So I meant to blog more regularly during the festival but it was so time consuming I didn't have the chance. Yes, WAS because the festival is sadly over. Sunday was the last day. And although I've never been more tired in my life, I'm heartbroken. I'm fairly certain I will never have the opportunity to do what I just did ever again. Even if I come back, which I fully intend on, I'm certain I won't have 12 free days to solely watch movies. I just don't think that's real life...
Anyway, let me try to recap these last few days.
I got to see The Paperboy with Zac Efron. I thought it was amazing. It definitely belongs on the list of movies that I've genuinely enjoyed here. A lot of my fellow programmers do not agree... I judged them and moved right along. Just kidding... sort of.
It was directed by Lee Daniels (director of Precious) who I got to meet which was cool. I agree that I wasn't crazy about some of the techniques he used but the story was very intriguing and the acting was good. I don't need much more in a film.
This premiere was especially significant to me because what I thought were a series of unfortunate events resulted in me sitting but a nice lady who's trying to make a shift from lawyer to movie producer. We talked about life and goals and she mentioned she had a friend who writes reviews for an online publication. We traded contact information and she said she'd be happy to put me in touch with him... Who knows what will come of it but I was so happy I met her.
Other than that, the last few days of the festival kind of run together... so many movies.
But, our professors set up some more talks for us the last few days which I got more out of than I expected.
We had the opportunity to meet with Philip Kaufman, Jeff Nichols and Michael Phillips. The former two are directors. Philip Kaufman had a movie at the festival titled Hemingway and Gellhorn. I saw it before I went to Cannes. It was pretty interesting but a little long for my attention span.
Jeff Nichols is the hero I never knew I had. I want to be him when I grow up. I wish I could have videotaped his talk with us. This kid is 32 years old and has written and directed three films, all of which were well-received at various prestigious film festivals. His third film, Mud, premiered at Cannes the second to last day of the festival. I absolutely loved it. I'm not going to lie, I might be bias because I got to meet him and he is the prime example of good guys can finish on top. Still, I think anyone could agree the movie was very well done.
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| Jeff Nichols... in the collared shirt. |
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| Star from a columbian film I saw. He was so cute. Oh and the movie was good. |
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| The roomie and me! |
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| George Lucas |
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| R. Patts and the cast of Cosmopolis. The movie was so bad. Oi vey... |
We also got to meet Michael Phillips. He is the movie critic for the Chicago Tribune. If you know anything about my ambitions, you know I was freaking out. I was frantically writing down everything he said about writing good reviews. I learned a lot and he was a very nice guy as well.
My teacher said it best when he said it takes a different type of person to be willing to speak with students when there's so many other things they can be doing. I was so thankful these people agreed to speak with us about their lives, journeys and accomplishments.
The last day of the festival was the worst weather we've had here... and the weather has not been that good. That meant no closing ceremony because I found it hard to beg for tickets in a dress and heels when it was pouring rain, thundering and lightening. Amour won the big prize, though. I saw it and see how it won although it wasn't my favorite.
Things have slowed down since the festival has been over. I go to class at 9am everyday and we get out around 1:30 with a half-hour break in the middle.
I was originally inspired to apply for this study abroad because of the critical writing class I knew I was going to take. I knew I wanted to be a film critic. I wasn't even sure what the other class was, nor was I concerned.
However, the more I sit in the other class, the more I enjoy it. I find I'm increasingly excited to attend that class more than the critical writing. The class is about the business side of film. It focuses on the publicity and advertising aspects. I never thought I would be interested in this as much as I am... I continue to learn things about myself here and I love it.
Only about seven days left now. I know it'll be bittersweet when the time comes to leave. I'll never have an opportunity like this again but I really miss my family. I missed Kyle's birthday and Kris' graduation so I'll be happy to see them whenever I return and we can celebrate in the flesh. Miss my padres too! And all of my friend girls... Oi.
Still, I'm going to try to get everything out of this last week. Here goes...
As always, I'll try to keep y'all posted.
More reviews to come...
From Cannes, with love
KD
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