(RED) all over at the Vail Film Festival

It's been a week since I've checked in with you all... A few of us from the (RED) team have been at the Vail Film Festival to spread (RED).

We're back now, and somehow the Santa Monica Mountains just aren't as pretty when they're not snowcapped like the peaks in Colorado. ;)

So what were we doing at Vail? First and foremost, we let filmmakers know that there's a new short film category called (RED) VISION for next year's festival. It was really exciting to talk to creative folks about how they (and you) can lend a hand in telling people about (RED). If you're interested in submitting your own (RED) short film to the 2008 Vail Film Festival, get the details at JOINRED.COM/VAIL.

It was such a joy to meet people who love (RED), and also those who didn't know what (RED) is, because that gave us a chance to tell them what's up. Those who'd never heard of (RED) got a peek at our swag bag so they could see what products are available in stores and online, and they also learned from us and our volunteers about how the money gets to Africans affected by HIV/AIDS. People who already knew about (RED) told us that they were so glad (RED) is reaching out to filmmakers to spread the message.

During our week in Vail, it seemed like (RED) was everywhere – the festival directors Scott and Sean Cross even spoke about (RED) and announced the film competition during their opening night speech and during the filmmakers' reception! Visually, you couldn't miss (RED) anywhere in Vail, too. Every film festival volunteer wore PREMIE(RED) shirts that Gap produced just for the festival – the shirts were a great conversation starter for the volunteers to tell people about (RED).

Our friends at the Hotel Café were on board at Vail, too – they played two "Music Café" concerts at the local venue Red Lion (appropriately named!) during the festival, and of course they told the audiences all about (RED) while they were at it. Here's a picture of Buddy onstage with a (RED) sticker. :)



(RED) was even embraced by the hosts of Good Morning Vail, the local morning television show – Tricia Swenson, host/producer of the show, wore a PREMIE(RED) shirt on the air last Friday and told people about (RED)'s presence at the festival.

We got to meet some amazing Gap store managers, too – Amy and Patty from Denver (pictured at the top of this blog) drove out to volunteer to help us run the (RED) booth and tell us about what it's like to sell (RED) in their stores. Their enthusiasm for (RED) was infectious – it was amazing to learn that (RED) has such passionate supporters working in stores to make sure that customers know what it means when they buy (RED).

Truly an inspiring week, and we can't wait to see the (RED) VISION film submissions. Good luck!

--bn