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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cheer on the intrepid ‘Transolar Galactica’ crew

Dan Webster

So I lied in the post below. I said that would likely be the last reference to the Spokane International Film Festival until 2015. Not true.

That's because late last night, SpIFF director Pete Porter sent me an update to the Audience Awards. These were the results of all those little white ballots that festgoers were handed at the end of each screening. During and after the festival, the ballots had been compiled by SpIFF board member and programmer Vaughn Overlie.

So other than the math involved (Porter reports that one of the categories was almost too close to count), one of the categories was missing, that of Special Audience Award. It's not a category that's always included, but this year was special, what with the inclusion of a Saturday-night special appearance of the Web series "Transolar Galactica."

If you don't know the story of "Transolar Galactica, then click here. All you really need to know is that it involves five guys — Clancy Bundy, Adam Harum, Isaac Joslin, Jade Warpenburg and Adam Boyd — all of whom have ties to Eastern Washington University. They pooled their shared interests in media and film production into "Transolar Galactica," which now — thanks to Kickstarter — is heading toward a second season.

Anyway, the audience that showed up at the SpIFF-sponsored Garland show, much of which included friends and people who had worked with the five show founders, were so appreciative that they give the hour-long screening of "Origin" episodes a huge ovation. And that resulted in the Special Audience Award.

By the way, if you want to become part of the "Transolar Galactica Legion," just click here. Episode 1 of the first season is embedded below.