy. What Happened Last Night fills that void.

YOU, my dear reader, can be a part of What Happened Last Night by participating in the IndieGogo Campaign that we've got going on. At the time of this blog entry, we have raised $226 and still have 48 days left. You can select the perk you would like, or even just contribute $1 right here:

That's pretty much for people that are interested in just supporting the movie and that want to find a way to be involved to participate. We were also awarded a grant from AIM Hatch Fund to film this movie. However, in order to collect our grant, we have to get contributors to this 501c3 charity. It's really terrific, because we are able to support other artists while setting up our grant. Furthermore, EVERY donation to our Hatch Fund page is tax-deductible! As a matter of fact, you will get a receipt for your files IMMEDIATELY! Considering that we are entering the fourth fiscal quarter, this is a really great opportunity for those that need a tax write-off.


I can't wait for the film festival on the 29th. I can't wait to start shooting What Happened Last Night. I am so, so, so blessed to be in the position I am in. Thank you for being so supportive, even if it is just reading my blog.