Final Push

Well, the end of the festival I went a bit crazy with my film watching, so between that and work and hanging out with friends, I ran out of time to keep up with blog. I shall attempt to remedy this now. On Wednesday night (1/22) I saw Fed Up, one of the documentaries I had really wanted to see. Then Thursday I worked a long 11 hour day, had dinner with Melanie, and then went to get staff/volunteer tickets for Whiplash (just barely made the cut-off, even getting there almost 3 hours before the film was starting). Friday (1/24) was my other full day off, and I took full advantage. I had three hard tickets - one for 52 Tuesdays, one for Concerning Violence, and one for God Help the Girl. I also managed to get a staff/volunteer ticket for Dinosaur 13. :)

Fed Up
About this film
Part of the US Documentary Competition. This was one I had really wanted to see, so I got a hard ticket for it back in December. Definitely glad I saw it. Although I knew most of the information already, I did learn a few things I did not know. I definitely feel like it is something everyone should see; especially those who do not know just how bad sugar (and processed foods because of the amount of sugar they contain) is for you. What shocked me the most (because I didn't know it) was when they mentioned that on all food labels, you know how they put percent daily value next to everything? Well, not everything! They don't put a percent daily value for sugar. Check it out next time you look at a label... on anything. It is pretty crazy. And the reason they don't? If they did, many times you would see things like "200% of your daily value". Insane. So the main punch line is, the best thing you can do for youself is to eat real food. Not processed stuff. Even many things that are labelled "organic" or worse, "reduced fat" or "fat free" may have a crazy amount of sugar. You want real foods, or as they say, things with 5 or less ingredients.

Whiplash
About the film
About the director
Part of the US Dramatic competition. Last year, this film was one of the shorts. And I really liked it. So I knew I wanted to see it now that the director had turned it into a full-length film - especially since he cast Miles Teller in the lead (the guy from Spectacular Now - he was amazing in that film last year). Was able to snag a ticket, and I am very glad I did. It was really great. The performances by the two main leads were nothing short of incredible. The music in it was stunning. And the storyline itself is intense. Makes you feel many different emotions. My friend Annette phrased it well; she said she found it disturbing. Before I watched it, I couldn't fathom what she meant, but once I was seeing it, I completely understood. Parts of it were definitely very disturbing. I had mixed emotions. It certainly wasn't a flawless film, but I do think it was extremely well done, and I am very very glad I saw it. Unsurprisingly, it won the audience award for US dramatic. A bit more surprising, it also won the grand jury prize for US Dramatic. So, hopefully y'all will have the chance to see it. :)

52 Tuesdays
About the film
Yes. This film. Part of the World Cinema dramatic competition. From Australia. One I really wanted to see, and I am definitely glad I did. I thought the structure of the film was great. The performances were great. It was a good film. One I am very glad I got to see. Only wish I could have stayed for the Q&A because I think it would have been really interesting - the lead actor is transgender in real life, and was going through the process in the same time frame that the character was. But sadly I had to cut out before the Q&A in order to make it to Concerning Violence.

Concerning Violence
About the film
Part of the World Cinema documentary competition and one of the films I really wanted to see. Unfortunately, I found this one to be disappointing. It was okay, but not what I was expecting and not really what I wanted it to be. One of my least favorites of the festival (which I was even more sad about because I had missed that other Q&A in order to see it). I came out of it thinking that I would really like to read the book that the documentary was based on. I think the book has a chance of being more interesting and informative to me than the film was. Though to be fair, I was also feeling really crappy (I was quite sick by this point) and tired, so I also wasn't in the greatest mindset. After this movie I was planning to go to Music Cafe because I hadn't made it there yet, but instead I went home, ate soup and napped.

God Help the Girl
About the film
Part of the World Cinema dramatic competition. When I was choosing tickets, this was a big dilemma for me. I really wanted to see this movie, but I also really wanted to see the documentary The Green Prince, and both films were playing only one time that I could possibly see them, and both were same day around the same time, so I could only see one. After much internal (and external) debating, I went with this one. Was definitely glad I got to see it. It was really fun watching a musical. I loved the music, I thought the acting was great. Overall an enjoyable, sweet film.

Dinosaur 13
About the film
Part of the US Documentary competition. I thought of my seester when I first saw this film in the line-up for the 2014 festival, because she always loved dinosaurs growing up. It was definitely a good film. Unfortunately, as was the case with many films I saw this year, I was very tired, and not feeling super great, so at times I had trouble staying awake, but that isn't necessarily the fault of the film. It's an interesting, albeit crazy story. Glad I saw it. :)