Park City
I started writing this a half hour ago while we were in line for Save Me and then I got talking to an drunken festival goer. C'est la vie. So... The Legacy was a really cool idea. Basically it's a film about three French travelers in Georgia who, along with their French/Georgian translator, take a two day bus journey to visit a ruined castle that one of them has inherited. Early in the trip a young man and his grandfather board the bus along with a coffin. The coffin, we find, is meant for the grandfather who is traveling to the village of their family's enemies to be killed as repayment for past deaths. And then... well... you'll have to see the film for yourself. I liken the film a bit to a French version of Little Miss Sunshine in it's general quirkiness and random characters and plot twists. However, both Kit and I felt that the characters weren't very well developed and there was a genuine lack of empathy produced. But... it is an interesting look into Georgian life even if the characters are difficult to connect with.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Warmth is completely underrated
Park City
After waiting in a line outside the Egyptian for the first Park City screening of The Legacy we're now snuggled in the very warm and comfortable theater. Truly... being warm is the most underrated thing on the planet. I think I'm going to start carrying around my own little propane heater to avoid freezing in line.
After waiting in a line outside the Egyptian for the first Park City screening of The Legacy we're now snuggled in the very warm and comfortable theater. Truly... being warm is the most underrated thing on the planet. I think I'm going to start carrying around my own little propane heater to avoid freezing in line.
That's a lovely dead fox you have there
Park City
Kit and I have been enjoying making snide remarks about the disgusting trendiness of some of the people here at the festival. It's like being in Bev Hills on Rodeo, but it's 20 degrees outside and everyone's crammed into a much smaller area. Regardless, there are way too many dead animal pelts draped over people who disappear when they turn sideways.
Kit and I have been enjoying making snide remarks about the disgusting trendiness of some of the people here at the festival. It's like being in Bev Hills on Rodeo, but it's 20 degrees outside and everyone's crammed into a much smaller area. Regardless, there are way too many dead animal pelts draped over people who disappear when they turn sideways.
First screenings of the fest
Park City
Waiting in yet another line... this time to grab some grub at the Main Street Deli after seeing our first two screenings of the day. Just about half an hour ago we got out of a screening of On A Tightrope, a film showing in World Documentary Competition. This film focuses on the Uighur people, China's largest Muslim minority. What's striking about this film is that it's the first one to be made by a foreigner in a region where information is strictly controlled and contact with foreigners is curtailed. Director Petr Lom somehow managed to convince the Chinese government to allow him access to an orphanage over a period of 18 months where he filmed the stories of four children learning the ancient Uighur tradition of tightrope walking. It's a pretty powerful story that ultimately turns toward a small bit of hope for the children. What I respected most about the film was the fact that Petr consciously chose to limit the amount of politically sensitive material and focus more on the story of the children themselves. Petr made it very clear while speaking after the film that he wanted more than anything to protect the people featured in the film and to not make it a "political" piece about the blatant human rights violations that were clearly a daily part of their lives. If this film gets picked up by a US distributor, I definitely recommend checking it out.
Screening before On A Tightrope was a 13 minute documentary short titled Tanju Miah that paints a short portrait of a nine year old boy in Bangladesh who cleans tables at a roadside food stand in a distant rura area. He was abandoned by his mother some time before and now dreams of her return. Very interesting glimpse into a life very different from my own. Also very depressing.
Waiting in yet another line... this time to grab some grub at the Main Street Deli after seeing our first two screenings of the day. Just about half an hour ago we got out of a screening of On A Tightrope, a film showing in World Documentary Competition. This film focuses on the Uighur people, China's largest Muslim minority. What's striking about this film is that it's the first one to be made by a foreigner in a region where information is strictly controlled and contact with foreigners is curtailed. Director Petr Lom somehow managed to convince the Chinese government to allow him access to an orphanage over a period of 18 months where he filmed the stories of four children learning the ancient Uighur tradition of tightrope walking. It's a pretty powerful story that ultimately turns toward a small bit of hope for the children. What I respected most about the film was the fact that Petr consciously chose to limit the amount of politically sensitive material and focus more on the story of the children themselves. Petr made it very clear while speaking after the film that he wanted more than anything to protect the people featured in the film and to not make it a "political" piece about the blatant human rights violations that were clearly a daily part of their lives. If this film gets picked up by a US distributor, I definitely recommend checking it out.
Screening before On A Tightrope was a 13 minute documentary short titled Tanju Miah that paints a short portrait of a nine year old boy in Bangladesh who cleans tables at a roadside food stand in a distant rura area. He was abandoned by his mother some time before and now dreams of her return. Very interesting glimpse into a life very different from my own. Also very depressing.
Must have plow experience
SLC
So here I am waiting in a line. Something I'll probably be doing a lot of over the next week.
Today marks my first official day of Sundance. And, of course, it's already been anything but dull. Rising at 5:30a to camp out for day-of-show tickets (as necessitated by the fact that when we committed to doing Sundance the passes were sold out and we weren't able to get a slot for locals-only ticket sales) is a nasty prospect nearly anywhere, but it becomes more of a chore when it's 13 degrees outside and there's at least an inch of fresh snow on the ground. Sure, those who are native to wintry climates will probably scoff at this and say that such weather is normal. But, even with 18 years in Minnesota, living in Santa Monica has turned me soft. Cold air in my face, slippery, freshly snow-covered sidewalks and a nice big snowplow working on the driveway and parking lot greeted me as I left Kit's apartment. After dusting the new snow off of the car, I slid down the road about a mile to the SLC festival box office on yet-to-be-plowed roads making excellent use of AWD, ABS and heated seats. And now, watching yet another parking lot get once-overed by a plow, I sit and wait until the box office opens at 8a and see what films I can get us into..
So here I am waiting in a line. Something I'll probably be doing a lot of over the next week.
Today marks my first official day of Sundance. And, of course, it's already been anything but dull. Rising at 5:30a to camp out for day-of-show tickets (as necessitated by the fact that when we committed to doing Sundance the passes were sold out and we weren't able to get a slot for locals-only ticket sales) is a nasty prospect nearly anywhere, but it becomes more of a chore when it's 13 degrees outside and there's at least an inch of fresh snow on the ground. Sure, those who are native to wintry climates will probably scoff at this and say that such weather is normal. But, even with 18 years in Minnesota, living in Santa Monica has turned me soft. Cold air in my face, slippery, freshly snow-covered sidewalks and a nice big snowplow working on the driveway and parking lot greeted me as I left Kit's apartment. After dusting the new snow off of the car, I slid down the road about a mile to the SLC festival box office on yet-to-be-plowed roads making excellent use of AWD, ABS and heated seats. And now, watching yet another parking lot get once-overed by a plow, I sit and wait until the box office opens at 8a and see what films I can get us into..
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