AFI Dallas

Over this past week I've been to the AFI international film festival in Dallas three times. Twice as a volunteer, stuffing bags and everything that goes along with it, and once as part of the press (last night on the red carpet for David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE).

This was an amazing experience to talk to all of these filmmakers and actors! I was amazed by their openess and excitement to see a team of high school journalists out on a real world job. I got to talk with Bill Paxton (Twister, Titanic) and Chris Kline (American Pie), as well as many indie filmmakers (including Sian Heder, and her movie Mother).

Sian directed and wrote Mother based on her experiences as a baby sitter at all the 4-star hotels in Beverly Hills. Check it out at www.motherthemovie.com . The movie will be screening at the Magnolia theater on Tuesday (9:45pm) and Wendnesday (5pm).
She also was one of eight to be chosen for the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Only 4% of directors in the movie industry are women and this program hopes to change that, as well as the perspective that women directors are not limited to "girly" movies but can create anything.

I am so excited to edit this piece for our TV show which airs this Friday!
By the way, AFI Dallas is screening many films all week long and ends on April 1st. So get on down there and see great films you wouldn't normally get to see in wide release. They are some of the finest pieces you can see in the film industry.

I'm still on this red carpet high! :)