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Welcome to Kicking the Seat!

Ian Simmons launched Kicking the Seat in 2009, one week after seeing Nora Ephron’s Julie & Julia. His wife proposed blogging as a healthier outlet for his anger than red-faced, twenty-minute tirades (Ian is no longer allowed to drive home from the movies).

The Kicking the Seat Podcast followed three years later and, despite its “undiscovered gem” status, Ian thoroughly enjoys hosting film critic discussions, creating themed shows, and interviewing such luminaries as Gaspar NoéRachel BrosnahanAmy Seimetz, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Ian is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. He also has a family, a day job, and conflicted feelings about referring to himself in the third person.

2012's Second Most Important Election!

Your Vote Will Help ArcLight Keep it Real! 

Our good friends at ArcLight Cinemas are putting together their Second Annual Documentary Film Festival, and they need your help! They received hundreds of submissions from filmmakers, which were narrowed down to twenty movies in four categories: Biographical/Historical, Social Issue, Entertainment, and Shorts.

Now, ArcLight has opened up voting to the public. Your input will help determine which five finalists in each category get to screen their films at the November 5th-8th festival in Los Angeles. Moviegoers will decide on a "best-of-the-fest" winner, and award them a $10,000 grand prize!

You can vote easily in one of two ways:

1. Head to the contest's Facebook page, view trailers from each category, and check a box next to your favorites.

2. Visit ArcLight's YouTube Channel and "Like" the trailers that you, um...like.

Voting runs through October 14th, so please get to watching and clicking!

Special thanks to ArcLight for supporting documentary filmmaking, and good luck to all the entrants!

Curdling Horror in Madison, Wisconsin!

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