This past week I attended my first film festival. Since childhood, I have always been an avid movie-goer and film buff. This past week was so much fun and so interesting, I can't wait for next year!
The great thing that happens is that you attend screenings of independent films and afterward get to meet the director or producers for a Q & A. There is a large tent with seminars on getting into acting and filmmaking, there was a wine tasting, movie memorabilia on display for an auction, famous people hanging out, parties, special events, educational programs for teens, and 7 days of movies all day long. How cool is that??
This week I saw a feature film called "A Lobster Tale". The director, Adam Massey did a Q & A afterward. The film was a great family film. It was really great and I hope it gets picked up for distribution. A Lobster Tale was chosen as the "Sundance Channel Audience Favorite" and won the "best screenplay" category.
I saw the Animated Shorts category, which was 8 short animated films that ran concurrently for a total of 65 minutes in length. Really fun!
I saw the Arizona Short Films, which was 11 films that ran concurrently for a total of 98 minutes. Some of them were awesome.
I was fortunate to attend the feature film "Waitress" This is a studio film and will be coming to theaters in May. We got to see it in advance. I really enjoyed it and recommend it. It starred Keri Russell of Tv's "Felicity" and "Mission Impossible 3". The security protocol was quite serious and we even had to leave our cell/camera phones in the car.
I really loved the Final Night Closing Film the most. I saw "Showbusiness : The Road to Broadway" It was made by Director Dori Berinstein, who attended and did a Q & A afterward. It starred Tony Award Winner Alan Cumming, actor of "X3" as Nightcrawler, and several Broadway shows including Cabaret which he won the Tony for. He was also in attendance, was the movie's producer, did a lengthy Q & A, and received a "Copper Wing Tribute Award" from the festival for his contribution to filmmaking. I am a HUGE Broadway fan and loved the documentary. It followed four musicals vying for the Tony Award and took place over one year during the Broadway season. It will be released in the fall on DVD, and I am certianly going to be purchasing. The director was given unprecendented backstage access that cast the camera's eyes on rehearsals, backstage highs and lows, and the mysterious and wondrous creative process. It was a never before seen look at the inner workings of Broadway Musicals.
I highly recommend attending a film festival if you are a movie buff. You don't know what you are missing...
~Dawn
This is my newest friend, Chloe. She is a Kinkajou from South America, one look and I was in love. The AZ Department of Fish and Game confiscated her and placed her in the care of a wild life rehabilitator. We had our freezer-burnt ficus trees trimmed and there were some orphan baby birds that we had to help out. Were we in for a surprise when the rescue home, only a block away from us, was filled with exotic animals from all over the world. When an exotic and illegal animal is removed by F&G it has to be cared for by someone until it can be placed in a zoo or with a licensed professional. Chloe showed us her lucious yellow belly, a demonstration of affection and trust. She was delighted with her daily treat a jumbo marshmallow. The winks got to feed the baby birds we rescued with a paint brush soaked in blended egg yolk and parrot food. What a fun adventure, I won't look at my paint brushes the same.
