Really excited to be in the Sundance festival for the first time. I saw some good movies and met a bunch of people. Here are some of my notes
The first event I've attended was a writer's panel. There were a number of accomplished writers and directors. One of them was Gina Brice-Bythewood, whose film "Beyond the lights" is one of my recent favorite. The theme was writing TV episodes. For the longest time I have not paid much attention to TV. I thought they were lesser work compare to feature film and they were low quality stuff for mass consumption. But some writers actually prefer that because they are in longer format and have more space for character development and creativity. This reminds me I have really enjoyed some European TV series like "Borgen" and "The best of youth" greatly. From now on I should seek out TV drama more.
One of the panelist Marti Noxon noted a dysfunctional family background is a fertile source of inspiration. She made a good point in a clip of a martial squabble with a lot of tension.
In the evening I got a free ticket for Novitiate, about a young woman want to devote her life to become a nun in a convent. I am really a fan of Christian theology. I thought I will hate the movie. Instead the movie gave me insight into their state of mind. The young ladies were turning their back to ordinary life for their ideal, to live their entire life devote to Jesus. To be accepted by the convent they have to live their life according to strict order and traditions.
Interestingly I resonated with them to some extend. I have elected to join a Buddhist Monastery for a week. We actually shared quite a few things. We arose by early morning bell at 4 or 5 to start religious practice. There were a lot of attention for a period of silence for inner reflection. There are ritual that might seem odd, but you practice without question nevertheless just because it is an institution evolve over hundreds of years.
And for these young women, there were also normal human feeling, one that is completely counter to the order of the convent that have no way to express and have great difficulty to handle at all.
2017.01.28 comments