Day 2 At SDFF

I arrived really early this morning, all ready to go! Unfortunately, as you all know, it was pretty crappy outside -

Neverthless, it was a perfect day to stay inside, cozy up and watch movies, right? :)  Once again there was the lovely and elegant Napal who works with the volunteers. She had them lined up and was giving them instructions - a lovely job as always (this photo doesn't do her justice - I'll post up a better one later!). 

First on the agenda for the day were the animation shorts. I'm an animation fan, so I was looking forward to this. (Psst, you know, we're all doing reviews on different films on the next edition of What's Up monthly newsletter, so keep an eye out.)

I saw some beautiful work, especially with with Chasing Clouds - although I did leave the theatre wondering how many mice it takes to screw in a spotlight, along with a unexpected hankering for cheese.

I did manage to snag a few people and have them give me their review of the film - check it out~!

Oh, and this has been the talk of the festival - check out this form - thankfully, someone had the foresight to black out the "non-disabled" entry on the survey form. Not to worry, guys, it was an accident, and the SDFF committe is right on top of this next time around! :)

Then finally, it was sunbreak! And I took lunch, and while we were wandering around, we came across this cute squirrel.

I took the time to take a few photos of some of the Deaf Spotlight people - made a few new acquaintances -

This is Travis - he's our go-to guy, always helpful, with a nice smile.  Good to have you on the team!










Then it was time for some Comedy - I was wondering what's up with all those British entries? Is this the dry British sense of humor I always hear about?  I really did enjoy those entries, and it was a good laugh or two.  Paul and AJ had something to say about it, too.

It seems that the blockbuster of the day was the Hammer movie - many people showed up and were thrilled with the movie. I heard a lot of positive comments. I even managed to get Howie and Lori to share their opinions. Awesome, guys! 

In case you didn't know, it was all Howie's idea that Deaf Spotlight be established as an organization - we owe him a lot for the kick in our pants (Rob Roth's exact words)!

Okay, this is what I was looking forward to the most today - what the heck is this all about? I even googled it, and turns out it wasn't accepted in the DC ASL Movie Festival in 2010. Apparently, it was too risque or something.  I certainly can tell you that it did blur the boundaries between gender identity, as well as exposing us to a darker, but sometimes sweeter side of life. Here's a link to the report I read about it. Very interesting!

Here are some of our movie goers tonight who came to see the film. I must say that I'd proud of how welcoming Seattle is for LGBTQ people, and for having such terrific movies.

I really enjoyed it, just as I did enjoy the movie Austin Unbound - I've heard so much about it, and it was good to finally see it - Austin came across as very likable, engaging and friendly.

 Afterwards there was a panel, with terrific people - Josie Krueger, Ryder Patton and Austin. They all did a terrific time sharing their stories!~  I asked Taz afterwards what she thought about it, and she has her answer for you!

Then what? It was time for me to call it a night. There was more film slated for the day - Silenced. I hear it's a terrific film, and I promise I'll hunt someone down to give a review for it in the next edition.

Buddy also had something to say to us. Yes, he really is this cute in person. He'd like for all of you to come tomorrow and so do I..

Good night, and if you haven't been here, then seriously, get your butt over here.  I've had so much fun this weekend.

By the way, despite what everybody has been telling me, this peppy and over-caffienated girl has to run out of energy sometime. I am loafing on my couch as of now, so I will have more to bring to you all tomorrow.

Katie Roberts
What's Up Editor