2005 AFFD Festival Week -- Opening Night
Opening Night arrived with a sheen of sweat, brought on by rising temperatures and the general nervousness that accompanies the beginning of a week-long event. There was a special reception at the Crowe Museum of Asian Art, which I am embarrased to say I had never been to before. It's a lovely little place and I highly recommend you stop by should you be trolling museums in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
There was some great food by Tom Tom, a local Asian eatery that is really, really terrific. I ended up eating there, oh, five times during the week, including one take-out meal. I'm dreadfully out of shape, but Ginger Garlic Beef makes me purr.
(The trick to eating at a reception where you must be somewhat receptive is simple. Grab a beverage, and drink frequently from said beverage as you chat amongst the sponsors and guests. Excuse yourself about halfway through the proceedings, grab a plate of food, find a seat away from every conversation you've had in the last 15 minutes, then scrape as much of said food into your sushi hole as possible without seeming to have appeared direct from the cromagnon era. Then grab a fresh beverage and resume chatting. That simple.)
The line awaiting the film really staggered me. It was the first moment when I knew the week would be successful. And the crowd really seemed to enjoy the film, which made me feel good for those in the festival committee that took the chance starting things off with a gentle, happy film that contained no bodily fluids, cops, terrorists, animated characters or eagles shooting horses. Just a nice little movie about people's lives.
The Opening Night feature was 20:30:40, a surprisingly delightful film directed by Sylvia Chang, who also stars as one of the three leads. The film is about three women (one in her 20s, one in her 30s...you get the picture) who have various personal issues in their lives such as living out their dreams, surviving divorce, and finding that perfect relationship. I say "surprisingly delightful" because if you read a recap of the film, you might not think it sounded any different than your average, bland Lifetime made-for-TV Movie About Women. But it has a terrific sense of humor, a bunch of interesting characters who are fleshed out by a bunch of terrific actors, and a mix of sadness and sweetness that really makes the whole thing work very well. It was, for me, one of the happiest surprises of the entire festival.
How I rated 20:30:40: 3
Next Up: Friday is a 23-hour day, and Gozu mystifies.
There was some great food by Tom Tom, a local Asian eatery that is really, really terrific. I ended up eating there, oh, five times during the week, including one take-out meal. I'm dreadfully out of shape, but Ginger Garlic Beef makes me purr.
(The trick to eating at a reception where you must be somewhat receptive is simple. Grab a beverage, and drink frequently from said beverage as you chat amongst the sponsors and guests. Excuse yourself about halfway through the proceedings, grab a plate of food, find a seat away from every conversation you've had in the last 15 minutes, then scrape as much of said food into your sushi hole as possible without seeming to have appeared direct from the cromagnon era. Then grab a fresh beverage and resume chatting. That simple.)
The line awaiting the film really staggered me. It was the first moment when I knew the week would be successful. And the crowd really seemed to enjoy the film, which made me feel good for those in the festival committee that took the chance starting things off with a gentle, happy film that contained no bodily fluids, cops, terrorists, animated characters or eagles shooting horses. Just a nice little movie about people's lives.
The Opening Night feature was 20:30:40, a surprisingly delightful film directed by Sylvia Chang, who also stars as one of the three leads. The film is about three women (one in her 20s, one in her 30s...you get the picture) who have various personal issues in their lives such as living out their dreams, surviving divorce, and finding that perfect relationship. I say "surprisingly delightful" because if you read a recap of the film, you might not think it sounded any different than your average, bland Lifetime made-for-TV Movie About Women. But it has a terrific sense of humor, a bunch of interesting characters who are fleshed out by a bunch of terrific actors, and a mix of sadness and sweetness that really makes the whole thing work very well. It was, for me, one of the happiest surprises of the entire festival.
How I rated 20:30:40: 3
Next Up: Friday is a 23-hour day, and Gozu mystifies.
posted by scn at 9:33 PM
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