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One day down.
Now that it’s midnight, it’s time to have some dinner (thank goodness for the iced animal cookies that I picked up on a whim!) and recap day one of this year’s CIFF insanity.
Michael showed up just after noon — and we headed straight for the Tower. Using my trusty GPS, we found our way through the back roads of Cleveland’s more industrial areas before arriving at the far parking lot just as the snow started to fall. Fortunately, the shuttle wasn’t too far away, so we hopped on and headed to the main building.
Our first mission was to pick up a program guide for Michael, who, for some reason, hadn’t gotten one. As soon as we got inside the hallway to the theater, we ran into Mark, a fellow Columbus critic, who was just coming out of his latest movie. Mark’s the kind of hardcore festival goer who actually drove the two hours up this morning in time for teh 9:00 sessions — and, as far as I know, he’s still there now, sitting through his 7th movie of the day. By the time we saw him, he had already seen two.
After chatting with Mark for a few minutes, he headed off for lunch, and Michael and I headed off for a few minutes of peace and quiet and coffee at Dunkin Donuts. We had plenty of time to flip through the program guide and discuss our options while fueling up before our first film.
Since neither of us was completely set on anything in the first time slot, we decided to check out Pepperminta, a Swiss film that looked, if nothing else, colorful. It also looked completely insane, which I tend to enjoy. The guy who introduced the film called it “interesting” — before following that up with “polarizing.” Fortunately, I was prepared — but, even then, I think the film was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Still, I found it strangely amusing (though it would have been a whole lot better if it had been maybe 20 minutes long).
When we walked out of the first theater, I ran right into one of the festival’s most memorable regulars — one that I’ve been running into since my very first CIFF five years ago. It simply wouldn’t be right to have a festival without her — so I felt honored to have run into her so soon on my adventure.
After that, though, Michael, Mark, and I all decided that our brains (and our eyeballs) could use a break, so we headed straight for the hospitality suite to refuel. Michael had coffee with a (much needed) shot of Bailey’s, while I grabbed half of a sandwich and a cookie. We had just a few minutes to sit and chat, though, before it was time to move on to movie number two.
I had had my movie all picked out, but Michael and Mark both convinced me that it was a horrible choice — so while Michael went off to watch the animated shorts collection, I joined Mark for Almost Kings, an American coming-of-age drama. Though Mark wasn’t thrilled, I enjoyed the story about siblings and that teenage need to be accepted.
The director of Almost Kings was in attendance, so they followed the screening with a Q&A. Instead of sticking around, though, Mark and I raced right out into the hallway, where we ran into my radio partner, John. John’s another early riser, so he had gotten into town in time for the 9:00 movies this morning. What really surprised me, though, was that John had actually been to movies in every time slot. John is more of a two-movies-a-day kind of festival goer — and he’d already been to four. He explained, though, that he’s planning to leave early tomorrow, so he figured that he needed to squeeze in as many as possible while he could.
Again, I had just a couple of minutes to chat before I had to meet up with Michael for our third movie of the day. I found him waiting in line outside the theater for A Somewhat Gentle Man. If you’ve ever read about my festival adventures, you probably already know about my obsession with Norwegian films — so this one was a must-see for me. I just love that Norwegian quirkiness — the ability to make a dark subject feel funny by throwing in surprising (and often bizarre) touches of humor. And Gentle Man was no different. John decided to join us — and he and Michael were both happy with the choice. It was a longer film — the longest one I saw all day — but it was the only one that I sat through without checking my watch. Definitely my favorite of the day.
When we got out, though, it was already 8:45 — and our next movie started at 9:15. Michael and I took a few minutes to stretch our legs — and we ran into Andrew, who’s volunteering again this year. We had just a minute to say hello, though, before racing in to see Whirligig. This one was a Canadian film — a quirky comedy that made the grave mistake of trying to have a point. I loved its eccentric little touches, but the drama seemed out of place.
Once again, the director was in attendance, and there was another Q&A, but Michael and I decided that we’d had enough. It was time to catch the shuttle back to the parking lot and head back to our neighboring hotels. Since we hadn’t had enough time for a real meal all day, we were both looking forward to the snacks that we had waiting back at our rooms. We’ve already agreed, though, that we’re actually going to eat tomorrow. Good idea, don’t you think?
Tomorrow’s first movie (for us) starts shortly after 11 — so that’ll give me enough time to get up, have some breakfast, and pick up Michael for another day of movies. We’re still not entirely sure what we’ll be seeing — other than Copacabana in the morning and Insidious in the afternoon. The rest…well…we’ll have to play it by ear.
For now, though, it’s time to rest up. I’ve got another long day ahead.
