My life in Full Frame
It has been over a week since the film festival and I have been meaning to blog about it since Sunday, when it ended... but have been lazy! Anyhow! It was wonderful! I had gone to the festival a number of years ago; we used to go on field trips to see movies for my mass comm class in high school. The last few years I have missed it because I am lame... so this year I made a promise to myself I would go. I decided to volunteer, because that way I could kind of get an inside as to how the festival was run and also it was a great way to get to go for free!
So now here is my account of Full Frame - of course with pictures!!
The fest lasted from April 3rd - 6th. I sadly missed getting to see anything on Thursday since I had to work, but Friday I took the day off from work and went to see movies all morning. I started with seeing Body & Soul: Diane & Kathy, a movie about two disabled women that live together, one has down syndrome and the other has cerebral palsy. It was very well done and very moving (I cried!) I thought it was very good. I liked how it really gave you an intimate portrait of what life is like for these two women. After that was a film called Paradise a story of an old Swedish married couple who decide to do some
home remodeling (it was hilarious - I can see this being my parents down the road!). After my morning movies my Mom came and met me and we had lunch and then went to see Beginning Filmmaking - a doc about a filmmaker teaching his 4-year-old daughter how to be a filmmaker. It was super cute, and they even had the kid with her dad there at the end for a Q&A. That film was followed by Summerchild a movie about a Russian girl who is in an orphanage and goes to spend the summer with a family in Finland. It was also a very good film, although I thought at times it dragged a bit but that overall it was a good watch.
After all those movies it was time for me to work my shift. I went down to the armory and got crackin! I was working in the Main Box Office (or MBO). It was a pretty chill gig, especially in the evening, since most everyone got their tickets in the morning. So I hung around - Nicole came too, she had to come from work all the way in Raleigh so it was a long day for her! Then we went home and crashed!
Saturday Nicole and I got up early and went back to the festival. The first movie we saw was The Mosquito and Other Problems. It was a Bulgarian film. It was alright, but really probably my least favorite of all the movies I saw. After that we went to see Body of War, Nicole had
heard of it and said she thought it sounded cool, so I was like, sure, why not! It was awesome! I am so glad we went (good call Nic-Nac!). It was about an Iraq War vet who became paralyzed from the chest down within the first 5 days of his tour. The movie followed him after his accident as he protested the war. It also showcased a lot of the debate in the senate that lead to the US going to Iraq in the first place. Anyhow, I think this film goes into theatrical release eventually and I HIGHLY recommend everyone go and see it. It is beautifully done! It was directed and produced by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, who were there for a Q&A afterwards. It was super cool!
After all that it was time again for Nicole and I to work! So we went back to the MBO and were hanging out when the ticketing people from Fletcher hall came over. Apparently they had a sold out show and not enough volunteers to cover it (which I think may have been due to the UNC game). So Nicole and I volunteered to go help. I liked taking tickets. I was having a good time doing it, when the director of Full Frame came up to me and told me I was doing a great job and had very good customer service! After we got everyone in the film they said we could go and watch. The film that was being screened was Man on Wire, a film about Philippe Petit walking on a tight rope between the world trade centers in 1974. It was beautiful and wonderful. Definitely one of my most favorite films of the festival! See this movie if you ever can (I think it will be on netflix eventually). After the film and after our shift ended we saw Song of Sperm Donor and then Surfwise - both films about people living non-traditional lives.
Sunday, it was the last day of the festival so Nicole and I went to a double feature first thing. We saw La Carona - about a Columbian womens prison that holds a beauty pageant and then Please Vote For Me about 3rd-grade Chinese class that has an election for their class monitor. That film was very good as well. It made me laugh a lot!
After all that we worked our last shift and then I was soooo tired I went back home and crashed and burned! I have to say overall I really enjoyed Full Frame this year. I liked working and I loved getting to see all the different films!
