SMACK DOWN BY CATHERINE KEENER

After last night's screening of CHICAGO 10 (the opening movie of the Festival) I was in the bathroom washing my hands, listening in to a conversation between some other women who were talking about how much they preferred this year's opening movie to last year's. I wasn't paying much attention, operating on about 2 hours of sleep and no food, but when they tried to remember the name of the movie they couldn't come up with it. So I let them know what it was called. At which point two things happened - first, several of the women left the bathroom, and second, Catherine Keener appeared next to me, and told ME how she's sorry we thought they were all such bitchy whiners in the movie, but that wasn't what they had intended. My mouth full of marbles, I told her that 'No, no! I LOVED the movie!' which, naturally, came out as insincerely as if I hadn't (I did, for the record). It didn't seem worth the effort as she went on to punish me, with a smile, by describing how awful it had felt listening to the conversation in the bathroom. Desperate to prove that I wasn't one of the evil ones, I wanted to keep talking, in case she worked out that noone with my accent was participating in the catty ladies rooom crit. But all I could think to say was how great she was. It wasn't a wonderful moment.

Since then there have been better ones. Today's screening of GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB was amazing - an experience that was only improved listening to director Rory Kennedy talk about politics and the filmmaking behind the documentary. It's an HBO movie, so expect to see it some time soon - and do see it.

Another good one was getting my free Burton coat - it's so warm and so cool all at once. And, best of all, I'm a size small for them, which makes me love it all the more (eating disorder? Maybe. Men's sizes? More likely).

Also the movie is online and has been encoded with great style, so do check it out. Oh - and we saw Ian Olds (BOMB), Nanobah Becker & Danny Carrera (CONVERSION) and Chris Zalla (PADRE NUESTRO) today too, for some class Columbia action. And Crispin Glover for some McFly action. Jeremy's keeping track of the celebrity sightings, so we'll keep you updated.

We had our first screening tonight - at the Prospector - not a tiny venue. And it looked fantastic. The HD transfer shows everyone's work beautifully, and I was proud to be there with our film. The rest of the programme rocked, so it was a good day all around. Now I must sleep.