Vail (not Sundance) Film Festival

This was posted on my other blog last week...sorry I am behind on "reposting" to this blog. Here is it...albeit late!

Everyone has heard of the Sundance Film Festival or the Cannes Film Festival. And movie buffs and entertainment news followers have heard of Toronto and TriBeCa film festivals. But who in their right minds has heard of the Vail Film Festival. Yeah, no one, I know. But us locals...well, that's what we've got, so we go. Actually, I do feel fortunate to have a film festival in such a small community, so I plunked down my $50 and bought a pass.

Here are some of the movies I saw (the movie titles are links to webpages about the films)...

Snow Cake: Sigourney Weaver does an amazing job as an autistic mother. Quirky film, but worth a watch. Some moments were just laugh-out-loud funny. My favorite line is

Linda Freeman: Have you ever had an orgasm, Alex?
Alex Hughes: It has been known.
Linda Freeman: It sounds like an inferior version of what I feel when I have a mouthful of snow.
[Shoves some into her mouth]

West Bank Story: Oscar winning live action short...great mix of spoofing of West Side Story and the political situation in the Middle East.

Eramos Pocos: cute short that has the last minute plot twist...worth seeing. This was up for the Oscar. The above link is to YouTube, but it isn't subtitled, so if you know Spanish, watch it!

When Adnan Comes Home: gut wrenching to watch, but very good subject matter. It really makes you think about how humans judge each other based on our own values and social mores...never seeing what the other's values and mores are. I was able to see another's life and situation...one so very foreign to my own. That is one of biggest reasons I watch movies...to be in someone else's shoes and see life from another perspective.

I really had a great time spending my weekend in a movie theatre...even if some of the movies I saw were utter crap...that's what I love about festivals...you can see crap and amazing film all in one day...and you can see stuff you never would think to see in a mainstream theater or on DVD. I will be going back to Mecca next year...aka Sundance. I LOVE IT, so I am committing to the 6 hour drive to spend a few days around the other film festival rats! And of course, the Vail Film Festival will be an annual event for me, regardless of the less than stellar mix of films...