Planes, Trains and a Film Festival?

It’s amazing how quickly mindsets change. Just yesterday I was at work, stressed out of my mind doing my utmost to get everything I needed to get done, done, before leaving. Now, I’m relaxed, exhausted but know fully well that anything in Montreal that needs to get done is on the sidelines for the next two weeks.

At this exact moment in time I’m on a train, from Paris to Amsterdam. Again, exhausted, anxiously waiting for sleep to come my way. I don’t sleep on planes, I’ve quickly learned that my feet need to be elevated for me to fall asleep, and the chance of that happening on a plane is next to none. My entire flight was spent watching terrible movies, and eating awful food, with the addition of decent music and the occasional walk around the plane. After the six hour flight, I found myself in Paris, feeling as if I was there only a few days ago. The smell, (not very good at times), and the people are all the same. Everything is right where I left it. I had a good five hours to kill before the train was leaving, so I did a lot of walking just to keep my body awake. After swinging by an Absynth store for my friend Franco, I go a quick bite to eat, and headed to Gare de Nord, where I caught the train to Amsterdam. The train I am on right now.

I’m excited, for a lot of reasons, one I’m going to see an old friend. Two, my film got into the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. I just sent it in for shits and giggles, not really thinking more than “it doesn’t cost anything to submit it, so why not?”. Well sure enough, Surfing the Waste, got in. Only after did I realize, that IDFA is the largest documentary film festival in the entire world, and it is one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, now that’s fucking cool! We’re in two competitions, Short Documentary and DocU!, where youths between 14 – 18 will be pick the winner of five films. How cool is that?!

I’ll be keeping this blog thingy updated throughout the next two weeks. You can read it here on Indyish, or on my website, www.paulogic.com and also on Facebook (If you’re my friend, but feel free to add me).

-Paul
Originally written on November 19th, 2008.