I've been having a great time at the Big Island Film Festival on the Big Island of Hawaii. I arrived on Wednesday night, showered, and hurried over to the Mayor's reception, where I chatted with some of the other film-makers, who have come from all over the U.S. and a few from overseas. Then I headed over to the Shops at Mauna Lani for an outdoor screening of a handful of short films. You couldn't beat the venue...watching movies under the stars with a gentle sea breeze. The films themselves were well-made but suffered from very, very predictable, by-the-numbers story-telling.
I played hookie from the Festival during the day on Day 2. You'd have to be insane to fly all the way to paradise to stay indoors when it's gorgeous outside. So I hung out at the beach, where the sand and pavement were so hot, you could get third degree burns if you walked barefoot. Just about eveyrone has a Kindle, which is frustrating, because I can't tell what strangers are reading any more.
I intended to do some writing, but failed. I swam, I walked, I read, I ate, I sweated. A perfect day. After dinner, I went to the night-time screenings, held under the stars at the Fairmont Orchid Plantation House. The films this time were much better than the previous evening...particularly the short COLD SORE and the hilarious, uniquely Hawaiian feature GET A JOB...but is there a rule somewhere that there has to be at least two zombie movies at every film festival? I have totally over-dosed on zombie movies.
My plan today is to do some writing (I can feel my deadline like a physical presence in the room) out on the lanai overlooking the water, take a swim, a long walk, and then attend the evening screening again. REMAINDERED plays tomorrow...
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