and then there were none

Well I have been waiting for this week for awhile now, where I could say that this festival was all over. So I am breathing a big (massive, rather) sigh of relief. It was stressful even before day one, so that was not a good sign and caused me much paranoia and grief, but in the end looking back on things, it wasn't so bad. Hahaha I always say that when things are over. Bring me back to a week ago and I would never have imagined that those words would come out of my mouth.

So for my wrap-up, I will give a synopsis of my time, the movies I had time to see, and the food I ate (delicious stuff).

Basically from day one, my duties were to take photos of setup of the events (to document the sponsorship fulfillment and to show potential sponsors), work some of the events, and take photos of the ambiance of the festival. Sounds not too bad, right? Well, factor in my lack of confidence in my photography, the terrible lighting (enough to make me sick - it's so lame, but there's nothing that makes me want to throw up more than a) taking photos after dark with lots of uneven tungsten lighting or b) when the sun is so bright that it hurts and there are only intense shadows and highlights - ahhh photography kills me sometimes), and my fear of being intrusive when taking pictures, and you have a recipe for disaster. I can't complain - many people would love to be able to do this, and it wasn't the worst thing I've ever done, but I did come to the conclusion that I am not an event/wedding/documentary photographer. I like things I can plan out.

Anyways, the events were really great. Amazing actually. First off was a dinner for the filmmakers at an amazing home in town. (*A side note - I may be referring to money a lot in this post because I have now been surrounded by people who have a lot of it for the past week and still cannot comprehend that people live this way) This home overlooks the town, and if you liked, you could actually sit in the gorgeous hot tub on her back patio and watch the view. Trust me, I was tempted. The mirror in the grand room (ballroom, whatever you want to call it) I am sure costs more than what I would make in, um, two months I would say. The #1 food of the night (that's the best way to do this food wrap-up): peanut butter and chocolate balls. YUM. There I had my first celebrity sighting, Greg Kinnear, and unfortunately all I could think of that he had done was Stuck on You so I wasn't as excited as I would have been if I remembered he was also in GOOD movies, like Little Miss Sunshine. Also in attendance was Laura Linney, Salman Rushdie, and many talented filmmakers who unfortunately get less of the glory than the actors do.

Anyways, I need to keep this moving along...the next day was the brunch at a beautiful ranch, where I again took photos and had the lovely job of greeting all those who came. Fun! Lots of animation on my part: Welcome! Lovely to have you! So glad you could make it! After, my face hurt. There I saw the same people from the night before, plus Tracy Chapman! As in, the soundtrack of my junior high experience! A delight. The day was perfect and the food again, great. Later on that evening was the feed on Main Street, where they block traffic and all passholders can have free food and drink and mingle. This was my favorite event of the weekend. Food of the day? Lasagna.

Then it was time to crash, as I had to take photos at 7am the next morning. Crazy talk, you say? Nope, that's when the students who attend the education program were having a seminar I needed to take pictures for. Bright and early. It was interesting, but early. And thus my exhaustion began that lasted throughout the weekend. It was not helped by the fact that I spent my days running around making sure I got photos of everything. EVERYTHING! Well, not everything. Most things. Next on the agenda that evening was an event at a restaurant which my sister and Wayne and friends got to go to since we needed more people. It's funny to see how quickly people agree to put on some fancy clothes and get ready for something when they hear they will be getting free sushi and cocktails. Impressive. Food of the day - everything there. They have amazing food. And mojitos! That night we watched a free screening in the park of Pirate for the Sea - an amazing movie about an amazing man who does wonderful things for sea animals. He is a hero. Next, time for sleep.

The next day was the longest day in the world, getting up for a pancake breakfast at 7:30am to take photos (but the pancakes were delicious - food of the day), heading out to take more photos throughout the day (can you tell I'm trying to speed this up? I apologize - this is a long one), managing a workshop that took place to make sure everything was set up ok, then heading to an event at another restaurant where I took photos (it was so dark inside! terrible!), and oh no - the night is not over yet, even though at this point it's 7pm. Sleep would have been nice, but It was time to work the door at the big party that everyone tries to sneak into even though there is a strict list of who is allowed to attend. (A side note - I hate stuff like this where there is a list and people get turned away - so uncomfortable. Oh and also, it's raining) So when the event begins at 10pm, people are coming and coming. Oh yes, and coming. I am tired, and I am cold. And my co-workers were nice enough to let me go home early at 11:30. I was so appreciative.

And then the last day! At last! The day when I was panicked that I didn't get all the photos I should have gotten over the weekend and this was my last chance. As in, no possibility for these photos again until next year. The pressure - do you feel it? So I rushed around, became aggressive about asking people to pose and had no shame in shoving my camera in people's faces. Also that day was the Labor Day Picnic which was great, where the food of the day was the sundae bar! Haagen Dazs gave the ice cream and they had all the toppings you wanted. Which in my book, is heaven. Otherwise the food actually stunk for me, because Omaha Steaks sponsored it which meant there was lots of steak. All being grilled by big, burly men, which I found funny. So my lunch consisted of bread, pasta salad and potato salad. My bloated stomach felt wonderful after that. Later that night was the staff party, and sadly enough, I was asleep before it even began. How's that for fun?

As for movies, I didn't get to see any over the weekend but they have been running a few after the festival for those who are still around. I saw Flame and Citron - a Danish film about the Nazi resistance - synopsis: brutal, stressful, interesting, confusing, well-acted, sad. Next film was O'Horten - a Norweigan film about a train engineer who has to fill his time after he retires and gets into some quirky situations - synopsis: cute, slow, charming, with lovely music. Lastly was Gomorrah - an Italian film about the mafia/gangs in Naples - synopsis: BRUTAL, scary, sad (in a way that makes you sad for the world), fascinating, full of guns and violence. All had subtitles, which makes it hard when you want to shield your face from the violence on screen but still need to read what is being said. Try that one. Apparently the big film this year was Slumdog Millionaire, but that one was packed and I didn't get to see it. But you heard it here first. It's coming out in November and wasn't technically part of the program, more a sneak preview before it heads to Toronto this week. Telluride must have some good powers - we got it first.

So. I'm sure I missed 95% of the weekend in this summary, but I think this entry has gone on far too long anyways. If I think of anything good, I'll let you know. Otherwise, PHEW! It's all done.