Valley boys back in town

WASILLA — “Proper Binge”, an independent film produced in Alaska, earned international recognition earlier this month when Bradford Jackson won the best actor award at the 2018 Beverly Hills Film Festival.

“I was beyond humbled,” Jackson said. “It was amazing.” Proper Binge is a dark comedy/drama following the story of an unemployed alcoholic looking back while looking forward as he starts to come to grips with the damage caused by his addiction. Directors/writers, Mike Burns and Dean Q. Mitchell got to see their star actor and fellow Alaskan step into the limelight for a moment, after a 10 year journey from script to screen. “We cried and laughed a lot,” Mitchell said “It was a good time/” As the announcement for best actor started, Mitchell set his camera to record. “I just had a feeling,” he said. Jackson's mother was in the audience, teary eyed and covering her face at times. The flood of emotions seemed to be contagious. “The tears that were flowing from my eyes – almost like seeing my first born being born, it was really weird,” he said. Jackson left Alaska to pursue his acting career. His parents still live in Eagle River. He wanted his mom to come down to California and have a good time. He said that she almost fainted at the awards. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. “She was over the moon,” Jackson said. In his speech, Jackson credited his wife and his mother as the two incredible women who got him as far as he made it. His mom told him she was proud of him and to let her know when he starts working with Bruce Willis because she “has the hots for him.” “Watching her reaction was one of the highlights of the trip,” Mitchell said. Proper Binge was one of the few feature films in the festival, with about 9 features and 50 short films. The best actor award pulled from both categories to select a winner. Jackson prepared a “short and sweet” acceptance speech just in case. “They’ve watched all your films, all your work,” Jackson said. “If you don’t take the time to prepare something, it’s disrespectful.” The Beverly Hills Festival is in its 18th year, and much like other award ceremonies, has several categories for winners and appearances by celebrities. Big names from Hollywood frequently attend the festival, as a guest or for their own film submission.

Bob Saget, best known for his roles in Full House and the Farce of the Penguins submitted his independent movie, “Benjamin”. There are 18 categories, ranging from Best Actress to best screenplay. Instead of Golden Globes, winners receive Golden Palms, with one overall winner. “Christian Audigier the Vif” made the cut this year, winning in three categories — Best Feature Film, Best Cinematography, and the Jury Prize for Best Documentary. Two filmmakers from Wasilla got the chance to mingle with celebrities like Bill Burr and John Mayer at the festival. Burns said that meeting comedian Burr was one of the best parts of the trip. “I geeked out- big time,” he laughed. On top of mingling with celebrities, the Proper Binge crew made some useful contacts. Burns said that the most exciting prospect to propel this film and their names further was connecting with a sales agent who is currently reviewing their film. If she likes what she sees, she can greenlight mass distribution, which for upcoming filmmakers, is crucial. “That’s the end game as far as any film is concerned,” Burns said. “It is amazing to know out of 150 volunteers, after 10 years from script to screen, the blood, sweat and tears all started with a simple dream and idea of making a film in Alaska. If you have a dream, if you work hard at it you really can achieve it,” Jackson said. Jackson has kept himself pretty busy on the Hollywood hustle — auditioning, writing, networking and experimenting and exploring this vast medium. He said that he has some pretty big auditions lined up and he wrote his own screenplay. He plans to start directing his own movie in August. In the past year he’s filmed a couple of films in Alaska and got the call for another one. Although he wanted to do that one, too, scheduling conflicts trumped desire. “I will always support the filmmaking in Alaska,” Jackson said. Back in their hometown of Wasilla, Burns and Mitchell have discussed the next steps, distributing Proper Binge at the forefront. They have brainstormed ideas for future features. Burns is going head-first into networking and blowing up Proper Binge and Mitchell is catching up on his writing, purportedly 25 pages into his next script. “I don’t want to say what it’s about but I’m really digging where it’s going,” Mitchell said. I’m feeling very, very good about it.” All Mitchell said about the script was that it was set in high school. He expects to be done with the first draft within two months. “One thing that Beverly Hills Festival did for me was give me a little mojo back to start writing again,” Mitchell said. Proper Binge follows the trials and tribulations of a homeless alcoholic named Buzz. After nearly getting his friend killed in a drunken mishap, he attempts to get sober. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and is instructed to make amends to the people he hurt. Buzz’s attempts are met with much strife and some humorous interactions: getting thrown off porches, getting kicked in the nether regions, and so on. Jackson said that the Beverly Hills Film Festival President personally reached out to tell him how much he liked the movie, saying it had a “punk rock” feel. The crew liked that analogy and is running with it. Burns and Mitchell are screening Proper Binge at the Valley Cinema this Thursday, April 26, at 6 p.m. at the Valley Cinema. Tickets can be purchased online at eventbrite.com and at the Silver Fox bar, where much of the film was shot. Tickets can also be purchased at the door the day of the event. Billy Christensen, the owner and operator of Alaska Tuesday Night Fights promoted Proper Binge at this week’s fights, talking about the film and upcoming screening as well as spreading pamphlets across the tables. “That is pretty cool. People are very, very generous when it comes to Proper Binge. People have been great,” Burns said.