The end is just like the beginning. The cabin is quiet. The ski/snowboard crew have left for their final day of snow in the Utah mountains. Their gear has been cleared out. The food has been devoured. Four days of non-stop movie/skiing/snowboarding/eating/attempting to party is drawing to a close.
And in the end, I wound up seeing* only 6 films:
- Toe to Toe
- Rudo y Cursi
- Amreeka
- Don't Let Me Drown
- Sin Nombre
- Adam (*later today)
Altitude sickness made me miss Tyson and The Carter, the former of which I'm especially bummed about since I hear it was a pretty sweet movie and Mike Tyson actually showed up. In any case, if I had to choose a favourite (without having seen Adam yet), it would probably be a toss-up between Amreeka and Sin Nombre. Interestingly enough, both are stories about immigration (with one being legal and one illegal), and I suppose that's a theme I can relate to. What's your citizenship? Where is your home? Where are you from? They're all simple questions that you'd think you can answer quickly...but can you? It certainly takes me multiple disclaimers to get my answer across. Does who we are and where we're from really matter? Or should we be judged on the basis of our actions alone?
I didn't expect this Sundance wrap-up post to be so hazy. Maybe the lack of oxygen going to my brain is making it all fuzzy. At some point I will do these films more justice by writing down my thoughts and sharing quotes I've been keeping in my notebook all weekend. But for now, the weekend has come full circle. The beginning was just like the end.
P.S. Random people I met/bumped into this weekend: Ricardo Antonio Chavira ("Carlos" on D.H.), Gina Torres, Cary Fukunaga (director of Sin Nombre), and few other cool indie directors. Oh, and Georges Harik, too. You can't escape the GOOG!
