8-28-2002

People who have never attended the festival have no clue what I'm talking about when my eyes glaze over and I wax poetic about its magnificence. They don't get the appeal, the fascination, the sheer addiction that drives me and others like me to practically foam at the mouth in anticipation of its arrival. They don't understand why anyone would want to stand in line for hours on end for anything, let alone "just a movie." (Blasphemy!) Or why someone would willingly sit in a jam-packed theater with people crammed in the aisles. Or how it's possible for us to sprint from movie to movie with only seconds to spare. Or why we torture ourselves with only minimal sleep (if any!) for more than a week. Or how in the name of all that is good and pure in this world we can accept the fact that, for the duration of the festival anyway, a muffin or a smoothie or a banana or a bag of M&Ms actually constitutes a full meal. Or, more importantly, how any of us can actually do all those things with smiles on our faces and a spring in our collective step.

But, to the throngs of loyal moviegoers who sit shoulder to shoulder with me for eight days every fall, it's pure heaven.

What am I looking forward to this year? Same thing as every other year. Renewing transient friendships and seeing people I only ever see during the festival (where do they GO for the other 11 1/2 months of the year?!?!). Like the obnoxious woman who always wears red, or the friendly old Japanese man who always has something to share about what he's seen, or my friend Ann(e?), whom I met several years back while standing in line and who always winds up in some of the same movies I've picked. I don't even know how she spells her name or what her last night name might be, but I recognize her on sight and our annual reunions have become part of my festival landscape.

I love the unique bonding that takes place amongst festival-goers as they stand in line or sit in the theaters waiting for the movies to start. Good lord, people are so friendly and, if given the opportunity, will even do the wave to combat line boredom (I've seen it happen!). Conversation between strangers isn't only allowed, it's encouraged... heck, it might as well be a film fest law. The festival is the only place where a simple phrase like "Seen anything good?" can immediately spark a flurry of spirited discussion between people who don't know each other at all.

I look forward to seeing Roger Ebert... somewhere. It's just not a festival if I don't spot him at least once during the week. I look forward to exciting new cinematic discoveries and, as lame as it may sound, I'm excited about which celebrities I might run into in and around town. They're everywhere this time of year.

I'm eager to see movies like Personal Velocity, Laurel Canyon, Spellbound, Morvern Callar and Blue Car. I'm wondering if some of the unknown movies I've selected—like Pure or Together or The Magdalene Sisters—will be any good. I'm hoping to eat sensibly (ha!) and avoid the fast-food trap that almost always takes hold when I only have five minutes to eat between films.

But most of all, I cannot wait for that indescribably wonderful and all-encompassing energy that takes over the city and takes hold of me as the festival runs its course. It's so amazing that, on second thought, perfection might be too mild a word, after all.

— Vickie