Film Marathon take 1

Every year, I have at least one marathon film day. This year, Monday, the 20th, was that day. It was my day off, and I had one hard ticket, but there were a bunch of other things I wanted to try to see.

Despite having stayed up until 2:30am Sunday night due to my giddyness from seeing Boyhood (please refer to previous post), I got myself up at 7:30 Monday morning and went over to try my luck at getting into the Press and Industry screening of Happy Christmas. I was successful - yay! After that I went to my ticketed screening of What We Do in the Shadows (my first ever film in the Midnight category!). Then headed over to Eccles, where I waited in line to get a staff/volunteer ticket to Song One. Was successful with that (yay!), saw that movie and then walked over to HQ, where I was able to get tickets through internal ticketing for The Case Against 8 and The Signal. Visited with some folks, then headed home. Had hoped to nap and eat dinner but there wasn't time for both, so I ate food and then headed out for my final two films of the day. Which I somehow stayed awake for. Still not quite sure how I managed it. But glad I did.

Happy Christmas
About the film
So this one is part of the US Dramatic competition. I had wanted to see it because it looked cute, and I like Anna Kendrick. There was another P&I screening a half hour earlier of a film I wanted to see as well, but I decided to go for this one so I could get a tiny bit more sleep. While I did like it (it was a decent movie), I kinda wish I had gone to the other film. Ah well. Live and learn. :) One part of the film I really enjoyed was the baby. Cutest. Kid. Ever. Adorable. And hilarious. Apparently it was the director's son. Too cute.

What We Do in the Shadows
About the film
This film is part of the Midnight section at Sundance. Normally, I avoid this section like the plague, because they are typically the scary movies. So, this was my first time ever seeing a Midnight film (which, ironically, was shown at 11:45am. so figure). I was really excited to see it, because it was supposed to be really funny. And it was. It did not disappoint. Really enjoyable, hilarious film. And, for the Q&A after, they stayed in character (the whole time the directors acted like it was a real documentary, and the cast acted as their characters - as though they were really vampires and werewolves). It was highly entertaining.

Song One
About the film 
Video about the director
This was part of the U.S. dramatic competition as well. I really wanted to see it, so I was really happy when I was able to get a ticket - and to the opening night of it no less! Really glad I saw it. Y'all know how much a love music, and this is a very music-centered film. The music was beautiful, and the performances were great. I really enjoyed it a lot. And, after, the Q&A was great and Anne Hathaway was there (woo!!) so my number of famous people (who I know) sightings is now up to 3! :D

The Case Against 8
About the film
Video about the directors
This was only the second documentary I have seen so far (I'm failing at seeing docs this year, and it saddens me). It was also part of the US Documentary competition section. So glad I got to see it. It was extremely well-done, and it was really interesting getting to see the inner-workings of the story. Also, the two couples who were the plaintiffs in the case were there for the Q&A after, along with the directors and a few other folks. Very very cool. Very uplifting. Cried many tears of joy throughout.

The Signal
About the film
After not seeing any Midnight films ever, I ended up seeing two in one day! Woo! This one I had wanted to see because I was intrigued by it. The programmers wouldn't say much about it - just that it is a sci-fi film and that they did a lot with a small budget. I managed to get a ticket and even though I was completely exhausted and it didn't start until 11:45pm, I somehow was able to stay awake through it. I think because I was super confused about what was going on. It was crazy, and confusing, and everything didn't really come together until the very end. I could do with seeing it again now that I know what is going on. Perhaps it will be seeable after the fest somehow. But yeah, interesting plot and considering their apparently small budget, it is really well produced - well put together.

So that was my first marathon film day of the fest. Probably will have another on Friday. Yaaay! The count now stands at 9 full-length films and 9 short films. :)