The last two weeks have been pretty crazy. Back to work in a studio cubical and also attended the Vancouver International Film Festival.

I started everything off with Monsters, and ended if off with the beautiful, French, somewhat depressing The Illusionist. In total I saw 28 films.

1. Monsters
2. Waste Land (trash is art!)
3. Cold Fish (violently disturbing)
4. R U There? (yes, I am… I’m just sleeping)
5. An Ecology of Mind (documentary on the amazing system theories of Gregory Bateson)
6. Crossing the Mountain (…zzzZZZ)
7. David Wants to Fly (documentary on David Lynch and his association w/ Transcendental Meditation)
8. Tree (needed a dose of good drama)
9. Philosophies of Life (short film collection that I didn’t have the patience to finish)
10. Turn It Loose (breakdancing!)
11. 13 Assassins (live action version Ninja Scroll?)
12. Secrets of the Tribe (anthropologists decimating each other’s reputations)
13. Drummer’s Dream (luckily they were selling copies on DVD at the door)
14. The Man from Nowhere (South Korean action flick w/ a Korean version of Keanu Reeves)
15. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (still trying to “get it”, but the ghost monkeys were sweet)
16. Nénette (I ♥ orangutans)
17. Guido Superstar (love them poop gags)
18. Into Eternity (now one of my fav documentaries)
19. Cell 211 (violently beautiful)
20. Rubber (the killer tire could be a cult classic)
21. Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden (spreading the gospel without thinking of the consequences)
22. Aftershock (wicked earthquake scene followed by Hollywood inspired drama)
23. Cities on Speed (documentaries where the titles say it all, “Bogotá Change” & “Mumbai Disconnected”)
24. When the Devil Knocks (documentary on a woman with multiple personalities)
25. Armadillo (Danish film on the Afgan war)
26. The Repeaters (Groundhog day with 3 addicts)
27. Plug & Pray (I ♥ Joseph Weizenbaum)
28. The Illusionist (French animation from creators of Triplets of Bellville

How to Survive?

1) Bring a water bottle & snacks. You will be downtown all day long, surrounded by Starbucks, McDonalds and $2 pizza slices. Considering you’ll be sitting on your butt all day long, just how much torture do you want your body to endure?

2) Sharpie for the marking up of your schedule.

3) Learn to live without your phone for a few hours. I was amazed at how insistent the staff were in having the audience turn off their phones. I was even more amazed at how difficult it was for us to follow this suggestion. I must say, I only pulled out my phone a couple times to quickly check the time. I swear!

4) Networking. In line I met tons of people that made me regret not having a business card, though we all had smartphones so the problem was easily solved. meeting people in line was also a great way to get suggestions on films. If it wasn’t for the texts from my new friend Michael, I would have missed 13 Assassins, and that would have been tragic.

Speaking of “meeting people”, I finally met my doppelganger. According to Michael Hayward, there may be potential for me playing a younger version of Wallace Shawn (Princess Bride) in his autobiographical documentary.