Stop and smell the laurels

Okay, so one of the cool things about entering film festival (and then actually getting into a film festival) is the laurel leaves.



Laurel leaves date back to ancient Rome and Greece where they were awarded to winners of athletic events, prized politicians, famed citizens, etc. Today we give gold medals or statues or stars on the walk of fame. But in the film fest world we get the official laurel leaves. These golden fronds fan words like "Official Selection" and "Grand Prize Winner".

In the picture I'm receiving a lovely plaque and flowers when my film "Supermodels" won the "Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision" at the Las Vegas International Film Festival. It's a really nice plaque but it's heavy, bulky and hard to display all of the time, say when I'm just hanging out at the mall. Laurel leaves are easy to put on a poster, DVD or other promotional materials.

See the picture of the leaves for the FAIF International Film festival? They are pretty and portable! Hence a filmmakers love of the laurel leaves. You can tout your own accomplishments without having to carry around some festival bling.

Now the phrase you hear is "Don't rest on your laurels", meaning don't be content just on the things you have already done, keep striving for more. But why is resting on your laurels such a bad thing. I mean, you had to accomplish something pretty good just to get your laurels. So why can't you take a break and just enjoy where you are? They also say "stop and smell the roses", meaning take a moment to appreciate what you have.

So I say, stop and smell the laurels. Now, get back to your unfettered quest for more!