Kostmayer to read excerpts from film

Daniel Boone has made it a mission to offer moviegoers an added dimension to their viewing experience and has scheduled two events this weekend that will include live interactive feedback following screenings at the Strand Theatre.
“The screen is what the focus is on, but we are going beyond just the screen and offering a live off-screen component, something you can’t get from an iPhone stream,” said Boone, who is the film programmer for the Strand.

Beginning at 7 p.m. Friday the award winning documentary, “Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago” will be shown. It will be followed by a question and answer session through Skype with Annie O’Neil, co-producer and pilgrim, he said.

The documentary captures authentic stories of six pilgrims, ages three to 71 as they make their way across the countryside of Spain to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James are thought to be buried.
Actor Martin Sheen, star of “The Way,” the 2010 fictional account of the 500-mile pilgrimage, called the documentary “brilliant.”
The Rev. Mitch Cochran and the Rev. Susannah Carr, two local United Methodist ministers, returned from Spain Monday night after traveling a portion of the pilgrimage.
The pair was part of group called Journey Partners, which is a program of training in the Christian tradition of Spiritual Direction.
“We traveled 200 to 300 miles, walking 30 to 40 miles of that over two-weeks,” Cochran said.
“We traveled up hills and over flat lands with landscapes that included mountains, pastures and forest.
“It was a really good experience and deepened your relationship with God and your relationship with other people.”
Carr said participating in the pilgrimage was one in which she relied on her faith.
“You have to let go and be open to things. I truly had to go into it with an attitude that God will provide and that he will take care of me and the people I love.”
“Walking the Camino” has received critical and audience accolades across the country, said Boone, from Washington to Florida, it has won awards, sold out, or both in every film festival where it has screened including the respected Hollywood Film Festival.
Kosfest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Saturday night and the event will highlight playwright and novelist Kos Kostmayer, who has been a resident of Vicksburg for more than 20 years, said Boone.

“Putting a spotlight on Kos is something I have wanted to do since we started showing
films at the refurbished Strand, said Boone.
“One of Kos’ plays (“On the Money”) was recently produced in Los Angeles, and the reviews were so positive, I felt like the time has come to do this,” he said.
Kostmayer also wrote a screenplay, which was eventually made into the movie, “I Love You To Death,” starring Kevin Kline, William Hurt, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, and Tracey Ullman, said Boone, and he continues to write plays, screenplays, short fiction and novels.
The event will feature a conversation with Kostmayer, excerpts from a film he wrote and readings of a number of the poems and short fiction.
Tickets for Kosfest are $10 and will include a dessert reception. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the coffeehouse and at the door. Admission for the showing of “Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago” is $7 or $5 in advance at the Highway 61 Coffeehouse.
For more information on the documentary, visit www.caminodocumentary.org. For more information about both events, call 601-529-7252 or visit www.westsidetheatrefoundation.com. The Strand is at 717 Clay St.