- Watching 28 films in 11 days while still working for 5.5 of those days is slightly insane. I would definitely take the whole festival as leave next time and feel less frazzled.
- I’d definitely watch more films at the Vue and the Odeon in Leicester Square; slightly pricier, yes, but I absolutely love the recliners. Sold.
- It’s sad to single out a cinema but the ICA was the least enjoyable. It’s just not a very comfortable experience.
- 40% of films at the festival were directed by women; 25% of the ones I went to see were by female directors. I wonder if this is genre related - the genre strands that (unsurprisingly) made up over half oy viewing between them were the Cult and Laugh strands. Does this mean that those areas are still largely male-dominated and there are still advances to be made in genre and comedy filmmaking?
- My travel timings between venues didn't really account for any Q&A time and I was forced to cut it short a few times. It's not always going to be possible but I'd try to leave enough of a gap so that I could get the full experience.
- In terms of Hollywood blockbusters, it’s only really worth booking the first screenings of those as those are the ones with the appearances / intros / Q&As. They’re going to be widely available soon enough so, unless you’re getting an appearance, save the time for some other indie stuff.
- Booking things that just sound kind of interesting has pretty much paid off. Keep doing that one!
- Definitely book the Surprise Film - it might end up being something not to your taste or it might end up being a preview of a film you think is great. Worth a punt.
The big question:- would I do this again? You’re kidding, right? Expect this blog to be dominated by festivally reviews same time next year.
Now, on to your usual selection of guff, toot and gubbins...
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