Here I am at the Sedona Film Festival, 2020. I must confess I am a total movie fan and always have been. My Mom would drop me off at the Saturday matinee. (probably respite for her, also)
I often wonder if it was the movies that subliminally influenced my decision to move here after just one week?
Once again, back when I was a young girl, I would stay up for the " late show". I think I saw every movie ever made here. Jeff Chandler as the noble Indian; Debra Paget as the lovely captive. All very politically incorrect , but boy did that influence my desire to ride horses, and go out to the wild west.
I did have a long stop over in Los Angeles to go to university and live at the beach and start to be a working artist, both in Clay and Calligraphy. Once again, a movie town.We were too " cool" in Venice beach to pay attention to the movie people, which is why they liked it there, I think.That and the movie called Life that seemed run every day there with all the unusual "assortment" of humanity.
So here I am some 35 years later , going into the wonderful world of of every film festival; Learning new things and being transformed into new dimensions. The art of film.
It is that time of year again, the Sedona Film Festival happening in my hometown. Here I am in my shirt from years past.
This is their 20th anniversary.
I have been here all those years. I used to volunteer dating back to the days when we only got to preview the movies at 8 am. Now that is true love of film and a limited budget! I kind of miss the good old days when I worked together with all my buddies.Things change. Now I pay my money and stand in line with all the other film aficionados.I have seen four performances thus far. Only Le Weekend impressed me. Film as an interpretation of life, or why do people hurt the ones they love? Sadly, I see that often enough around me.
Film is such an interesting art. I dabbled in theater at Northwestern. I graduated from UCLA, located in the land of film. Living in Venice Beach for many years, I always saw stars, or lived next door to them. But we were cool, so we ignored them. Much as I take a lump of clay and transform it into my piece of fantasy, so can these actors take us with them to another place. Film, yet another creative art form.
I guess I am not quite ready to leave the world of film I was so engrossed in. Here I am with the dancers from China. Can you imagine? These woman came from half way around the world to perform in our small town for their movie. The world of film, or any art, is quite international. When I go to my dictionary to define that word,it reads " of or pertaining to the relations between nations". The old expression " art transcends all boundaries" seems to be a true one.
People come to Sedona from all over the world. This week it was to attend the magical world of films.Others want to visit a gallery and take home with them a bit of the magic of the southwest. It feels so nice to me when it is something that I have created. I like to think about a ceramic piece sitting on a shelf, or hanging on the wall,in a country far away.
Will people pick it up and say to themselves, I wonder who this artist is and what other creations they make? How did they do it? Or perhaps they just look up and smile because it gives them pleasure, and reminds them where they bought it.
Anyone out there want to share their feeling about this?
I have been away from my blog for over a week, a long hiatus for me. But there is a reason. Here I am at my hometown Sedona film festival, going to movies all day long, from dawn until late night. All right , so my eyes eventually start glazing over. My derriere is spreading, both from constant sitting and indulging in those delicious chocolate bars which are an integral part of being at the cinema. However, I really like the immersion philosophy. The definition of immerse is "to deeply involve or to plunge...so as to cover completely." I would say I was awash in the magic of film this week.
There were some really thought provoking topics and social issues brought up in these flics. How can a documentary about global warming, social protest,or discrimination not seem to be a bit serious by its very nature? But as I absorb the content, I am looking at how it was presented, how well constructed, and simply how enchanted I became with the finished product.
That seems true in all creative processes, be it clay or calligraphy,which are my tools of expression, to any other medium. During the creative process, an artist cannot help but be totally awash in the creative function. Our payback comes in the appreciation that it brings to the viewer, and ourselves. It seems to me that all the arts are inter related, just using different formats.This was my week of fun, enjoying the art of film.
